Golden Lane Workshops, 2025

In collaboration with the London School of Architecture (LSA), the Golden Lane Estate Residents’ Association (GLERA) and Imagine Golden Lane at Net Zero, RC/YYC has designed moveable workshop furniture and delivered two sets of workshops for young Golden Lane Estate residents aged  6 to 19 years old. The project has worked with over thirty young people across both workshop series with each set consisting of fifteen workshops.

The workshop furniture was inspired by the Golden Lane Estate’s iconic architecture and colour palette and consisted of two mobile cabinets. Each cabinet was made up of two table-tops and legs suitable for seating four young people, as well as a cork-board for displaying their work. Stools and workshop stationery are stored in each cabinet, ensuring that activities could take place across Golden Lane.

The first set of workshops were held outdoors, hosted by moveable workshop furniture designed by RC/YYC and built by New School of Furniture Making and Daniele Barco Works. This series offered stand-alone workshops delivered by a wide range of built environment and design professionals for young people on the estate and formed part of RC/YYC’s active outreach. Workshops moved across the estate, activating the Golden Lane Estate’s generous public realm.

The second set of workshops, held indoors, drew on the lessons learned from the initial workshops and provided workshops tailored to the estate. The twelve participants were introduced to the architectural significance of the estate, presented through archival material, imagined a biodiverse Golden Lane, were introduced to community-led initiatives such as the ‘Decades of Us’ project run by the Barbican and Golden Lane Neighbourhood Forum (BGLNF) and worked with City of London councillors and the Residents’ Association to understand and contribute to on-going discussions about care, maintenance and the future of Golden Lane Estate.

Young residents who took part in this programme have gained a Level 1 Foundation Project Qualification and have been supported to establish a Young Residents’ committee which, moving forward, will work with GLERA to help shape the future of the estate.