City Lions - Young People

If there’s one thing we’ve learned makes better buildings, it’s empathy. Architecture never happens in isolation—and simply by being interested and engaged, we’ve found it’s possible to open up the conversations that connect a scheme to its clients and community.

We believe that the more constraints there are, the better the architecture. If there aren’t any constraints, we create them. Challenging sites, existing buildings and complex briefs almost always present incredible opportunities for great design.

To limit our environmental impact, we start with what is already there. By manipulating the form and fabric of a building—whether new or existing—we can work with the existing conditions of topography, light and orientation, and harness the natural energy sources offered by air, ground and water.

If a site’s constraints guide the bigger design decisions, then it’s empathy that informs the smaller, social details. These details frame the human narratives that aren’t included in the brief, anticipating specific moments in the users’ lives.

Good architecture is as much about what happens on the building site as it is about what’s on the drawing board. By working alongside contractors as well as clients we can ring-fence the ideas and details that matter, championing quality and sustainability throughout construction.

City Lions - Young People

Work Studio Activity News Contact

Work

City Lions - Young People
London

Client

City Lions

In line with our core values and interest in making social impact, we initiated a collaborative work with the young people of City Lions a charity based in Westminster working with young people to transform their life through arts and therapy. We directly engaged with a particular group of people, within the age of 13-16 year old.

In an online evening talk we presented the practice’s recent work which quickly led the young participants to ask questions about construction techniques, functionality, environment and architectural education. The evening was embellished with a quiz about our Revitalise Peckham Rye project and also some quick drawing exercises to gradually introduce the next step of the project.

This led to planned walks around Westminster, visits to the BBC and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) with students drawing, observing and identifying buildings on the walk