People’s Pavilion 2025
Photography Credit: Luke O’Donovan
Project
People’s Pavilion 2025
Team
Young Co-designers. Akif Rahman and Ifsah Chowdhery, EarthWorks & Cor_Creative as workshop facilitators. McCloy + Muchemwa, Scale Rule, William Morris Gallery.
Location
Waltham Forest - William Morris Gallery
London’s first youth-led design, build, and cultural festival pavilion returns for 2025.
Now in its third iteration, the People’s Pavilion has once again transformed ideas into reality — reclaiming public space for the arts and culture. Built in just eight days by over 70 volunteers, the pavilion stands proudly at the William Morris Gallery in Waltham Forest, London, a powerful testament to the creativity, resilience, and vision of young Londoners.
Over a 10 month process, more than 30 young co-designers have worked with world-class architects, engineers, and makers to shape one shared vision. Guided by Beyond The Box, they led the design process, from concept sketches to final build, proving that young voices can and should shape the spaces where culture happens.
This youth-led approach makes the People’s Pavilion a national first, and an evolving model for inclusive placemaking.
McCloy + Muchemwa were commissioned to deliver RIBA Stage 4 and beyond designs, supported by Scale Rule CIC on engineering calculations.
Once again, sustainability has been central, with over 50% of materials sourced from Re-Collective, a specialist reuse and repurpose company.
Design Development Week
Step inside the creative journey of the People’s Pavilion 2025. Over an intensive design development period, more than 30 young co-designers worked alongside leading architects, engineers, and makers to refine their ideas and bring a bold new vision to life.
From early sketches to scale models and collaborative workshops, this film captures the energy, imagination, and teamwork that shaped the final pavilion design.
Carrying Forward Morris’s Legacy
The People’s Pavilion 2025 is hosted at the William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow — the only public gallery in the world devoted to the life and work of William Morris: designer, craftsman, and radical socialist.
Owned and run by Waltham Forest Council, the Grade II* listed building was Morris’s family home from 1848 to 1856 and now holds the world’s largest collection of his work. The Gallery’s mission is to share the rich artistic and social legacy of one of Britain’s greatest designers, whose ideas of creativity, community, and social justice continue to resonate today.
The People’s Pavilion is a Beyond The Box self-initiated project, created by and for the community. It stands as an independent celebration of youth co-design and the power of shared cultural space — values that Morris himself championed.
The Pavilion hosts a free cultural festival programmed by and for community, spanning music, art, crafts & making and film screenings.
The People’s Pavilion is built by the community – with over 70 volunteers taking part, from young people to industry professionals and local residents, coming together to make it happen. The build process is as much a part of the cultural programming as the events themselves, echoing William Morris’s belief that the act of making is as valuable as the finished work.
Thank you to our Sponsors and Partners:
HTA Design
JTP
AHMM
Zaha Hadid Architects
David Chipperfield Architects
dMFK Architects
DSDHA
Haworth Tompkins
GPAD
Cake Industries
Evolve Engineering
Elliott Wood Partnership Ltd
Heyne Tillett Steel
Simple Works
Carpenter & Furniture Maker - Asher Preston
Crowdfunder Supporters
Stow Brothers
Gary Onions
Urban Symbiotics
Charles Bettes
Emma Kunz
Julia Nicholls
BN Termic
Swarali Bakshi
Structure Workshop
Michael Kintish
Sarah Page
Eric Parry Architects
Judith Topley
Victoria Thornton
Tiziana
Department of Architecture at Ravensbourne
Sherliker Biggs
…and many more