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Article: LDA and MATT+FIONA collaborate with youth group on HS2 ‘meanwhile use’ community garden, Building Design, August 2024

Podcast: Shawn Adams of POoR Collective on effective consultation and engagement, RIBA Journal, August 2024

Article: How Essex teenagers are shaping their community with a little help from MATT+FIONA, Building Design, August 2024

Article: The Rubble Garden, Architecture Today, August 2024

Article: So you reckon you are co-designing? Really?, Architect’s Journal, October 2023

Article: Design News, The Guardian, March 2023

Article: Why we need foundational change in how we engage young people with the built environment, Building Design, November 2022

Article: MATT+FIONA picked for latest Kew treehouse commission_Architects Journal_April 2022

Article: Rejuvenation feature, Financial Times, February 2022

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In the spirit of genuine co-design, the Essex Youn

In the spirit of genuine co-design, the Essex Young Designers - the group of young people aged 13 to 19 who are contributing their lived experience, local knowledge and imagination to the Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community (TCBGC) - have been invited to design a permanent element for Phase 1 of the scheme.

In the first design workshop of this chapter, we explored ideas for the landmark brief, ‘A Place to Meet’, through elevational drawings. What can a meeting place be, who will use it, does it include shelter or seating, what materials it might be made of? We then moved on to working in plan, collaging fabric to indicate where the designs could go within the garden community.

Emerging ideas include sheltered seating for meeting friends, and potentially the addition of sports equipment and natural play.

We were joined by Sandy and Caitlin from @periscope_uk and Hana from @hat_projects who provided invaluable insight into Phase 1 of the TCBGC, and helped the EYD develop their designs.

The Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community is a joint project between Tendring District Council, Colchester City Council and Essex County Council. It is a planned new community, centred on Garden Community principles. Latimer by Clarion Housing Group @latimer and Mersea Homes are the joint delivery partners. @matt_and_fiona are supporting with the in-depth and genuine involvement of young people, and the Essex Young Designers are led by our Programme Manager, George Pope @georgepope227

📸 by @jshmulevitch

#youthengagement #codesign #gardencommunity #northessex

We are excited to be working with Waltham Forest C

We are excited to be working with Waltham Forest Council @lbwalthamforest to support local primary school children at Mission Grove Primary School to co-design play elements in the new Play Street proposed for Mission Grove, just off Walthamstow High Street.

We are leading a series of workshops throughout October and November 2024 to determine those needs, joined by staff from the design team and Waltham Forest Council.

Workshop 1, designing through collage, has made clear that the children of Mission Grove Primary School are keen on elements that will allow them to play and move from one area to the other, therefore making ‘play on the move’ essential. We can’t wait to see what the young designers come up with next!

The project is part of the council’s wider Government Funded (Levelling Up Fund) ‘Walthamstow Culture for All’ Programme to improve safety, greening, inclusiveness, and accessibility in the town centre.

More information about the programme is available here: Walthamstow Culture for All https://talk.walthamforest.gov.uk/walthamstow-culture-for-all

#playstreet #playontheway #walthamforest #youngdesigners #codesign

We’re delighted to welcome Eve Nixon @evie_nix_

We’re delighted to welcome Eve Nixon @evie_nix_ to the team as our new Office Manager and Assistant Programme Manager ✨

Eve has built up an impressively diverse skill set, both inside and outside the world of architecture. Studying architecture at Manchester University and @lsofarch, she previously worked at the community engagement focused architecture practice @_newpractice

She has spent her time outside of practice organising large scale architecture events, helping to bring 400 young architecture students to Sheffield for two weeks in the summer of 2023, as part of @easacommons European Architecture Students Assembly (EASA) Commons. The event explored self-initiation of community projects, partnering 20 workshops with different community groups across the city.

We’re excited to be working with her! Please join us in welcoming Eve to the team 🤗

Co-design with young people on a whole new scale!

