Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) was a prolific sculptor who later applied his plastic sensibility to furniture design, landscape architecture as well as stage design (Look at his famous fountain for the Osaka World Expo in 1970).
Probably the projects that best summarize his multiple skills and passions are his groundbreaking (built and unbuilt) playscapes which challenged the traditional image of a space for childrens.
The components of a Noguchi playground may always be experienced by the children in multiple ways.
Instead of directly suggesting a single act to be performed (sliding, climbing, swinging), these projects require kids to engage with a space, to explore and subvert it.
The imaginary that shapes the design of Noguchi’s playgrounds, conceived as sculpted landscapes, originates from his researches of pre-columbian cultures’ tumuli, of surrealist artworks, as well as from his lifelong attempt to merge traits of western and eastern cultures (he was born by an American mother and a Japanese father).
Models of Playground Equipment for the Ala Moana Park Hawaii (unbuilt), 1935 circa, built much later in Piedmont Park in Atlanta.
Models of Playground Equipment for the Ala Moana Park Hawaii (unbuilt), 1935 circa, built much later in Piedmont Park in Atlanta.
Playground Equipments for the Ala Moana Park Hawaii Grove, Nancy & Diane Botnick, “The Sculpture of Isamu Noguchi, 1924-1979,” New York: Garland Pub., 1980, plate 167
United Nations Playground, 1952 (unbuilt) Archival image from Isamu Noguchi: A Study of Space by Ana Maria Torres (New York: Monacelli Press, 2000) in Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum.
Adele Levy Memorial Playground (several proposals – unbuilt) in New York City’s Riverside Park, made in collaboration with Louis I. Kahn, 1960-1966.
Adele Levy Memorial Playground (several proposals – unbuilt) in New York City’s Riverside Park, made in collaboration with Louis I. Kahn, 1960-1966.
Adele Levy Memorial Playground (several proposals – unbuilt) in New York City’s Riverside Park, made in collaboration with Louis I. Kahn, 1960-1966.
Adele Levy Memorial Playground (several proposals – unbuilt) in New York City’s Riverside Park, made in collaboration with Louis I. Kahn, 1960-1966.
The black slide is in Oo-Dori Park, Sapporo, Japan (Photo by Torumap, more photos here.)
Piedmont Park, Atalanta Georgia, 1976. The only Noguchi-designed playground completed in his lifetime. Photo by Wally G.
Moerenuma Park, Higashi-ku, Sapporo, Japan, 1988. Photos by Marcus Trimble.
Moerenuma Park, Higashi-ku, Sapporo, Japan, 1988. Photos by Marcus Trimble.
Further readings:
http://www.academia.edu/1512763/Isamu_Noguchis_Utopian_Landscapes
Noguchi Foundation [noguchi.org]
http://www.landscapeonline.com/research/article/7115
http://architekturfuerkinder.ch/index.php?/pioniere/isamu-noguchi/
http://cabinetmagazine.org/issues/45/trainor.php
http://www.the-booklist.com/2013/07/cut-past-di-note-parole-e-figure.html