About the project
The Architecture Explorers Trail is an interactive series of play pavilions designed for children and their families to explore the unusual architecture, hidden details and history of the Southbank Centre, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Festival of Britain.
The trail was co-designed with young people and families visiting the Southbank Centre. They dug into the Southbank Centre’s Festival of Britain archive taking inspiration of silhouettes, patterns and shapes for the trail. Through a series of creative workshops including print making and 3D collaging, the families created tiles for one of the structures, and co-designed the fabric and forms for the pop-up play pavilions.
Each pop-up is a site-specific celebration of the Festival of Britain and the stories of each place. They are designed to encourage you to notice views, explore buildings, uncover history and imagine futures.
The trail was first open during a February half term 2026 and will continue to pop up regularly during holidays.
Photo credit: Pete Woodhead, Aneta Kominiak and Matt+Fiona
