Housing Estate Game V.2.0 - Ideas for Design of Housing Estates' Density Models - The Case Study of Urbanism Workshops Game Created for Science Promotion

Abstract

The article presents the main principles of HOUSING ESTATE GAME 2.0 - a game proposed by the author for the purpose of promoting science among children and adolescents. The game allows creative implementation of residential housing models according to predetermined rules. The accepted score and rules of the game coincide with the assumptions of the compact city idea and draw attention to the problems of modern housing estate implementation. Particular attention was paid to selected urban indicators such as: housing density, the amount of biologically active area, number of trees, number of parking spaces. The principles of the game are consistent with the real-life design principles and address a true challenge: how to provide compact dense housing estate and high-quality housing environment. The game, in its current form, is the result of its several years of improvements. Version 2.0 of the game was tested during the NIGHT OF RESEARCH at the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice, while other editions of the game were presented during the Science Festival in Katowice. The article discusses the main theoretical and methodological assumptions for the implementation of the game. The author presents both a 'game manual' to promote it and conclusions from the last edition of the workshop which may be useful for formulating educational assumptions about the creation of habitats. The article shows contemporary challenges in housing estates' design, the conclusions may be useful for architects, urban designers, academics in the field of architecture and urbanism, public participation practitioners. The author is an academic researcher, an architect and a professionally active urban designer, and actively promotes science through workshops and other activities.