




As part of the inaugural Festival of the Future, pioneered by Neil Onions of Beyond The Box, :scale was selected as a key partner to organise and host an event for young people. For this, we chose to spotlight 5 inter-disciplinary creatives from under-represented backgrounds who showcased their architectural work alongside a self-curated ‘desk’ which gave viewers an insight into their creative process and interests.
She is an architectural researcher, educator, and curator who founded 4AP (ForAfricanPeople), exploring African narratives within the discipline. Previously, she has worked at Tate, V&A, Open City, and STORE Projects; recently, she led set design for an LFW show while training as an Ancestral Remains Ethical Enabler with DTA.
During her undergraduate final project, Helana explored innovative ways to preserve existing structures while integrating new elements for a harmonious community. Since then, she has expanded her knowledge of diverse architectural styles, sharing creative insights on Instagram and drawing from her experience working in schools to create more human-centred, user-friendly designs.
I’m an MArch graduate passionate about architecture’s power to tell stories. With experience in design, teaching, and architectural photography, I’ve worked in spatial planning, tutoring, and founded The Architectural Experiment to make architecture more accessible. My work blends sustainability, heritage preservation, and community-focused design with storytelling at its core.
During his studies at the Bartlett, Akif Rahman explored cultural curation, decolonisation, and architecture as a transmission of meaning. He is a part of “Cor-“a student-led initiative focused on experimental pedagogy, and won a BeyondTheBox design competition, curating “Expressions of Resilience”, a space celebrating art centred on protest, placemaking and community. He is also part of the 2025 cohort of the New Architecture Writers.
Naomi is an architectural designer and researcher, passionate about integrating Digital Innovation in the design workflow. She can develop strong concepts and enjoys creating immersive spaces. She was the Digital Marketing Artist for the Liverpool Architecture Festival (LAF) in 2024 and guest critic for Immersive Design Studio at University of Liverpool. A volunteer for LAF, FAME (Female Architects of Minority Ethnic) and active participant of industry events.
Often we don’t get to see the works in progress, nights spent hunched over a desk or work all over the floor. I’d like to use this opportunity to invite conversation by sharing their design processes, how they work, what their influences are and highlight some of the work they do in addition to their architectural background.
For some, this is making content online, bringing together communities, writing, hobbies outside of architecture that feeds into their work i.e. tech or fashion. The desk should ideally be an extension of each participant.
Alongside the exhibition, we also produced a newspaper to summarise and highlight the achievements of the programme over the past year, and include information about each graduate for potential employers. This was developed by Yukta Chegu.