Throughout our lifetime we encounter and participate in a variety of different communities. As children, we often formed our relationships through where we lived and went to school. Young adults, in their choices about college and early career, often for the first time are faced with questions about how to find meaningful communities. These choices are challenging, especially if they involve moving to a new city, working remotely, or otherwise stepping out of familiar situations. I am interested in bridging the connection to community between childhood and adulthood. Roger Hart said, “When children have the freedom in space and time to play with one another, they find ways to pass on their culture to peers through games, song, and dance, but also to transform it…Play with peers is extremely important to social, moral and emotional development. In free play, children learn to understand others and to develop skills of cooperation, sharing and caring.” This suggests that play is an important component in building community even as we grow older. My thesis aims to reimagine the meaning of play in a community that values hybrid work, through the exploration and implementation of third places inspired by the culture in Philadelphia, for Generation Z within a vertical community. The spaces strive to support the new and unique lifestyle while considering how it might be facilitated to aid young people in learning the interactions that shape community.

George Bernard Shaw once said, “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” Generally, adults grow out of playing. Why? Play is inherently human, fulfilling a need for expression resulting in mental and physical health benefits. Play releases endorphins – the body’s natural feel-good chemical. Play is contained, curated, and only acceptable in specific spaces. However, it is a necessary component for our everyday happiness. Should we have to seek playgrounds or parks to fulfill our playful desires? Imagine if we encountered playful design in our daily, everyday spaces? What would these architectural details and elements look like? The focus of my thesis is to figure out how to design playful elements into our everyday spaces to promote and provide more opportunities for adults to play.

The COVID-19 pandemic created an unexpected and unprecedented global work experiment that permanently changed how we work, where we work, and the role work plays in our lives. This abrupt transition from a ‘traditional’ on-site work model to a remote work model has had a prolonged effect on people on psychological, emotional, and professional levels. While productivity levels increased, well-being and work/life balance decreased. I saw this as an opportunity to reimagine the hybrid work model in a post-pandemic world. How do we combine the best parts of working on-site, such as socialization, movement, and routine, with the flexibility of working remotely? In my thesis, I have created a coliving and coworking community where groups of friends or colleagues can stay for extended periods of time to work remotely all while exploring the city of Portland, Maine together. Through deliberate space planning of the site, I decentralize ‘work’ and ‘life’ functions to foster socialization and movement and increase well-being and work/life balance.