Over a three-year period, the Archimedia project worked with young people to design a bespoke community building for KWMC, using environmental means and placing young people at the heart of the project.

The project began in 2004 and the final construction phase of the project was completed by December 2007.

KWMC worked with over 80 young people during the project – they took part in a range of media activities to develop new skills and enable them to actively participate in the design and build of the new Knowle West Media Centre.

The main outcomes of the project, as identified in the evaluation process, were that young people:

• voiced their opinions and informed the development of the new KWMC building in meaningful and useful ways
• developed confidence and range of skills that could be used in a vocational context
• developed sophisticated communication and presentation skills
• learnt about architecture, building processes and the history of Bristol’s architecture, and become more familiar with the centre of their home city
• informed the development of an innovative and environmentally ground breaking building, and had a real sense of ownership of the building because of the process

The sense of ownership felt by the young people had a ripple effect into the wider community, ensuring that the new building was treated with respect. The young people also developed roles as ambassadors for KWMC, which led to greater connections between KWMC and the community and developed a model of practice for engaging residents and young people in project work.