Back to the future: 21st century students experience '50s modernism

Students from Kidbrooke School in Greenwich tried out the seats in the Royal Box during a How Places Work visit to the Royal Festival Hall.

Twenty students from Kidbrooke School in Greenwich tried out the seats in the Royal Box this week during an architectural learning experience at the Royal Festival Hall.

As part of How Places Work, CABE and the V&A + RIBA Architecture Partnership are helping the Year 9 students learn about their built environment by drawing comparisons between this famous building and their own school. Kidbrooke School was built in 1954, three years after the Royal Festival Hall. Although they were created for very different uses, the two buildings share the same modernist 1950s architectural design - right down to the same roof.

The architects responsible for the recent refurbishment of the Royal Festival Hall, Allies and Morrison, took the students on a tour of the building, including the attic where the old caretaker had lived, and into the Royal Boxes, which soon became the most popular experience of the day.

Next on the students' agenda is a visit to the V&A to see the Royal Festival Hall exhibition, where they will also do some practical creative work. The students will then follow this up with a workshop at their school, as well as hosting a reciprocal visit by Allies and Morrison.

How Places Work

Launched by Lord Foster at the Great Court in the British Museum in October 2006, How Places Work is a national educational programme run by CABE to challenge the widespread assumption that young people do not care about their surroundings. Although design clearly matters to young people, most do not have the chance to experience the impact of amazing architecture and design.

In partnership with the Architecture Centre Network, CABE is giving 12,000 young people (aged 11-14) the opportunity to see inspiring buildings and public spaces in the company of gifted architects and designers.