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THE LONDON FESTIVAL of Architecture in
June is always a great excuse to dip into a
whole assortment of issues relating to the built
environment. It is testament to the richness and
vitality of London’s architectural community
(as well as the skills of the organisers) that you
could, if you wanted, be out at multiple events,
seminars and installations every night of the
week and every weekend for the festival’s
month-long duration.
This year’s top pick for me was a workshop
on co-designing with children, called Don’t
Play With Our Future, hosted by Feilden
Fowles at its Oasis Farm, Waterloo, site – an
educational and food-growing/rearing space
designed for inner London children and the
local community (see feature on Feilden
Fowles’ office FX302). Fiona MacDonald of
educational architectural activists Matt + Fiona
articulated the key issues nicely. She observedWhen young people are
truly brought into the design
process, the results can be
transformational – not just
for the project in question,
but for its participants.
Veronica Simpson hears
about some of the challenges
and benefits of co-designing
with children and teenagers
BRIEF ENCOUNTERSRight This ‘den cum shelter
cum classroom’ was designed
by a group of Hull teenagers
with the help of Matt + FionaFRENCH+TYE