Let's Go Outside: Turning neglected spaces into vibrant learning environments
- Written byMadi Hough
- Published date 15 September 2025
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With the growing reduction of art and design education in school curricula, it is more important than ever to provide young people with alternative pathways to creative learning. Let’s Go Outside, the winner of the 2024 KE Staff Award for Public & Community Engagement, tackled this challenge by partnering UAL students with Crawford Primary School to reimagine the UAL playground as an outdoor learning space.
This initiative supported Southwark Council’s vision to enhance the creative corridor between Camberwell and Peckham. UAL students collaborated with primary school pupils through 1:1 model-making to co-design learning structures, which were then developed into physical installations at the site. The project culminated in a celebratory event where pupils interacted with the completed designs, providing feedback on their new playground environment.
This project fostered intergenerational connections while promoting social and environmental sustainability, diversity, and inclusion. Through these collaborative design processes, the project revitalised a neglected space within UAL, while simultaneously introducing the local young people to the world of creative education and career possibilities. By engaging students in local, real-world applications of the design process, the project not only enriched the community but also enhanced UAL’s commitment to sustainability, creativity, and social responsibility.
In this interview, Reem Charif, Course Leader for BA (Hons) Interior Spatial Design at Chelsea College of Arts, and Lucy Eccles, Lecturer in Construction Technology, Making, and Live Building Projects, share insights into the inspiration, impact, and legacy of Let’sGo Outside.
Can you walk us through the inspiration behind the Let’s Go Outside project?
Reem Charif (RC): There were several layers to the project. Let’s Go Outside began with students reflecting on informal learning rituals from their own families—ways of learning that happen outside the classroom. The idea was to embed this personal knowledge into their design process. We wanted students to think about how learning occurs through experience—through touch, observation, and sensory encounters with the environment. UAL’s broader agenda around learning outside traditional spaces also inspired the project. By partnering with a local primary school, we aimed to encourage learning that happens through curiosity—like touching the root of a tree and asking questions that spark new knowledge.
Lucy Eccles (LE): Both Reem and I have experience working with young people in design contexts, and we wanted to bring our students into that mentoring role—facilitating a design process for and with children. The pupils acted as “clients,” guiding the design. The site we used, Wilson Road, had become a dumping ground for past projects, yet it’s historically a school playground. So we wanted to bring play back into the space. One of the first activities we did was invite the children to teach the students something—a skill or learning experience—and from that exchange, students designed spaces where those experiences could happen. It was a true co-creation through one-to-one model making.
RC: The students really listened. That day, it wasn’t about them—it was about the children.
LE: And children are the best clients—they know exactly what they want! They were delightfully assertive, and the students had to adapt and respond.
How did the project support Southwark Council's broader plan to enhance the creative corridor between Camberwell and Peckham?
LE: We wanted to activate the Wilson Road site, which was semi-redundant within UAL. During research, we discovered the Council’s plans to redevelop the corridor into a more public, creative space. Our project aligned perfectly with that vision—making the area more accessible, engaging, and community-oriented.
RC: It was also about locality—connecting Crawford Primary School to UAL and helping children discover their creative neighbours.
LE: Many of the children had grown up in Camberwell but had never been inside the college. We organised a campus tour and workshop where they could explore studios, share their lived experiences of Camberwell, and identify opportunities for play and design in their environment. Through activities like model-making, skill-sharing, sensory mapping, and storytelling, they collaborated closely with students—critiquing, guiding, and shaping outcomes. Meanwhile, our students deepened their understanding of the local area and their role as socially engaged designers.
The project emphasizes social and environmental sustainability—how were these principles incorporated into the design process by both students and pupils?
RC: We prioritised using found and recycled materials—collected from galleries, exhibitions, and studios across London. Students also sourced materials themselves.
LE: We also considered each structure’s afterlife. Some installations were gifted to the primary school; others were dismantled and reused in future projects.
RC: Social sustainability was equally vital. We built community connections—between UAL students, teachers, and local children—that could continue beyond the project. With the reduction of arts funding in primary schools, we wanted to model low-resource, creative learning using art and nature to support alternative education pathways.
How did the project encourage students to consider "thinking local" in their designs, and what did that mean in terms of their final creations?
RC: Most of our students aren’t from the area, so this was a way to connect them to Camberwell—to understand its people, spaces, and challenges. Working with local children gave them a grounded perspective.
LE: The children were the experts of the local area. They shared their knowledge, memories, and stories, shaping how the students designed.
Were there any standout final designs?
RC: They were all wonderful! A few examples include:
- Shadow Puppet Theatre: Used sunlight and local foliage to create performances visible to passersby, housing estates, and bus riders—extending the audience to the wider community. The children made puppets based on local leaves and trees, telling community stories.
- Tree Sensory Structure: Invited children to explore tree roots, trunks, and textures through touch, rubbings, and drawings.
- Forensic Kit & Specimen House: Allowed children to collect and catalogue natural elements on-site.
- Leaf Paper-Making Station: Repurposed fallen leaves into handmade paper for drawing and creative use.
LE: All projects reflected multi-sensory, inclusive learning approaches, inspired by the Memletic learning style framework, which supports seven learning styles: visual, oral, physical, social, solitary, logical, verbal.
In terms of inclusivity, how did the project cater to diverse learning styles and ensure the designs were accessible to all children?
RC: We focused on the sensory dimension—what you hear, see, touch, and smell—to expand ideas of learning beyond the visual.
LE: By using the Memletic framework, students designed for different learning styles, including neurodivergent learners. Some installations supported solitary reflection; others encouraged group collaboration—ensuring every child could engage meaningfully.
How did the interaction with primary school pupils help broaden their understanding of creative roles and professions?
RC: Inviting the youth to the College had an unexpected outcome, as the young people were able to discover what they could be. They were able to see the possibilities of a career in art and design – they could be illustrators, designers, textile artists – there was something special about them realising what the art world has to offer.
The project culminated in a celebratory event where pupils provided feedback on the installations—how did this feedback shape the final outcomes, and what was its impact on the students?
LE: At the end, we held a ‘speed-dating’ session where pupils rotated between the installations, interacting with each space and sharing their feedback.
RC: They loved being part of the process—especially solving problems through design. It gave them ownership and pride.
Legacy and next steps?
RC: Yes! We’re running a new iteration—still based on informal learning—in the Sceaux Gardens housing estatebehind the college. We’re collaborating with youth groups, the Peckham Theatre, and the Cycling Hub to reactivate public green spaces.
LE: This time, we’re moving outside UAL-owned sites into community-managed spaces, strengthening public engagement even more.
RC: The aim is to build intergenerational learning and social links—continuing the ethos of Let’s Go Outside in new forms.
Pupil Reflections
What was your favourite part of the project?
- “When we were making our own stuff to play with.”
- “When we were working with the university students.”
- “I liked when we were getting creative.”
- “I enjoyed the designing part the most.”
What do you remember most?
- “We tested our designs by doing gymnastics.”
- “My friend made a funny stick figure called Bob.”
- “We tested our designs by doing football.”
- “I remember the tunnel we did gymnastics in.”
- “I remember watering the plants.”
Let’s Go Outside is more than a design project—it’s a model for how creativity, collaboration, and community engagement can transform neglected spaces into vibrant learning environments. By bringing students and local children together, it has nurtured future designers, inspired young minds, and reinforced UAL’s role as a catalyst for inclusive, sustainable innovation.
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