01 From Observation to a Grid

After observing the playground at different times, I wanted to compare where children and adults appeared, moved and stayed. My notes and videos contained different kinds of information, but it was difficult to compare them consistently. I therefore divided the playground into a grid to create a shared structure for analysing the three observation periods.

I divided the playground into a grid, with each cell representing a small area of the site. I used two color to mark areas where children were observed and where adults were observed. Where the two groups used the same area, the colours overlapped.

The grid recorded spatial presence rather than ownership. It helped me compare where each group appeared, but it did not by itself show how long they stayed or why they chose those areas.

02 Why into a grid?

After looking at Liang-Jung Chen’s work, I became interested in how a spreadsheet could organise information through grids, colours and data.

03 What Does the Grid Make Visible?

It helped me identify areas where the two groups appeared to use the playground differently, as well as areas where their use overlapped.

Part 2 Conclusion

The grid helped me identify recurring spatial patterns, but it could not explain what produced them. I therefore returned to the videos to examine specific behaviours and researched the playground’s design to understand the physical conditions in which those behaviours took place.