Design Museum Academy Adult Workshop
Workshop: Waterpark Architecture
Design your own utopian waterpark, explore how leisure pools can be social spaces, and learn about their design from a cultural, social, and architectural perspective.
Priority booking for members.
What to expect
Delve into the design of leisure pools from the 70s to the present day with designer and artist Madeleine Famurewa, who will introduce her creative practice, and discuss individual memories of waterparks and pools.
Throughout the session, explore the possibilities of waterparks as public and social spaces and how they can be designed to accommodate the needs of different users and communities. You will experiment with the visual language and worldbuilding of waterparks through large-scale collages and projected visuals and begin to imagine what your own utopian waterpark might look like.
You will create speculative drawings of your waterpark and start bringing your project to life with exploratory scale models using simple household materials and waste. We will then combine them to see how the different designs could interact and how to create an atmosphere in these spaces through light and sound.
At the end of the workshop, you will have a set of exploratory sketches and a working model of your imagined waterpark.
What will I learn?
An understanding of waterparks as social and communal spaces
Considerations around user-centred designed
Visual language of leisure pools
Using sketches and exploratory drawings as a starting point for a design
Working to scale 1:20
Quick modelling and prototyping
Please note:
Capacity is limited, we recommend booking early to avoid disappointment
All equipment, materials and light refreshments will be provided
This workshop is suitable for adults 18+
Photos Madeleine Famurewa
Facilitator
Madeleine Famurewa
Madeleine is a designer, prop maker and scenic artist, having worked across the industry from West End theatre to Harvey Nichols. In 2024 she had a duo show celebrating the long-lost waterparks of the South East through sculpture, installation, sound and large scale drawings. Madeleine holds a BA in Fine Art at Falmouth College of Arts, a PGDIP in Theatre Design at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and an MFA Fine Art at Goldsmiths.
Booking information
Adult: £104
Early bird Adult: £94
Student 18+ y/o: £94
Early bird Student: £84
Members*: £83
*Please note that this benefit only applies to the cardholding Member’s ticket and not those of additional guests
– Early bird tickets are available until 19 May 2025
– Capacity is limited, we recommend booking early to avoid disappointment
– Light refreshments and equipment will be provided for the duration of the session
Check out the Design Museum Academy refunds and cancellations policy here
Additional information
Please note that this workshop is for participants over 18 years old, and the content and complexity have been tailored accordingly
If you would like to let us know about any access requirements, including neurodiversity, there is the option to notify us at the ticket checkout
If you would like to have 1:1 support for this workshop, you are welcome to bring a companion to support you on your project, at no extra cost. To request a companion spot please email DMAcademy@designmuseum.org with your booking information.
This session has a capacity of 20 participants, and one or two facilitators will be leading the sessions. So, the ratio of participants per facilitator will be 10:1.
If you have any questions, please contact DMAcademy@designmuseum.org
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What's on
Background image and carousel: Madeleine Famurewa.