Woodberry Down Design Studio, 2026

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Woodberry Down Design Studio, 2026

The Woodberry Down Design Studio is a continuation of the 2025 Woodberry Down pavilion and is the result of an on-going collaboration between RC/YYC and the pavilion project partners: the London Borough of Hackney; Notting Hill Genesis; and Berkeley Group.

The project responds to feedback from young people on the impact of the regeneration project and their relationship to it. Currently expected to complete in 2041, construction on Woodberry Down will have spanned three decades by the time it is finished. In that time, many original residents will have experienced significant change, with young residents spending their childhood living amongst building sites.

Without any opportunity to meaningfully shape the changes taking place, young people are unlikely to feel a sense of ownership over the place they call home. This impact has been recorded in a 2024 Social Life study, finding that people under 25 years old are least likely to agree that the changes in the area are benefitting them or their families.

The Design Studio provides a platform for youth voices for the duration of the regeneration project, working alongside the delivery partners and contributing to the public realm in Woodberry Down through small-scale, permanent installations.

The Design Studio is a vehicle for long-term youth engagement on Woodberry Down, designed specifically to out-last any one project partner and offer a continuous point of contact for young people living in the area for the duration of the regeneration project.

The Woodberry Down Design Studio will begin recruiting at the beginning of the 2026–27 academic year, building upon relationships built with surrounding schools during the Woodberry Down pavilion recruitment.

The studio’s inaugural design brief is to carry out a feasibility study for public furniture along the New River Path in collaboration with the Wildlife Trust.

Architectural Education as a Situated Practice

30 June 2026

RC/YYC took part in the London School of Architecture’s Architectural Education as a Situated Practice symposium, held on 27th June as part of this year’s London Festival of Architecture.

The Festival’s theme of Belonging inspired the question of how an architecture school might belong within its surrounding context and how this relationship might inform the education it offers.

Roy and Ya Ya discussed their involvement in live build projects through leading the London School of Architecture’s Access and Outreach initiative, Part 0, as well as the role of education on the Woodberry Down Design Studio project.

RC/YYC were included amongst guest speakers: Lee Ivett, Head of School at the London School of Architecture; David McEwan, founder of Unit 38; Takeshi Hayatsu, Senior Lecturer at Kingston and founder of Hayatsu Architects; Matt Springett and Fiona MacDonald, founders of Matt+Fiona; and Maria Wood, Part 2 Architectural Assistant at Faulkner Browns.

Presentations were followed by conversations amongst attendees around specific themes explored in the presentations as well as tours of the Little Free Library led by LSA Part 2 students who helped design and build the structure with RC/YYC.

Photography Ana-Maria Molnar

People Make Places: Protecting Community Use in London

17 June 2026

On June 10th 2026 RC/YYC brought together a range of built environment professionals and Hackney-based community groups to discuss the value of protecting community spaces in the context of continued development.

Presenters included: dRMM architects Director, Judith Stichtenoth; LB Hackney Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning and Inclusive Neighbourhoods, Alastair Binne-Lubbock; Max Fordham Principal Engineer, David Montgomery ; Rising Tide Trust CEO, Jermain Jackman; Simple Works and Scale Rule co-founder, Sinead Conneely; and V22 CEO, Eran Zucker.

Following presentations, participants discussed themes in groups led by our speakers and illustrated their conversations.

Thank you to everyone who took part!

Photography Ana-Maria Molnar

Ya Ya Chen awarded 2025 Young Talent award at Inspire Future Generations event

18 January 2026

We are pleased to announce that Ya Ya Chen, co-founder of RC/YYC, has won the Young Talent Award at the Inspire Future Generations Awards 2025.

The judging panel recognised Ya Ya’s commitment to long-term, strategic youth engagement through RC/YYC’s projects, as well as her work improving access to architecture as Part 0 Lead at the London School of Architecture. They described her as “an exceptional individual whose impact on young people is helping them gain confidence and access opportunities.”

Ya Ya said: “It’s a real privilege to be acknowledged by such a fantastic panel of judges for work that supports a more equitable built environment through RC/YYC and improves access to built environment professions through LSA’s Part 0 programmes.”

Woodberry Down Pavilion Shortlisted!

01 December 2025

The Woodberry Down Pavilion has been shortlisted at the 2026 Inspire Future Generations awards in the Community Engagement category!

As part of the project, RC/YYC worked with twelve young Woodberry Down residents through a series of up-skilling workshops to design and build the Woodberry Down pavilion.

The pavilion was opened by the Mayor of Hackney, Caroline Woodley on 13th September 2025 and hosted ten outdoor workshops for young residents aged 6 and above.

The pavilion is the first project of the Woodberry Down Design Studio, a collaboration between RC/YYC, LB Hackney, Notting Hill Genesis and Berkeley Group.

Photography Ernest Simons

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RC | YYC was established in 2023 by Roy Coupland and Ya Ya Chen, following experience gained at a number of internationally renowned practices delivering large cultural projects and sensitive restoration schemes. RC/YYC draws on Roy and Ya Ya’s extensive experience of working with local authorities, charities and community groups and delivering projects working with existing buildings.

Fundamental to the practice’s working method is close collaboration with craftspeople and makers, championing local people, skills and material. In each project we work closely with the client to help develop the brief, business case and funding applications and coordinate procurement and construction on site where necessary.

Previously, Roy has worked at Herzog & de Meuron, David Chipperfield Architects and Niall McLaughlin Architects. He has gained experience on a variety of projects, ranging from M+ Museum in Hong Kong, through to private residential schemes in the UK. Ya Ya has worked at a range of practices, including Bjarke Ingels Group, Niall McLaughlin Architects and Witherford Watson Mann where she developed an expertise of working with historic buildings through projects such as Courtauld Institute of Art and Seaborough Court.

Together, Roy and Ya Ya teach at the London School of Architecture, leading on the award-winning access and outreach initiative, Part 0. They develop and deliver three courses working with 11-19 year olds from backgrounds that are under-served and under-represented, with the ambition of creating a more accessible and diverse built environment sector.

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