| In the age of an overworked society, struggling to emotionally connect, play is essential. Ludic Landscapes, explores the reenchantment of undervalued landscapes, in particular the industrial site of the Canadian Pacific Railway yards in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. If carnivals are landscapes devoted to play, as rail yards are landscapes devoted to work and industry, what happens when play is brought into a landscape of work?;This practicum examines how ludic activities can be integrated into a landscape previously devoted to work - resulting in a reenchantment of an industrial landscape. The term reenchantment implies a positive change in perspective, an emergence of magic, toward something formerly disregarded. The explorations of undervalued and overlooked landscapes within the urban environment begin to unearth a curious history. Many carnival rides of the past germinate from technology developed for work, industry and progress. When the carnival is liberated of its artifice, its heart is shown to be machine technology utilized for work. It is possible to put these amusement rides through one more evolution, to make them not only fun, but also functional. The marriage of work and play results in remediating and reenchanting the landscape through ludic activity, spectacle and wonder. This is a poetic act. |
