Grand Challenge 2025- Whitgift Blooms
The Royal College of Art Grand Challenge is the biggest single-institution postgraduate design project in the world. In 2025, each team was assigned one of London's burroughs, with the aim of designing a practical solution to one of their problems while focusing on resilience. My team of five was assigned the burrough of Croyden, and won second place among over 500 students.
Client
Royal College of Art
Year
2025
Research
Desktop Research: We identified the key issues facing croydon: the burrough had declared bankruptcy 3 times due to the council's mismanagement of funds, meaning they could no longer spend any money on anything "non-essential," causing a housing crisis and leaving the residents unhappy.
Site visits and observations: We visited multiple areas in croydon, and noticed many abandoned building dispersed throughout the town center. One mall, the Whitgift Center, caught our attention in particular due to its central location, closed storefronts, and lack of foot traffic.
Interviews: We spoke with CRISIS, a UK-based group dedicated to helping unhoused people, and Croydon Urban Room, a local initiative by the council to work with local residents in urban planning. We found that what people wanted the most were spaces to socialize and connect with each other. Many people noted the lack of green space in the town center.
Systems mapping: After visiting the site, we identified key stakeholders and constructed a broad systems map, which revealed critical interconnected challenges. These findings emphasize the need for a holistic approach to address both the systemic and social dimensions of the borough's challenges effectively.
Insights
The insights revealed the need for croydon town center to be revitalized without a costly project.
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As a key transport hub, Croydon holds a rich history
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The council's ongoing financial instability
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Local residents desire community connection and green spaces
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The Whitgift Center has long stood abandoned
Ideation
How can we fulfill the needs of the community in a resilient manner without requiring the council or the residents to spend money they don't have?
A key moment was when we realized that demolishing the Whitgift Center would have both large financial and cultural consequences.
Since the residents already were seeking more greenery n the town center, the Whitgift Center was a prime location for a green space, and through organizing community events and with the help of an app, people could get the most use out of it.
Design Concept
We turned the Whitgift Center into a green space, offering a unique blend of nature and malls, designed to meet the needs of socializing and community engagement.
To ensure the space gets used to its full potential, we developed an app that helps with navigation between green spaces in Croydon and within the Whitgift center. This also serves as the perfect platform to showcase the community events that we designed.