V&A Innovate Overall Winners for 2023-24, Central Foundation Girls’ School, went with V&A Schools & Colleges team members to Peckham-based architecture firm Kennedy Woods as their workshop prize. The student group had responded to the theme of ‘Play’ in reinterpreting a playground as a multi-use and sustainable space for varied members of their local Tower Hamlets community.
Kennedy Woods Architecture is a certified B Corp architecture firm that has a strong focus on community consultation in their designs, often for spaces used by schools, young people and families – a fantastic match for the student group, aiming to regenerate and revive their local area in inclusive and engaging ways. Central Foundation students had the chance to walk around the bright and leafy studio and examine mood boards, models and plans of past and current projects. They met Kennedy Woods studio staff like Co-Founder and Director Tom, Architects Delia and Clare and Architectural Assistant Alex, and had the opportunity to delve deeper into the daily life and career progression of architects, asking burning questions about work experience, university and even salary!
After sharing more detail about their own Innovate National Design Competition-winning playground idea and their design and thought processes, the students had the opportunity to take their prototype, drawings and plans to the next level. They worked alongside KWA staff as ‘Creative Directors’ to clarify and expand upon their playground designs through developing a concept (highlighting colour, materials, community and sustainability), site plan schematic and a 3D view. The student group sampled CAD software and SketchUp as well as Pinterest to create their work, and they plan to use the finished products to strengthen the case for recreational space regeneration that they are presenting to the Mayor of Tower Hamlets and council members.
Students said: ‘I was expecting today to just be lectures, this was fun!’ and about their finished work, ‘it looks so good, I can’t believe it, I’m so happy’, with their teacher saying ‘this is the best trip out we’ve had, it was so worth it’.
REGISTER TO TAKE PART
The 2024-25 Innovate National Schools Challenge is now open for registration and entry submissions from student groups in years 7, 8 and 9 from state schools in England. This year’s themes are Belong, Transform and Celebrate, and a theme inspiration pack as well as Teacher and Student Toolkits to help with the design journey and submitting entries are now on the V&A website. Teachers wanting to ask questions or get support or inspiration for themselves and students can sign up for free webinars and online CPDs in September, October, November and December 2024 – more details and booking here.
For more information, visit the Innovate page on our website.
#InnovateVAM
