Sense and Sensibility

Written as part of a PATH training session in 2004 or thereabouts, this piece asks us to think about the sensual impact of the playspaces we are creating for our children.
We have professionals skilled in designing the atmospheres of spaces, at engineering the smells of coffee and bread to make us feel nostalgic, we can choreograph mood using lighting. We can make the mouth water by using chemicals to turn greyish lumps of stuff into a rainbow of colours and a bouquet of smells that sell themselves in sweet shops.
How come we are so dense about the way we use indoor spaces for play? I am not talking about spending a small fortune on a sensory room. They are overpriced and offer a quick solution which is usually used to replace any real creativity of thought or experience reducing children to the role of passive receptors of the experience.