Young City Makers programme: Designing a Playful Future
Mille Evans and Stephanie Wong discuss their work and learnings from the Young City Makers programme as part of Open City in partnership with (ECDC) Earls Court Development Company.
Over the past few months, we’ve been part of the Young City Makers programme. The initiative introduces primary school children to the built environment sector, encouraging them to think about how they can shape their city. This year’s theme was Play
Workshop 1: Introducing Playful Architecture
We worked with Year 4 pupils at Normand Croft Community School, starting with open discussions about architecture and how it can be more playful and inclusive. The class was split into six themed groups: neighbourhood, learning, working, nature, streets, and transport – each imagining a part of their own playful city.
Workshop 2: Exploring King’s Cross
In the second workshop, we visited King’s Cross, using the six themes to guide our exploration. At Camley Street Nature Park, the children made pencil rubbings of natural textures. We crossed Regent’s Canal to Gasholders Park, where they reimagined the iconic structure and observed transport links. We passed through Coal Drops Yard, Central Saint Martins, and the new Google headquarters, all great examples of playful, multifunctional design.
Workshop 3: Designing the Playful City
In the final session, the children brought their ideas together to create the Normand Croft Playful City. Inspired by their school’s green oasis, the designs featured circular homes connected by greenery and games pitches, a vet’s clinic where animals could roam freely, lush parks with rivers for wild swimming, a fish pond for nature lessons, and a futuristic flying train hub. Everything was linked by colourful pedestrian streets – with slides instead of roads!
The programme wrapped up with a joyful awards ceremony, where Normand Croft proudly won the Model Making Award.
Participating in the Young City Makers programme was a rewarding experience. The children’s engagement and perspectives on architecture and place-making prompted us to reflect on our own design thinking.
One memorable moment was a conversation with a pupil who shared her fear of walking her siblings along car-heavy roads. It reminded us of the importance of designing safer, pedestrian-friendly streets.
Another highlight was lunch in Gasholders Park, where the children imagined butterfly gardens and summer waterparks. Their creativity reminded us to stay playful and open-minded in our own work.
