Plans for the redesigned V&A Museum of Childhood, set to be ready for the museum’s 150th anniversary in 2022, have been drawn up in consultation with local schoolchildren. 
The process has provided the project’s architects, De Matos Ryan, with a brief to design “the most joyful museum in the world for children, families and young people”. Co-design workshops with children from local schools, teachers, families and groups of people who don’t usually visit museums have been a significant driver for the project’s creative direction. 
“Since the project’s inception we have been working with local school children to ensure this transformative project is responsive to their needs,” says Andrea Cunningham, the museum’s head of learning. Three schools have so far been involved in around 20 co-design workshops. 
The consultation started by asking design questions and using items from the museum’s collection to help children come up with their own ideas, says Cunningham. Further workshops were then held “for prototyping and making, discussing and critiquing, and incorporating into one design. 
“Children let their imaginations go wild – their approach to design resulted in radical new perspectives on how spaces across the museum could, or should, be used. Proposals in the first stages of co-design ranged from giant worms and teleportation devices to dreaming and reading spots. 
“Working together, we took the principles of how children viewed and wanted to use the space, and showed them how to apply this to museum design. It is a fascinating and valuable exercise for all involved, and we’re very excited about the potential for fit-out.”
A mantra of the architects was that meaningful co-design with children "requires courage and trust,” says Cunningham. 
In the redevelopment plans, released earlier this month, the co-design approach is particularly reflected in the outdoor areas – which will be re-landscaped to be more playful and welcoming – and in an interactive feature staircase, directly inspired by optical toys from the museum’s collection and the National Collection of Childhood, which will be called The Kaleidoscope. 
The museums will continue to consult on this and other elements of the plans, both in public events and through further co-design workshops, involving more community groups. 
“The collaborative approach with our audiences will also run through the entire redevelopment and transformation project,” says Cunningham. “We want to foster a richer youth voice at the heart of museum practice.”