Youth at the Helm: Shaping Public Spaces Through Co-Design

Youth at the Helm: Shaping Public Spaces Through Co-Design

Event Description

Set against the backdrop of Beyond the Box’s much-anticipated People’s Pavilion 2025, opening this summer at the William Morris Gallery, join us for this dynamic event that explores the transformative potential of co-design.

This in-conversation explores how youth communities can lead the transformation of public spaces. The event spotlights community-led design in action—highlighting youth-driven initiatives that reimagine public space through co-design, creativity, and care.

Bringing together an intergenerational mix of young people, industry professionals, and thought leaders, the series amplifies lived experiences, bold ideas, and innovative ways of working. From panel conversations to provocations and hands-on insights, we’ll explore what it truly means to design with, not for—and how we can collectively create a more equitable and inspiring future.

Event Speakers & Panelists 

1. Shawn Adams - Architect, Writer, and Lecturer  
2. Bongani Muchemwa - Director of McCloy Muchemwa 
3. Sam Elbahja, Architectural Designer, Poet and Author 
4. Peter Moore - Architectural Designer and Maker  
5. Bianca Quiring - Aspiring Designer, People’s Pavilion 2025 Co-designer 
6. Cy Sherliker -  Aspiring Designer, People’s Pavilion 2025 Co-designer 
7. Ayaz Akyol - Aspiring Designer, People’s Pavilion 2025 Co-designer 

Chaired by  

• Neil Onions, Director Beyond the Box &
• Isata Kamara, Aspiring Designer & 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?

Be part of the conversation. Be part of the change.

Speaker Bios 

Shawn Adams is an architect, writer, and lecturer. He is Outreach Lead at housing specialist HTA Design and teaches BA Architecture at Central St Martins, UAL, and Professional Practice at the Architectural Association.

Adams has written for the Financial Times, Wallpaper*, ICON, FRAME, The World of Interiors, VICE, RIBAJ, OnOffice, The Architects' Journal, Mix Interiors, STIRWorld and Disegno. He writes about all things design, from houses and exhibitions to cars and office spaces. Adams has also spoken on Sky News, The Guardian and at talks organised by the Architecture Foundation, South London Gallery, and Royal College of Art.

He is also a Trustee of the Museum of Architecture and sits on the Advisory Board of Open City's Accelerate Programme. Adams is an advocate for diversity and inclusion within the architecture industry and is a RIBAJ Rising Star. He is also the co-founder of POoR collective. An acronym for Power Out of Restriction, POoR is a social-minded organisation that focuses on the development of communities through the elevation of young people.

Bongani Muchemwa is a London-based architect, educator, and co-founder of McCloy + Muchemwa—a design-led practice working across architecture, interiors, public space, and experimental making. With roots in Africa, the studio explores collaborative, joyful, and grounded approaches to design that challenge expectations.

He teaches first year at the University of Westminster School of Architecture and leads an undergraduate unit at The Bartlett (UCL), where he focuses on experimental drawings, tectonic fragments, and architectural clichés. His teaching encourages confidence through making, risk-taking, and critical thinking. McCloy + Muchemwa’s work ranges from play structures and installations to homes and public realm strategies.

The studio has been recognised by Wallpaper, the AJ 40 Under 40, and RIBA Journal Rising Stars 2022. Clients include city councils, developers, museums, and galleries. Bongani’s work often returns to themes of nostalgia, humor, and the poetry of the everyday.

Sam Elbahja is a Moroccan-Thai poet, artist, and aspiring architect—East London’s finest multidisciplinary designer. Currently studying Architecture at the University of Cambridge, her work is grounded in her heritage and socio-economic background, with a bottom-up approach that centres community insight.

In 2021, Sam was the winner of Beyond the Box’s People’s Pavilion competition, which kickstarted her journey into community-led design. She has since worked with Beyond the Box as an Equity Designer, poet, and workshop facilitator, championing inclusive engagement across architecture and the arts.

A three-time published poet, Sam’s writing has been featured nationally by First Story and internationally by Trope. Her storytelling shapes her design thinking, with recent work showcased in Heather wick Studio’s Humanise campaign and Open City’s City Curators programme. As a recipient of the Robert Rees Prize for Architecture, Sam is passionate about creating people-focused, multidisciplinary spaces that speak to the communities they serve.

Peter Moore is an architectural designer and maker based in London, with a passion for creating thoughtful, innovative, and future-facing work. A graduate of The Bartlett School of Architecture, Peter works across a range of scales—from intricate material studies to larger-scale spatial interventions. His practice is rooted in a deep interest in digital fabrication, which he uses as a tool to explore the relationships between nature, technology, and human intuition.

