Design Time: Reasons to Refurbish

About the workshop

Design Time: Reasons to Refurbish

Friday 30th May 2025, 11am to 4pm

For children aged 11-14 years.

Buildings need refreshing at different stages in their life. Perhaps the way they are used has changed, or new safety guidelines have been introduced; maybe they are falling apart, elements don't work anymore, or could it be that society, trends and culture has moved on?

As a group we will think about what needs to be considered when refurbishing a building, including sustainability, accessibility, welcoming appeal and use of the building. Through the exploration of existing structures and the use of collage, we will develop 3D sketchbooks that take you on a tour through a building – with each page showcasing thinking points for the future refurbishment of other architectural projects. Our books will be a visual database of ideas and solutions for problems that architect’s face every day. How do we work with what we have to create a sustainable city for everybody? Let’s find out!

This creative architecture workshop for ages 11 to 14 years is run by artist and educator Daniel Wallis.

About Daniel Wallis

Daniel Wallis is an artist who has worked in education for over 20 years, running workshops for museums and galleries across London, including Tate, the British Museum, the Hayward Gallery and RIBA. He is also a tutor on short courses for young people at The University of the Arts London. Daniel's makes artwork directly onto guitars and teaches others how to do the same.

About the Workshop Series

Our Design Time (previously Design Day) workshops for ages 11-14 take architectural design a step further by providing context and knowledge of the built environment to spark creativity. Past workshops have focused on different architectural styles, small and large-scale construction methods, traditional and digital drawing techniques, architectural games and using software to design collaboratively in a shared space.

Based in London, mainly our HQ at 66 Portland Place, all participants must arrive by 11am. These workshops are led by professional educators and all materials are included in the ticket price, but lunch is not provided.

If you're under 18, tickets must be booked by a parent or guardian. Online booking in advance is essential and if we do not receive full registration information in advance of the event we cannot allow the participant to attend.

To see other learning workshops taking place in this series, see our families and children page.

Terms and Conditions

• Tickets for participants under the age of 18 must be booked by a parent or guardian and advance online registration is essential. Bookings made on behalf of someone else still require advance online registration and it is your responsibility to share the registration form with that person. If we do not receive full registration information in advance of the event we cannot allow the participant to attend.
• We can offer a full refund up to 30 days in advance of the event start date. Thereafter, we cannot offer a refund or transfer. Cancellations must be made in writing to learning@riba.org.
• We reserve the right to alter the advertised content of events.
• In the unlikely event we need to cancel we will contact all ticket holders as soon as possible to rearrange or offer a full refund. We cannot reimburse or compensate for travel or other associated costs.
• On entry to the event participants agree to behave in an appropriate manner; the RIBA reserves the right to remove participants who behave inappropriately from events and request their immediate collection by parents/guardians.
• The details you provide will be used in accordance with the RIBA's GDPR obligations. For information on how we will handle your personal data please see our Privacy Policy at www.architecture.com.