The competition invites young people to work in partnership with professionals from the design, construction and creative arts industries to create their own temporary pavilion
Photography by Luke O’Donovan featuring People’s Pavilion 2021
Words by Shawn Adams
Creative practice Beyond The Box Consultants has recently launched their second iteration of the People’s Pavilion competition. The award-winning youth initiative gives East Londoners between the ages of 14-18 the opportunity to create an architectural installation in Waltham Forest for summer 2023.
‘Young people have little to no agency in the design and creation of their environments. We want to positively challenge who gets to lead on the curation of cultural space, through co-design and co-production.’ says founder and CEO of Beyond The Box Consultants, Neil Onions.
The previous pavilion was constructed at Here East, in the Olympic Park, however this time around the structure will be built at Patchworks in Waltham Forest. ‘Beyond the Box Consultants reinforce Patchworks’ commitment to the community and are the perfect complement to our socially-driven vision,’ says co-founder of Patchworks, Will Sandy.
Photography by Luke O’Donovan featuring People’s Pavilion 2021
The youth design competition gives young people the opportunity to learn new skills, gain vital experience and work alongside leading professionals. With the support of established designers, participants will develop and test their pavilion ideas through model-making and sketching. Teenagers must form teams of 3-4 people to enter the competition, with the winning team receiving an all-expenses paid trip to Italy to see the Venice Biennale
For the second iteration of the programme, Beyond The Box have collaborated with Scale Rule CIC, youth collective Re-fabricate. The programme is also supported by several architecture practices including Heatherwick Studio, Make, and Haworth Tompkins.
In 2021, the People’s Pavilion initiative invested £16,000 into young, emerging practices. £12,500 was invested in paid roles for young East Londoner, £7,500 in commissions to local creatives and £3,000 in paid roles for architecture students and graduates.
Photography by Kirin Sall featuring People’s Pavilion 2023 Launch Event
Throughout the programme, young people will have opportunities in music production, artist development and event organisation, helping them to explore the intersectionality of music, architecture and design. A cultural festival, produced by young people, will also take place at the pavilion when it opens in summer 2023.
Unlike many youth programmes the People’s Pavilion competition allows a young person’s design to come to life in physical form and isn’t simply a hypothetical proposal. The initiative is a fantastic opportunity and one not to be missed by young, aspiring creatives.
For more information and to sign up, please visit beyondtheboxconsultants.com
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