Co-design with young people on a whole new scale! Young designers at Oasis Academy Southbank have been on site at @bywaterproperties Paradise Building in Lambeth viewing the tiles they co-designed with the building’s architects, @fcbstudios

MATT+FIONA supported the young people to co-design the ceramic façade through a series of workshops two year ago, and we organised for them to come back last week to see it going up on site! For many it was their first time on a building site, and they took it in their stride.

The project was instigated by visionary sustainable developer, Bywater Properties, who see outreach, community engagement and co-design as a key part each of their projects. In this instance, the building overlooks a local park for the young people, so it felt important that the pupils should have a say in the design of the building’s façade.

We can’t wait to see the whole façade once the scaffolding comes down early next year!

Reflecting on the project, one of the students said: “I Feel like it was an awesome time because it showed me how to do architecture,” and another: “Architecture is cool because it shows and gives you new experience.”

Photographs by Nick Turpin

@bywaterproperties @fcbstudios @webbyates @gilbertashnews

Dazzling! ✨ ⚡️ First stage of the @gosh_arts

Dazzling! ✨ ⚡️
First stage of the @gosh_arts Safe Streets project coming to life 💥 Children from Great Ormond Street Hospital @greatormondst Coram Fields and the Holborn Community Association designed these eye catching posters and signs to make everyone aware of the upcoming construction works for the new Children’s Cancer Hospital that will be built over the next 5 years.

If you’re in the area you might need to wear your 😎

📸 and project led by @jshmulevitch / Project instigated by @carojmoore @gosh_arts

#greatormondstreethospital #greatormondstreet #graphics #designedbychildren #safestreets #dazzle

Playing with light, shape and colour: the panels f

Playing with light, shape and colour: the panels for the Euston Playspace, designed and built by the young people at Fitzrovia Youth Action @fyaonroad .

These will attach to the structure they’ve designed in the meanwhile garden designed by @ldadesign and @integral_engineering_design for @hs2ltd

We can’t wait to see how they reflect and come to life, and create illusions in the garden for performance and play ✨

#shadesofblue #patternandlight #youthdesign #playspace #codesign #cobuild

BUILD WEEK What a team ✨ The fantastic young d

BUILD WEEK

What a team ✨ The fantastic young designers at Fitzrovia Youth Action @fyaonroad seamlessly turned their skills to building last week, making all the elements that will make up the Euston Playspace on Euston Road, designed in conjunction with @ldadesign for the meanwhile garden on the @hs2ltd site. One of the young designers and makers has already confirmed themselves a place on an apprenticeship! 😌

A big thank you to all the volunteers from @fyaonroad @ldadesign @hs2ltd @macegroup @jesticowhiles @buro_happold plus @rufusrufusrufusrufusrufus and @nunn_dominic and especially to the Project Lead, @jshmulevitch supported by @chloehyl and @georgepope227

The playspace and meanwhile garden will open this autumn!

📸 by @jshmulevitch

#buildweek #playspace #designandbuild #youthengagement #build #design #play

Introducing our latest BUILD BADGE for our summer

Introducing our latest BUILD BADGE for our summer build, kicking off today 💥

This week young people from Fitzrovia Youth Action @fyaonroad will be building the play space they’ve designed for a meanwhile garden on Euston Road. We hope they and the volunteers from @ldadesign @hs2ltd @macegroup @integral_engineering_design @jesticowhiles and @buro_happold have a super week! 👷🏾👷🏼‍♂️👷🏿‍♀️👷🏾‍♂️👷🏻‍♀️

Watch this space and keep an eye on our stories for updates 🔨🪚✏️📐

Huge thanks to the team for making this happen @jshmulevitch @georgepope227 @chloehyl

Badge design based on the young people’s design, by the talented @aggie_fielding

#build #playspace #buildweek #finalcountdown #vounteers #thankyou #codesign #communitybuilding

Are you looking for a new challenge this summer?

Are you looking for a new challenge this summer?