Peter’s approach blends technical precision with creative experimentation, often resulting in work that challenges conventional boundaries between design and making. He was a core member of the Barbican Renewal Co-design Program, where he contributed to a collaborative vision for the future of one of London’s most iconic cultural landmarks. Through this and other projects, Peter continues to advocate for inclusive, co-created design processes that prioritise community voices and create space for curiosity, adaptability, and shared ownership in the built environment.

Bianca Faith Quiring is an emerging designer with a growing passion for civil engineering, blending creativity with technical insight to envision innovative solutions for the built environment. With a keen eye for design and a strong curiosity about how infrastructure shapes communities, she strives to bridge the gap between aesthetic value and structural function. Her academic and personal pursuits are rooted in a desire to contribute to projects that are not only visually engaging but also sustainable and socially impactful.

Bianca is particularly interested in exploring how thoughtful design can improve urban spaces, enhance mobility, and support environmental resilience.

She is continually developing her skills in both design software and engineering principles, aiming to build a career that reflects her interdisciplinary approach. Open to collaboration and always eager to learn, Bianca brings a fresh perspective and enthusiastic energy to every project she takes on, including the People’s Pavilion 2025.

Cy Sherliker is a dedicated student currently studying A levels in Design Technology, Economics, and Geography. With a strong passion for creativity and problem-solving, he is an aspiring designer focused on pursuing a degree in Architecture at university. Through his studies, Cy has developed a keen interest in the built environment, sustainability, and the impact of thoughtful design on communities.

His involvement in the ‘People’s Pavilion’ project has offered him valuable firsthand experience in the design industry, where he collaborated with others to bring a live project to life within the local community. This opportunity not only enhanced his creative thinking and teamwork skills but also deepened his understanding of how architecture can positively shape people's lives.

Motivated by this experience, Cy is committed to building a career that blends innovation with social impact, aiming to create spaces that are both functional and inspiring for future generations.

Ayaz Akyol is a BTEC Business student at Ark John Keats Academy with a strong and growing passion for architecture. Since October 2024, he has been actively involved in Beyond the Box’s People’s Pavilion project, where young people work together to design and build a public pavilion. Ayaz has taken a hands-on role throughout the process, contributing ideas, problem-solving, and helping shape the team’s final concept.

Through his involvement, Ayaz has developed key skills essential for a future in architecture — including approaching design challenges from multiple perspectives, understanding how structural forces affect a build, and considering how materials perform in real-world conditions.

Working closely with engineers and design professionals has deepened his technical knowledge and strengthened his ability to collaborate effectively. Now, with the concept design complete, Ayaz is focused on finalising details and preparing for the construction phase, with the pavilion set to be completed by August 2025. His experience with the People’s Pavilion has confirmed his ambition to pursue architecture as a career path.

Chaired by

 Neil Onions FRIBA is a creative strategist, cultural leader, and Founding Director of Beyond the Box CIC, an award-winning social enterprise creating space for culture and community to connect. Based in London, Neil brings over 20 years of experience in co-design, placemaking, and youth-led engagement. His work champions equity, representation, and spatial justice—collaborating with institutions like the London Museum, V&A Museum, and the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre redevelopment. He leads projects that centre underrepresented voices, including the People’s Pavilion, Barbican Renewal Co-Design Programme, and Festival of the Future. With a background in education, youth work, and the built environment, Neil designs participatory processes that are as impactful as the outcomes. Whether curating public programmes or advising on policy, his approach is rooted in care, creativity, and collaboration—pushing for systemic change and empowering communities, especially young people, to shape the spaces around them and feel true ownership over the places they live in.
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Isata Kamara is a prospective architecture student with a keen interest in the intersection between urban sociology and the built environment. Her passion for understanding how spaces shape and are shaped by communities has been cultivated through her involvement in several influential programmes, including Accelerate, City Curators, and the People's Pavilion 2025. Through these experiences, Isata has explored how architecture can act as both a catalyst for connection and a barrier to inclusivity, depending on the approaches taken in design and planning. She is particularly fascinated by how different modes of architectural practice can either nurture or inhibit community engagement, cultural expression, and social resilience. Isata is committed to pursuing a career that places people and community needs at the forefront of the design process. She hopes to contribute to creating more equitable, vibrant, and inclusive urban spaces, where architecture serves as a tool for positive social change.