The Woodberry Down Design Studio
Something rather good is happening on our estate. Not for the first time, and, if the people behind it have their way, not for the last.
The Woodberry Down Design Studio is a programme that brings together young residents aged 13 to 19, local architects, structural engineers, furniture-makers, and a range of other built environment professionals. The young people do not just watch. They design, they build, and what they build goes up in the park for everyone to use.
What happened in 2025
Last year’s cohort went through ten skill-building workshops and produced the Woodberry Down Pavilion. That is it in the photographs — the striking timber-framed structure with the yellow and green panels, standing in the park. They analysed the site, refined the brief, developed the design through sketching, collaging and model-making, worked with a structural engineer to make sure the thing would actually stand up, and then made the benches inside it themselves.
The outcomes were rather good. All twelve participants said they had enjoyed the workshops, felt capable of talking about their surroundings, and felt better informed about careers in architecture and construction. Five of the twelve went on to secure places on courses run by the London School of Architecture, Open City, and Store Projects. Places that are highly sought-after. One in six young residents going in and one in two securing competitive follow-on places. Excellent.
What is happening in 2026
The Design Studio is coming. This year’s cohort will work with local community organisations to develop a new project for public space on Woodberry Down. The workshops are after-school, they build fundamental skills in design, engineering and making, and participants will come away with a Level 1 Foundation Project Qualification.
The programme is supported by Berkeley Group, Notting Hill Genesis, and Hackney Council. It is run in partnership with RC/YYC, the local architects who guided last year’s cohort through the whole process.
Why it matters
Woodberry Down is in the middle of one of the largest regeneration schemes in Europe. A lot of things are being decided about how this estate looks, how it functions, and who it is for. The Design Studio puts some of those decisions in the hands of the people who actually live here — or will spend their adult lives here. Twelve young people helped shape the pavilion that now stands in the park. The next cohort will shape whatever comes next.
There is also the small matter of what the programme does for the participants themselves. Architecture and construction are not industries that are easy to walk into without connections. Extra-curricular courses at leading organisations are not easy to get onto without a track record. The Design Studio provides both. That five out of twelve went on to do exactly that is not a coincidence.
How to get involved
If you know a young person aged 13 to 19 who lives on Woodberry Down and might be interested, please send an expression of interest to Grace Cleary at Notting Hill Genesis: Grace.Cleary@nhg.org.uk
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