Race the Future
A parkour storytelling game designed, developed and built in 72 hours.
72 Hour Urban Action is an Israeli organization that organizes international contests for architects and designers: in 72 hours 10 people have to get to know each other and design and build an intervention in a specific public space.
Thanks to a collaboration with Invisible Playground, in 2014 a special edition of the contest was launched–72 Hours Urban Interactions, an interactional competition for playful installations in public space.
It was a really unique opportunity for us to meet amazing people and have a crazy experience.
We applied with a stellar team which included Anna Foresio, an architect specialized in interior tailor made furniture, Claudio Pesoli, historic CriticalCity player with special building skills and MariaTeresa Paolicelli, our right arm during the Basilicata Border Games as well as creative processes facilitator and true force of nature.
We were selected and waiting for us was a week in Witten, Ruhr, Germany, Northern Europe.
We had a fantastic team and the organization of the event was perfect.
Collaboration between French, German, American, designers, engineers, craftsmen, teachers and artists made for an incredible mix of skills and people who, in just 72 hours, generated Race the Future.
The competition judges defined a narrative parkour; in practice it was a mix between Twister and Hopscotch which made you walk as if undergoing the different stages of life: you start crawling as a child and you end up leaning on a cane as an old man.
A two player game, each player starts at the opposite side, follows a specific footprint color track, occasionally crossing with the other player and being the first to reach the end of the track and ring a bell.
All those who played had a blast, even the judges of the competition.
Eric Zimmermann is perhaps one of the most important gurus in the Game Design world (here a video where he plays Race the Future).
The jury decided to reward our project as the best overall, as it mixed the public space needs with those of the game in addition to being an installation that was organically inserted in the space that we had been assigned.
It was amazing to encounter many people, generate tons of energy and build together Race the Future.
Credits
Race the future, a narrative parkour experience.
Created by Herdecke Sawhorses.
Produced by 72 Hours Urban Interactions.
Pictures by Anna Foresio and others