The Politics of Play: Ugo La Pietra's Design Without Ends

This article investigates the potential of play for design practice and theory. First, drawing on the works of linguist Emile Benveniste and philosopher Giorgio Agamben, I propose a theoretical understanding of play as an act capable of suspending and deactivating means-end relations. Second, I articulate what this deactivating potential of play entails for the field of design through close readings of a series of works by Italian architect, artist, and designer Ugo La Pietra. In doing so, I uncover the politics that this deactivation within design seems to point towards—a politics of play.