O espaço para a criança na cidade. Um estudo crítico a partir da experiência de Aldo Van Eyck

Abstract

Playgrounds have a prominent role in the urban fabric, acting not only as places for children to play and develop their imagination, but also, as public spaces capable of assigning identity within a community. During the post-World War II period, a new attitude towards children and play arose, leading to the appearance of several types of playgrounds and different approaches in their design. One of the most remarkable examples which will be the case study of this thesis, are the more than 700 playgrounds that the Dutch architect Aldo van Eyck designed between 1947 and 1978 for Amsterdam. This authentic "network" of public spaces, was part of a strategy for the reconstruction of the city, which differed from the functionalist approach of the Modern Movement, preconized by the CIAM (International Congresses of Modern Architecture). This thesis intends to understand the emergence of the parks of Amsterdam within its historical and social context; analyze its parallelism with the visual arts and playgrounds of the same period in order to ascertain its influences; investigate their spatial, formal and compositional characteristics; and ultimately contribute to the study of the architect Aldo van Eyck and one of his most original works of architecture and urbanism.