In Midtown, MODA exhibit highlights just how fun a city can be

For workers in the high-rises lining Peachtree Street, Atlanta can seem like little more than a bastion for commerce, teeming with business, and leaving little room for fun.

But a new exhibition at Midtown’s Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) hopes to frame modern cities in a different context.

Designing Playful Cities opened last week, featuring interactive installations that highlight how play can be integrated into the urban environment. (Chattanooga’s “Cardboard Hill” is a good example in this region that jumps to mind).

While incorporating playfulness may seem like something meant for kids, the exhibition showcases how day-to-day life in cities can be made more engaging and entertaining for all people.

Thomas Mayer

More than 30 projects are highlighted in the exhibition, ranging from small installations to larger interventions, filling underutilized urban zones with interactive components.

Pieces range from a corridor created from colorful soft tubes, called Delirious Frites, to images of a towering concrete slide that brings liveliness to the town of Beringen in Belgium.

The exhibit lasts until April, and MODA is open Tuesday through Sunday at 17th and Peachtree streets. Ticket discounts are available for those who walk, bike, or take transit to the museum.

And who knows? This just might inspire ideas for creative, playful use of public spaces around Atlanta.

Benoit Meeus

Robin Dupuis

• Designing Playful Cities [MODA]