Our new Office Manager & Programme Manager position is a dual role, requiring a dual skill set:

1. Overseeing the processes and operations to ensure the organisation is run efficiently and effectively;

2. Working alongside our other programme managers on project development, management and delivery to ensure young people have a say in shaping their built environment. This requires experience in architectural design and outreach with young people.

Only candidates with relevant experience in both of these areas will be considered. For full details, follow the link in our bio.

Closing date: midnight Sunday 1 September 2024

We’d be very grateful if you’d share this role with your networks 🙏

#hiring #newrole

Play takes lift off! What’s privilege to be allo

Play takes lift off! What’s privilege to be allowed to fill the @designmuseum atrium last week with collective imaginings on shadow play. Thank you @ashley_mccormick_projects for inviting us to be part of your celebration of the International Day of Play on 7th August, wonderful to collaborate with you, @avniavniavni00 @milapvarela @leasherr and the rest of the brilliant learning team.

We completely agree with the reflections of Tim Marlow, CEO at the @designmuseum on what you curated:

“I wanted to say how wonderful the museum felt yesterday in spite of the political tensions around the country. Play Day was so uplifting and energising and so impressive. Thank you and your team for all the work you did and the impact it clearly had. We talk about animating our building and driving momentum around the transformative power of design… and Play Day did just that.”

Thank you for leading this project @chloehyl, to @lucyeccles90 and @mpaola.b for ensuring the many visitors got see their ideas take flight, and, as ever, to our in-house knot expert and all round magician Matt for ensuring it stayed afloat despite being over 50 miles away at Land Sky Water!

Oh and swipe right to see our new Chief of Mischief ✨

Photos by Richard Heald Photography

WATER // One of the three ‘Land Sky Water’ ins

WATER // One of the three ‘Land Sky Water’ installations created by the Essex Young Designers, April - August ‘24

Putting the longterm ideas for regenerative design for the Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community into action in installations at @bethchattogardens

Water collects rainwater in its base and transfers it upwards via a hand pump to create a gentle waterfall down the planting beds 💦🌱🌿🍃

Land Sky Water has been a wonderful opportunity to bring the ideas for the garden community to life. We are blown away by what the 14 to 18 year old designer-makers have achieved. A very special project led by @georgepope227 with Matt, and supported by the rest of the team @jshmulevitch @chloehyl @ella_markes

If you’re visiting Beth Chatto Gardens, do go and experience Land Sky Water for yourself 🌾✨

@latimer @bethchattogardens

SKY // One of the three ‘Land Sky Water’ insta

SKY // One of the three ‘Land Sky Water’ installations created by the Essex Young Designers, April - August ‘24

Putting the longterm ideas for regenerative design for the Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community into action in installations at @bethchattogardens

Sky creates beautiful shadow play above, whilst providing seating and a place to pause below 🔭

Land Sky Water has been a wonderful opportunity to bring the ideas for the garden community to life. We are blown away by what the 14 to 18 year old designer-makers have achieved. A very special project led by @georgepope227 with Matt, and supported by the rest of the team @jshmulevitch @chloehyl @ella_markes plus volunteers from @jesticowhiles and @buro_happold

If you’re visiting Beth Chatto Gardens, do go and experience Land Sky Water for yourself 🌾✨

@latimer @bethchattogardens

LAND // One of the three ‘Land Sky Water’ inst

LAND // One of the three ‘Land Sky Water’ installations created by the Essex Young Designers, April - August ‘24

Putting the longterm ideas for regenerative design for the Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community into action in installations at @bethchattogardens

Land creates a planted seasonal clock, with each bed flowering in subsequent seasons ⏰ 🌺🌸🌼🌻

Land Sky Water has been a wonderful opportunity to bring the ideas for the garden community to life. We are blown away by what the 14 to 18 year old designer-makers have achieved. A very special project led by @georgepope227 with Matt, and supported by the rest of the team @jshmulevitch @chloehyl @ella_markes

If you’re visiting Beth Chatto Gardens, do go and experience Land Sky Water for yourself 🌾✨

@latimer @bethchattogardens

A first ✨ Traffic Marshall outfits designed by c

A first ✨ Traffic Marshall outfits designed by children. As part of the Great Ormond Street Hospital Safe Streets initiative, we and @gosh_arts have been helping children at the hospital and those who live in the local area to design the hi vis traffic marshal clothing the construction workers will wear. Their design will be worn by the team later this summer.

