‘play is itself a function’: luca boscardin on designing toys, cities, and spaces for imagination

luca boscardin discusses how play shapes cities and learning

Luca Boscardin doesn’t believe play belongs only to childhood. Across toys, playgrounds, books, and public installations, his work explores play as a way of thinking that invites curiosity. Whether through Archiville, a cardboard city with no instructions, or Animal Factory, his growing family of abstract animal structures produced by Magis, Boscardin creates open-ended objects that leave room for interpretation.

After studying architecture in Venice before moving into graphic design, Boscardin gradually realized that what interested him was creating the conditions for imagination to flourish. Today, alongside his work as a designer, illustrator, and educator, he collaborates with institutions including Palazzo Grassi, La Triennale, Arte Sella, and Museo Pecci while continuing to explore how playful design can reshape everything from public space to education.

In conversation with designboom, Boscardin reflects on why play is more than entertainment — it is a language through which we discover ourselves, connect with others, and imagine different ways of living together.

all images courtesy of Luca Boscardin

FROM BUILDINGS TO IMAGINATION

Luca Boscardin’s path into toy design began with architecture, where he believed he could combine his love of drawing with design. ‘I first studied architecture in Venice. I chose it because I loved drawing, and I thought architecture would be the perfect place to combine creativity with design. In many ways, it was. It taught me that every project, whether it’s a building, a product or a graphic identity, begins with the same process: observing, questioning, testing and refining,’ he tells designboom. ‘I admired it, yet I struggled to find my own voice within it. I then moved to study graphic design, hoping to get closer to the kind of work I wanted to do. There, too, I learned a great deal, but I often felt constrained by the precision of grids and layouts.’

Looking back, the toy designer and illustrator sees one of his earliest projects as the moment everything clicked. Archiville, his cardboard city made of interlocking buildings, streets, trees, and public spaces, contains no instructions and no correct solution. Houses can stack on top of one another, trees can grow from rooftops, and streets can become parks. Every city is different because every child approaches it differently. Watching children build these imaginary worlds transformed his understanding of design. ‘That project marked a turning point for me. I realized I wasn’t interested in designing objects that tell people what to do. I wanted to create objects that invite interpretation, leave room for imagination, and allow every child to invent their own way of playing,’ the designer shares. ‘Since then, play has become not just the subject of my work, but the design language through which I explore creativity, relationships and the way we experience the world.’

Animal Factory uses abstract animal forms to encourage multiple interpretations

THE POWER OF OPEN-ENDED PLAY

For Boscardin, the most successful play environments encourage possibility.‘The best playful environments don’t tell you how to play—they make you feel that you can,’ he notes. The designer believes playful environments should consist of open-ended structures and materials that children can interpret however they choose. ‘Every child arrives with different interests, abilities and ideas, and a playful environment should be able to welcome all of them.’ Without instructions, children begin inventing their own rules, negotiating with one another, collaborating, and discovering unexpected possibilities. ‘That’s when play becomes most meaningful. It encourages creativity, but it also creates opportunities for interaction, because children negotiate, collaborate and learn from one another as they play,’ the designer explains. Freedom, however, only exists when people feel secure enough to explore. ‘A playful environment should provide a sense of security without becoming restrictive. When children and adults feel comfortable, they are more willing to explore, take small risks, experiment and surprise themselves.’

a minimal steel structure can become a playground, meeting point, or everyday object

WHY PLAY DOESN’T END WITH CHILDHOOD

Although Luca Boscardin designs primarily for children, he doesn’t see play as something we outgrow.

‘I don’t think play belongs to a particular age. It’s a mindset,’ he tells us. Children naturally improvise, reinterpret objects, and invent new possibilities, but adults often lose touch with those instincts as routines and expectations take over everyday life. ‘I don’t believe we lose our capacity to play as we grow older. It’s still there, but our lives become increasingly shaped by efficiency, routines and expectations. We spend less time exploring without a purpose, making mistakes, or doing something simply because we’re curious about what might happen,’ the designer highlights. For Boscardin, play is valuable precisely because it resists certainty. ‘Play is the opposite of certainty, and I truly think it’s valuable at any age. It encourages us to remain open, to experiment, and to see familiar things from unexpected perspectives,’ Perhaps, he suggests, the challenge isn’t relearning how to play. ‘Perhaps the challenge isn’t learning how to play again, but giving ourselves permission—and creating environments—that make play feel possible,’ he adds.

