The Play Project
Singapore | 2015
The Play Project is an aerial survey of 100 playgrounds across Singapore. Singapore is considered one of the most urbanised countries in the world, with 100% of its population living in urban areas. In the 1960s, many people lived in squatters and slums, and the government is credited with resettling residents into low cost state-built housing. Today, more than 80% of Singaporeans live in public housing.
As part of its design for dense housing estates, space was set aside for interaction of communities. An early urban planning book stipulated building a playground for every 700 public housing units. There are an estimated 1500 public playgrounds across Singapore, making it perhaps one of the highest playground per square meter land space in the world.
The project was conceived in 2014, at the beginning of mass drone adoption. Before this, aerial photography was still within the domain of photographing outside helicopters, and costs were prohibitive and usage were confined to specialised and commercial applications.
Part of Chow and Lin’s motivation for this project was their experience as first-time parents. Their daughter was absolutely fascinated with playgrounds - it just felt like her world when she entered, with foam grounds, colourful steps and slides that were friendlier than the rest of her world. Chow and Lin themselves grew up with public playgrounds, which formed an integral part of their childhood.
This series captures playgrounds as oases in an urban environment; tiny paradises for those who seek satisfaction from them.
