St Raphael’s
Project
St Rapael’s Estate
Client
Karakusevic Carson Architects
Location
Brent, North West London
We hired four young residents from the estate as youth event planners. Over six months, they designed their event, planned how to capture the opinions and views of their peers, and executed their plan, ensuring youth perspectives were integral to the process.
Working with the award-winning Karakusevic Carson Architects, we were commissioned to design a youth engagement strategy for St Raphael’s Estate in Brent, North London. The architects were tasked with exploring future options for the estate in collaboration with the local community. Our goal was to amplify the youth voice during this consultation process, fostering connections to placemaking and the community while offering employment, skills development, and training.
ST RAPAEL’S L.O.U.D
We used our creative engagement approach to celebrate local youth culture while gaining valuable insights from young residents on St Raphael’s Estate. This approach helped us understand their desires for any potential redevelopment plans. The team collaborated with their peers to create a series of questions for Brent Council, capturing their hopes and fears regarding the estate's future.
A highlight was a special photography exhibition by Brent photographer Daniel Alfonzo Thomas, featuring 12 portraits of young residents. Each portrait was accompanied by personal statements detailing their aspirations and their vision for the community.
We hosted an evening of live music and visual art, with performances by local artists and headlined by award-winning spoken word artist George the Poet, a former resident of the estate. The event featured interviews conducted by the youth collective, gathering further insights on what young residents liked and disliked about their community. They also presented their questions to Brent Council and opened their photography exhibition. The entire event was compered by the young residents, showcasing their leadership and creativity.
We always aim to create a legacy beyond the project itself. Each event planner was trained on how to register as a self-employed freelancer, complete invoices, and file tax returns.
To support the young people in developing networks and exploring job opportunities in cultural and creative fields, we arranged visits to several creative organizations, including On-Road in East London.
Given that Brent was the London Borough of Culture in 2020, we invited other creative agencies, cultural partners of Brent 2020, to speak to the young residents about their projects and opportunities for involvement. Many of the young residents signed up for these initiatives.
