Working with ARU architecture students and young people from Basildon Academies, we created a temporary installation using recycled cardboard boxes. But the project was never just about building a structure. It was about showing how public spaces gain meaning through the memories made within them.

For schoolchildren, it was a first taste of design and making. For ARU students, it was the rare chance to see their ideas realised and tested in public. For the community, it was an open invitation to join the dialogue about place and belonging.

Along the way we learned a lot:

• Cardboard doesn’t stand up well to February wind and rain.
• Stronger collaborations with local recycling partners could improve sustainability.
• Documentation matters — projects can live on beyond the day if they’re recorded well.
• Most importantly, listening to children revealed fresh insights into how public spaces feel and how they might be improved — echoing the child-centred design approach championed by ZCD Architects.

For us, This Is Our Space reinforced a simple belief: architecture is not only about buildings, but about collaboration, clarity, and connection.

👉 Read more about what we learned →