A very special project initiated by @carojmoore. The first of these workshops took place last summer with children at Corams Fields and the Holborn Community Association led by @lucillustrates_ and @georgepope227. @jshmulevitch has been developing their designs since to ensure the final outfit is both true to what the children think is eye catching, whilst being H&S compliant. No easy task!

Watch this space or head to the streets around @greatormondst later this summer to see these unique traffic marshal outfits come to life 👷🏾👷🏿‍♂️👷🏻‍♀️

#hivis #firstofitskind #greatormondstreet

The beautiful exposed structure and playful mirror

The beautiful exposed structure and playful mirrors of the Euston play space, designed by members of Fitzrovia Youth Action @fyaonroad. Less than 2 weeks now until the mega build!

Models are a key way, we find, of ensuring fluency and transparency at each stage of the design process, ensuring everyone sees their ideas in what they finally build 🍬 📏 ✏️ 🖥️ ✂️ 📦 🪵 🔨

Scale model brought together by @jshmulevitch and @ella_markes

#playspace #pocketpark #codesign

How often do we see young people’s thoughts on t

How often do we see young people’s thoughts on their built environment in print? Thank you to @_bdonline_ and journalist Mary Richardson for giving a platform to the 14 to 18 year old Essex Young Designers to share their views on where they live and how it could be changed for the better.

This group of young designers work alongside the wider Tendring Colchester Border Garden Community design team including @haworthtompkins @kjellandersjoberg @grounded_practice and @periscope_uk to ensure the next generation’s unique perspective is prioritised alongside that of adults and professionals.

In this piece they and @georgepope227 - our Strategic Development Manager who leads on this project - explain why it’s so important for young people to be listened to, and the positive impact projects like this have on their lives. Frankie (16) on the contribution they make: “An open and fresh mind. We haven’t been through training or things like that, which condition you to think, ‘This is how things are. This is how things work. We’ll stick to this.’ So, we’re able to push the boundaries.”

In the words of Russ Edwards, Project Director for the Garden Community and advocate for the important role the next generation play: “Young people are optimists, altruists and environmentalists - and they have a critical role in holding our consultant design team and ourselves to account in delivering a place that meets their expectations.”

Follow the link in our bio to read the full piece.

Accompanying photos are by @dollyandfife from last week’s opening of the Rubble Garden in Colchester, where the Essex Young Designers spoke about what they hope the future holds. They also helped facilitate the workshops younger children participated in to design the meanwhile furniture for the garden.

Thank you to Amber, Frankie and Rihanna for speaking to @_bdonline_ , to @clairecurtice for making it happen, Mary Richardson, Ben Flatman & Chloe McCulloch at BD, to Michele King and Russ Edwards @latimer for raising the bar in youth engagement, and above all to @georgepope227 our visionary Strategic Development Manager.

#giveyoungpeopleavoice #essexyoungdesigners #gardencommunity

It’s sunny this morning in London, so it’s nic

It’s sunny this morning in London, so it’s nice to think about the reflections that will be made in the new Euston Road Play Space designed by young people from Fitzrovia Youth in Action @fyaonroad

The interplay of reflections means the wider garden will become part of the play and performance too 🪩🌸📐

Examples here of 1:1 ‘protobuilding’ as well as scale models, all part of the young people’s design process.

