Rewild The Way They Play
The Museum of Independent Play is a child-centred museum located within the edgeland landscape of Pomona Island, Manchester. Developed in response to the decline of outdoor and unsupervised play amongst children in the UK, the project seeks to reconnect younger generations with nature, exploration, and self-directed discovery through architecture and landscape.
Rather than functioning as a conventional museum focused on observation, the proposal reimagines the museum as a participatory environment that celebrates doing, making, and playing. The design encourages children to engage with the unique qualities of the edgeland — an overlooked landscape situated between the urban and the natural — where loose materials, varied terrain, and moments of unpredictability foster creativity, resilience, and imagination.
The museum is organised into four experiential zones that mirror the symbolic growth of a bird. The Nest introduces young children to curiosity and sensory exploration through themes inspired by Alice in Wonderland. The Clearing encourages collaboration and making through the nature-centred world of Tinker Bell. The Horizon explores freedom, risk, and independence through references to Peter Pan, while The Perch provides adults with spaces for observation and reflection inspired by The Little Prince. Together, these zones form a narrative journey from wonder and discovery to autonomy and perspective.
The project employs a methodology termed Narrative Spatial Translation, in which themes, emotions, and spatial qualities extracted from fairytales are translated into architectural experiences. Through this process, storytelling becomes a tool for shaping space, movement, and atmosphere.
At its core, the project reflects my design ethos of creating sustainable, imaginative, and socially meaningful architecture. By embracing rewilding, adaptive design, and a deep connection to nature, the museum demonstrates how architecture can foster curiosity, wellbeing, and environmental awareness while creating memorable experiences that resonate across generations.
