Wakefield Children’s Library and Museum

I worked with interpretive exhibition designer Polly Lewis to develop the concept for an integrated children’s library and museum space for Wakefield. The Council’s brief outlined the concept of a space encouraging intergenerational play based on museum collections and promoting a love of reading for children from birth to age 11, and accompanying adults. A key challenge was to fully integrate library and museum functions; something that has rarely been attempted on other UK projects or internationally.

We worked closely with Council staff and external experience designers to understand the needs of a joint library and museum space in the context of a new set of amenities and facilities to be situated in a refurbished department store in Wakefield City Centre. At the outset of the project, we ran a workshop to gather ideas, test potential approaches, explore opportunities for learning and ensure support from around 15 senior and junior staff members of the library and museum. I carried out an initial audience segmentation and composed overall messages and learning outcomes for the space.

Polly and I went on to investigate the history and culture of the local area and explore the museum collections to outline the potential content for space. We combined this with research in best practice worldwide to ensure the project was reflective of Wakefield District but also embodied the most appropriate approaches to children’s learning spaces. The approach was rooted in a constructivist learning and a learning-through-play philosophy.

Polly and I developed a layered, hierarchical concept that contained all functions, with multiple entry points so that visitors could find what interests them, and also move from one area to the next to pace their own journey, with opportunities for high energy activities, areas to concentrates and places in which relax.