play structures become part of everyday public space

WHEN FUNCTION MEANS POSSIBILITY

Whether designing a toy, a chair, or a public installation, Boscardin begins every project in much the same way: by observing, researching, sketching, testing, and refining. What changes is the definition of function itself. ‘Play is itself a function,’ the designer says. ‘The function of play is not to produce a result, but to produce possibilities.’ Unlike furniture, whose success depends on fulfilling a specific purpose, toys succeed by remaining open to interpretation. ‘A chair is successful when it fulfils a very specific purpose. A toy, on the other hand, is successful when it can be interpreted in many different ways. Its function isn’t to guide the user towards a single outcome, but to invite exploration, imagination and surprise,’ he continues.

This thinking extends to materials as well. Boscardin considers not only how something looks, but how it feels in the hand, the sound it makes when dropped, whether it can be stacked, squeezed, or explored through touch. He believes the object is only half complete until someone begins interacting with it. ‘I like to think that I design objects that need the magic of play to come alive. Without someone imagining, exploring and interacting with them, they are simply unfinished. It is play that completes the design.’

the giraffe preserves the proportions of the animal while remaining intentionally abstract

rethinking cities through play

Luca Boscardin sees the same philosophy extending beyond toys into public space. ‘Public spaces shouldn’t only be designed to move people efficiently from one place to another. They should also invite people to stay, to meet, to observe, to play, to rest, to invent,’ he reflects. His Animal Factory project reflects this thinking through minimalist animal forms that become playgrounds, meeting places, workout equipment, or bicycle racks depending on how people choose to engage with them. At the same time, Boscardin argues that playful cities require more than playgrounds — they require trust. ‘As adults, we often feel the need to supervise, direct and control children’s every movement. But giving them the freedom to explore, make decisions and take small risks is an essential part of growing up. Design can support that by creating environments that feel both adventurous and safe,’ the designer points out. While speaking with designboom from Amsterdam, where he lived for fourteen years before returning to Italy, he reflects on how differently children experience the city. ‘Every time I return, I’m reminded how much this city is designed around people rather than cars. It’s not just something I notice as a designer—it’s something my children constantly point out. They love moving around by bike, discovering playgrounds with sand and water, and feeling free to explore.’

One recent afternoon stayed with him. ‘A few days ago, I was sitting in a café with friends while our children played together in the sand nearby. We could talk, they could play independently, and everyone shared the same public space naturally. It felt almost utopian—not because it was extraordinary, but because it showed how thoughtful design can quietly shape everyday life.’ For Boscardin, this is where playful design has its greatest potential. ‘The future of playful design is not simply adding more playgrounds, but creating cities where play becomes part of daily life, and where public space encourages freedom, curiosity and human connection for everyone.’

reimagining public furniture, play, and urban infrastructure

protecting curiosity

If there is one place where playful design could make the greatest difference, Boscardin believes it is the classroom.

‘If play is one of the most natural ways we learn, then schools are the place where playful design could have the greatest impact.’ The designer argues that schools should accommodate different ways of learning. ‘I’d love to see schools designed as places that nurture different interests and ways of thinking. Spaces that encourage collaboration as much as concentration, that value making as much as listening, and that allow children to move, explore and discover rather than simply receive information,’ he suggests, adding, however, that design alone cannot transform education. ‘We also need teachers and educators who are supported, flexible and empowered to embrace different approaches to learning. The environment and the people who inhabit it should work together.’

For Boscardin, playful design is about protecting something that children already possess naturally. ‘For me, playful design isn’t about making things childish. It’s about creating the conditions for curiosity to flourish. If schools could preserve that natural curiosity instead of gradually replacing it with the fear of making mistakes, I think we’d all benefit—not only as students, but as future adults,’ the designer concludes.

playful urban elements invite movement, interaction, and spontaneous encounters

a balancing structure transforms movement into an open-ended play experience

children explore a landscape of geometric wooden forms

encouraging collaborative play through modular architectural elements

children create their own landscapes and stories

project info:

designer: Luca Boscardin | @lucaboscardin_bluc

This interview is part of designboom’s PLAY chapter, exploring what would happen if form didn’t follow function, but pleasure. Discover more stories that celebrate joy, imagination and playfulness here.

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