Gamified Urbanism

Thaddeus Lee

Master of Architecture Candidate

01    /    INTRODUCTION

During our visit to LuxeLaakes in Chengdu, China, We were asked to address a challenge faced by the development, but also one that is increasingly common elsewhere in China; empty, new urban developments sometimes nicknamed as “Golden Ghost Cities”. In spite of the significant amount of money and effort invested by the developer Chengdu Widehorizon in the high-end neighborhoods and the “Luxe” brand, the physical environment seemed underutilized. Without the people inhabiting it, all that effort put into developing public spaces and liveable neighborhoods would simply go to waste.

To attract more people to want to visit, and more importantly, live in LuxeLakes, we started to believe that Chengdu Widehorizon needs an entirely novel change in strategy. After one particularly long day of site visits, we stumbled upon this eureka moment; what if we thought of this entire development as a game? All the parts seemed to be there, a mascot, the “themepark” nature of parts of the development, and branding of it ... From there, we found ourselves inspired by the world of gaming and a whole slew of related topics, from mascots and the soft power of cuteness, to the rapid advancement and adoption of technology in the everyday in China, to the seemingly inevitable merging of the digital and physical.

We hope to inspire a rethinking of how this “Golden Ghost City” problem that is common in China, and even across Asia, might be solved by games! We believe that the built environment can learn a lot from game design, particularly in its ability to attract interaction and create experiences that are fun, addictive, and shared. We are defining “gamified urbanism” as an approach that builds a sense of community and connectedness through playful interactions with the virtual and the physical.

02   /   REPORT

03   /   PRESENTATION