Festival of the Future

Photo of Scar, a white non-binary person, stood outside a toilet at the RIBA, London, speaking to a group of people. On the door of the toilet is a poster about the workshop, and a small post-it with writing on.

Type: Event

Year: 2025

Location: London

DisOrdinary Architecture Contributors: Eliza Grosvenor, Jos Boys, Mandy Redvers-Rowe, Maria Venegas Rabá and Scar Barclay.

Partners: Beyond the Box and RIBA, London

Funding: RIBA, London

DisOrdinary Architecture was invited to take part in the Festival of the Future - a two day festival that brought together 20+ partners to inspire the next generation of city makers through a creative and practical programme for all backgrounds. Over the course of the day, DisOrdinary led three sessions in different parts of the building.

The first session saw Maria Venegas Rabá invite participants to explore the controversial Jarvis mural at RIBA HQ, and address questions of how the past is represented. Following a short presentation and series of conversations, participants made their marks on beautifully etched prints of sections of the mural.

Photo of Maria, a woman with brown hair and glasses stands at the front of a lecture hall, in front of the stage, holding 2 pieces of wooden slats, etched with line drawings of people.
Photo of three people sat in a lecture theatre, talking in a group, whilst looking at the controversial ‘Jarvis’ memorial at RIBA, London. 
Photo of three people sat in a lecture theatre, talking in a group, whilst looking at some etchings on wooden slats. Behind them is another group doing the same.
Birds Eye view photo of some wooden etchings of people, with text written on in pen in different languages, including words such as ‘Venus’, ‘displaced’ and ‘unpaid labour’

Our second session saw Mandy Redvers-Rowe guide participants through a poetic session exploring how we can shift away from visual only ideas of beauty, and focus on the qualities of tactile surfaces, sounds, smells and emotions. Participants first explored the workshop space through their non-visual senses and then shared their thoughts through notes, poetry and diagrams on each group’s paper tablecloths. 

Photo of a group of people sitting around tables in a light filled room, drawing and writing, whilst listening to Mandy, a blind woman with a guide dog speaks to the groups.
Photo of a group of people talking around a table, covered in coloured pens and drawings. A young Asian women is talking and a white woman is smiling and laughing. 
Birds Eye view photo of some paper with multiple words and phrases written on in different colours, such as ‘quality of the building’, ‘textures’, ‘felt out of touch with reality’ and ‘pattern’.
Birds Eye view photo of some paper with multiple words written on in different colours, such as ‘intention’, ‘atmosphere’, ‘variety’ and ‘warmth’.

The final session saw Scar Barclay explore the complexities around how people are culturally categorised and how this relates to the creation of inclusive toilets for everyone. Following a short presentation, participants were invited to challenge the toilets on the sixth floor of RIBA HQ. From a lack of seating and signage, to feelings of safety and dignity, the session opened up alternative ways for thinking about the often neglected spaces in our city.

Photo of Scar, a white non-binary person, stood outside a toilet at the RIBA, London, speaking to a group of people. On the door of the toilet is a poster about the workshop, and a small post-it with writing on.
Photo of a three people in the toilets sticking post-it notes to the ceiling and surrounds.
Close up photo of a piece of cardboard taped onto the wall with black gaffer tape, in the form of a seat, with text written on in pen saying ‘RESERVED FOR WHOEVER NEEDS IT. Ps for your herniated disk of chronic back pain’.
Close up photo of a door with a piece of cardboard taped onto the door sign, with the text ‘where do the both + between + neither people go?’. 
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