REAL PROJECT
Lewisham Youth Theatre Way-finding
“We Design For The Community“
Contexts
Lewisham Youth Theatre (LYT), currently occupies a 5-floor retail unit on Lewisham High Street, next to Lewisham Shopping Centre, an ideal location for increasing the impact on our local community. However, in September, LYT will transition to a disused community centre in Rushey Green, further from the high foot-fall of the high street.
The challenge lies in maintaining the vibrancy and growth of LYT's Creative Hub despite the shift in location. My project focuses on conceptualising innovative physical way-finding solutions, aiming to create architectural interventions and external identity transformation that sparks curiosity and draws attention to LYT's new home. The proposed solutions is simple, cost-effective, and created with easily accessible materials, enabling community members to participate in their realisation.
Timeline: June 2023
Project with “We design for the community“, paired with Lewisham Youth Theatre
Background
Lewisham Youth Theatre provides a wide range of social services to young people, aged between 8 to 25 years. They understand participative performing arts as a means of support for young people, that puts their creativity centre stage. Besides the theatre groups, the organisation also looks after their members, providing social care for young people facing hardship in their personal lives.
2024 will see the organisation moving into a new space. They would like to use this opportunity to redefine their public identity, away from the idea of a youth theatre, towards a youth-led creative hub.
Workshop
To better engage participants in reimagining the Lewisham Youth Theatre's (LYT) transition from its current location to a new space, I designed and facilitated a workshop in collaboration with LYT. This workshop aimed to encourage participants to express their perceptions and also to visualize the desired identity for the new LYT space. In line with LYT's values, a central goal of this workshop was to empower young participants by giving them an active role in identity creation, thereby fostering a deeper sense of belonging.
The initial stage involved a stimulating discussion based on these queries. Participants were encouraged to share their perspectives and aspirations for the theatre's new identity.
How do participants perceive the current space?
Visible
Not a theatre
Confusing
Not like a theatre, like a shop
Nowhere to get involved
How do participants perceive the new space?
Old
Creepy
Haunted house
Rusty
Ugly
How do they wish passers-by to perceive these spaces?
Creative space
Safe
Curious
Good hobby
Work opportunities
Fun
like a theatre
In the workshop's second phase, the young participants were given various collage materials to creatively express their visions on a projected image of the new building.
A photograph of the collective collage served as a tangible blueprint for the following physical way-finding design project.
How participants envision transformations for the new space?
Insights
Participants envision the space as a safe platform for showcasing youth voices.
There's a collective desire to present LYT more professionally, as a theatre, making their works visible to passers-by and reaching to more audiences.
A unique idea of integrating an ice-cream bar with the box office was made, where a complimentary ice-cream accompanies a ticket purchase. This innovative idea not only aims to attract more visitors but also serves as an inviting window for passers-by to engage with the theatre's activities.
