Airsoft Games as a Way of Reusing Post-military Areas

Abstract

The paper presents the results of a study on preservation of military facilities conducted in 2013 and 2014 at the Faculty of Architecture at Poznan University of Technology. The study focused on the issue of reusing and preserving former historic military buildings. The objective of the study was to verify the possibilities of adapting military areas located in the Wielkopolskie Voivodeship for the organization of games which more or less employ military tactics. The paper introduces a definition of paramilitary sports, which was created for the purpose of the author's doctoral dissertation. The results of the analysis of current trends in developing land for the purpose of Airsoft games are also presented. The data from the analysis were is an expert method applied to create a theoretical model of paramilitary sports. The model was then used to evaluate the former military facilities with respect to their adaption for Airsoft games. In correlation with the historic value of the analyzed facilities, the results of the evaluation allowed the author to produce a list of sites of military architecture in the Wielkopolskie Voivodeship that present great potential for the above mentioned purposes. The paper concludes that the theoretical model for paramilitary sports centers is an efficient tool for evaluating the suitability of prospective locations for Airsoft games and helps to properly develop the area in terms of its functionality and spatial lay-out. The results of the study proved that the model can be applied to all former military facilities in Poland that remain un-adapted. The study also presents the outcome of cooperation of the Faculty with the Military Academy of Land Forces in Poznan, and with the Poznanczycy Group, which maintains one of the Prussian bomb shelters in Poznan.