The play space and garden are being created in collaboration with @ldadesign and @integral_engineering_design , for a meanwhile space for @hs2ltd. The young designers will build their play space this summer and it’ll open to the public on Euston Road this autumn ✨🌿🐛🌳

Thanks to the team @jshmulevitch @chloehyl @ella_markes and @georgepope227

📸 by @jshmulevitch

We are in Colchester today celebrating the opening

We are in Colchester today celebrating the opening of the young-people-designed furniture in the new Rubble Garden next to @firstsitecolchester. The 11 to 14 year old designers created their unique designs for community seating and tables during last year’s summer school. Today the furniture opens to the public ✨ This forms part of our wider engagement programme for the Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community, on behalf of @latimer.

Following the young people’s prototyping, @benchprojectuk and @sharp_metalworks have beautifully fabricated the furniture to group’s collective designs. The furniture will be sited within the Rubble Garden - created by @bethchattogardens and Darryl Moore @spaceshaper - for the next few years, and will then find a permanent home within Phase 1 of the Garden Community.

Swipe to see all the young people’s furniture, and their 1:1 cardboard prototypes last summer.

Involving young people in the visioning and design of a large-scale residential project such as the Garden Community makes sense when you consider the timeframe meaning they’ll be the ones to inhabit it. Our wide-ranging youth engagement programme has reached over 300 young people across Colchester and north Essex since spring 2023, providing a platform for them to meaningfully input into the future of this 7,000-home new development.

The TCBGC summer school and meanwhile furniture creation was led by @jshmulevitch and the wider youth engagement is led by @georgepope227. Both are supported by @chloehyl.

Do drop by the garden the next time you’re in Colchester! 🌿🌾🌸🌳📐🪨

Photos 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 are by @frenchandtye and photos 3, 6, 8, 9, 10 are by @jshmulevitch

#gardenfurniture #nextgeneration #rubblegarden #gardencommunity #colchester #tendring

Finally we can share that for the past year we hav

Finally we can share that for the past year we have been working with the truly amazing children, young people and teams at @gosh_arts at @greatormondst hospital on a very special co-design project.

The main entrance to the hospital and the Frontage building have now closed to make way for a new main entrance and Children’s Cancer Centre, which will be built in the coming years.

To prepare for the deconstruction and building works, Camden Council have made changes to the road layout on Great Ormond Street to ensure that construction vehicles can safely navigate Great Ormond and the surrounding the streets.

@gosh_arts wanted to bring attention to these changes in a creative way to help make sure that everyone who visits Great Ormond Street and the neighbouring streets stays safe. We have therefore been supporting them to ensure children at the hospital as well as those living in the area have been fully involved in the design of these new pieces in the public realm.

The outputs are twofold. First up: A series of posters and vinyls will line the surrounding streets to grab passers’ by attention. The posters were developed in collaboration with the GOSH Young People’s Forum and with patients on the wards. During group and one to one workshops, the children and young people created patterns, inspired by standard road markings, but which experimented with scale, typography and form to create distinct designs.

Watch this space to see how these translate into a series of twelve individual posters and vinyls… Aaaand next week we’ll reveal the other key output, which is a first for us, and a new way through which we are very excited to see young people shaping their environment.

Huge thanks must go to all the children and young people at GOSH and their families, the visionary Head of Learning @gosh_arts Caroline Moore @carojmoore and our Programme Manager Jon Shmulevitch @jshmulevitch as well as the rest of the team.

#GOSH #newcancercentre #safestreets #greatormondstreethospital #lookout #goslow #markmaking #pattern #codesign

A place to play, or a place to perform? Stunning

A place to play, or a place to perform?

Stunning proposals by young people at @fyaonroad for the meanwhile garden in Euston 🌳🌸🎪🎬

Working with @ldadesign and @hs2ltd the young people will be building their space this summer for an autumn opening. Watch this space ✨

Workshop led by @jshmulevitch

#spaceforyoungpeople #meanwhilegarden #playspace #performancespace #collage

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