A Beyond the Box event for the London Festival of Architecture 2025.

Together, we’ll explore how cultural institutions and organisations can embed co-design principles to create more inclusive, responsive, and engaging public spaces. Through live case studies and honest reflections, we’ll examine the opportunities, challenges, and real-world impact of working with young people to activate cultural spaces and shift power dynamics.

From bold design ideas to new ways of working, hear directly from cultural leaders and the young co-designers shaping our cities, museums, and civic environments.

Speakers & panelists:

• Hadrian Garrard – Director, William Morris Gallery

• Philippa Simpson – Director of Buildings and Renewal, Barbican Centre

• Neil Onions – Director, Beyond the Box CIC

• Jeevan Chahal – Level 7 Architecture Apprentice, Mentor & Educator

• Carlton Fontaine-Nowell – Cultural Producer & Barbican Renewal Co-Designer

• Ifsah Chowdhury – Community-Focused Designer, Mentor & Educator

• Zhané Phillips – Architectural Student & People’s Pavilion 2023 Designer

• Jennifer Ly – Barbican Renewal & People’s Pavilion 2025 Co-Designer

This event is the first in a 3-part series curated by Beyond the Box, celebrating co-design as a powerful tool for inclusion, imagination, and systemic transformation. Together, we’ll uncover how young people, when given the tools and trust, can reimagine the environments we all share.

Spanning architecture, culture, and public space, this series brings together an intergenerational mix of young voices, industry professionals, and thought leaders. Through panels, provocations, and lived experience, we’ll ask: what does it really mean to design with, not for—and how can co-design help us build a more equitable, inspiring future?