What do the designs of a public green and a private backyard show about the intended purpose of each space? You can learn a lot about a space and its intended purpose by looking at how and where they were built, and what kind of objects are either built, placed, or grown there. The two locations that I chose are the Public green (aka a commons or park) in my home city. And my personal backyard, including a pavilion, trees, and a pool. Both locations have similarities and differences, some obvious, some less so.

One of the biggest similaritys is also one that some people may look over because it seems so obvious. That being that both are places for activities and events, such as parties. Maybe in slightly different ways but they still serve the same purpose. In my backyard there are a few things that make this evident. The first is the pavilion or party barn. It has a fire place, a grill, and an open area to play games like small court pickle ball and dry hockey. A pavilion has been mainstream for events and parties for the past at least 300 years or so, the oldest examples come from Asea almost 2,200 ago. The second place that proves that these areas are both used for activities and events is the above ground pool. Pools have been a popular event in the United States ever since pools became mainstream in the 1920s.

Now to switch over to the public commons area. The most obvious objects that pop out at you almost immediately are the various games scattered around, including: corn hole, ping pong, chess/checkers, and foosball. All of these games are very common pass times for United States Citizens. Games like Cornhole and Ping pong appear at just about every major event or get togeather in modern sociaty. The fact that these are built and fixed down in this location may incourage people to host events here rather than bring and set up there own cornhole and Ping pong.

Even though these locations are made fore essentially the same reason there are some obvious differences. The Detail with the biggest effect on the scene and appeal is the location. My backyard is surrounded by open fields and woods with no close neigbors or buildings. This offers more appeal to some people because of the lack of sound pollution and the better veiw. The public commons is surrounded by small restarounts and buildings, on one end there is a parking garage making it easier to park without your car being in the way, and it is located directly next to a local burger joint and an ampetheater witha stage. The surrounding buildings may be a deal breaker for some people because of how they block the view but the contrary the surrounding locations add more to do and a more accessible location for watch partys etc…

The last small detail that differentiates the two locations is the grass. Did you notice it? The grass in my backyard is real meaning it will change with the seasons and must be maintained, however the grass in the commons is turf, requiring zero maintenance and it does not change across the seasons.