Theatre Structures

It was Frei Otto’s conviction that people have a gene for construction and building. If this holds as true as the notion of homo ludens, man as player, it’s a shame and astonishing that so few architecture games exist. High time, then, for "Theatre Structures – A card game for all lovers of architecture and culture” to enter the scene. The “card game” by Edition Detail x 2 is actually a memory one, and a special one at that. Instead of trying to pair up identical motifs, as usual in memory games, the task set by Detail x 2 is to match photos of theatre structures all over the world completed in the past ten years– such as the Elbphilharmonie by Herzog & de Meuron, the Guangzhou Opera House by Zaha Hadid and the Copenhagen Concert Hall by Atelier Jean Nouvel – to the respective sectional views or floor plans.

In other words, to play this game you don’t need a photographic memory but mainly the ability to recognise which plan refers to which building, and vice versa.  To make the game even more attractive, the synapses that in children are twice as well connected as in us adults and that leave us frustrated and looking old in usual memory games, are no great help with the photos and drawings shown on the 9 x 9 cm cards.   So it’s only fair to play the “Theatre Structures” game with colleagues – plus you’ll have the additional benefit of being able to talk shop afterwards and discuss the architects of the chosen structures. Structural engineering and acoustic design details, further technical plans, as well as use, gross floor area, number of seats and year of completion are all listed on an enclosed poster, along with information on where to find respective reviews and descriptions in print issues of Detail.  In other words, a memory game with a difference and the promise of fun and success.