How many teenagers get to build a spaghetti bridge with structural engineers, or redesign London’s waterfront inside Fortnite? At Festival of the Future 2026, that’s just Friday. Beyond the Box’s free two-day festival moves to the Royal College of Art’s Battersea campus this October, opening up architecture and the built environment to the next generation.
| Event Name | Festival of the Future 2026 |
| Date | Friday, October 9 – Saturday, October 10, 2026 |
| Location | Royal College of Art, Battersea – Studio Building, Howie Street, London SW11 4AY (evening events in the Dyson Building, Hester Road) |
| Official Website | https://www.beyondtheboxcic.com/festival-of-the-future-2026 |
| Social Media | https://www.instagram.com/beyondtheb_x/ |
| Visit Info | https://www.beyondtheboxcic.com/s/Festival_of_the_Future_2026_Plan_your_visit_2.pdf |
| Contact Email | [email protected] |
Key Highlights
- Big-name practices, hands-on format. Foster + Partners, ZHA, RSHP, AHMM, Hawkins\Brown and HTA Design are among the firms running workshops, talks and studio tours.
- Friday is Schools Day. Teachers book whole classes of 11–16-year-olds, and the organizers build a timetable of activities around their students.
- Play meets practice. ZHA has teams redesigning London’s waterfront inside Fortnite, while Heyne Tillett Steel runs a spaghetti bridge challenge alongside working engineers.
- Circular design everywhere. DSDHA’s earth-tile mosaic, the Recast tiles from Hawkins\Brown and Build the Way, and HomeGrown Plus’s sustainable catwalk all turn waste into design.
- AI up for debate. AHMM transforms visitors’ drawings live with AI, then asks the room whether it’s a creative tool or a creative threat.
- Saturday for 16+. A-level, BTEC and degree students plus recent grads get portfolio clinics, studio tours and RCA Trailblazers sessions with POoR Collective, EDIT and Deaf Architecture Front.
- Two free evening events. Friday’s Open City Accelerate Debate hands the floor to young panelists, and Saturday’s Designing Better Futures finale doubles as Beyond the Box’s eighth birthday.
Why Festival of the Future 2026 Matters
Beyond the Box pitches this as more than a careers fair, and the lineup backs it up: global practices, civic collectives and seven schools of architecture share one campus, with Dezeen on board as media partner. After a 2025 debut that welcomed over 2,000 young people to RIBA, the move to the RCA shows real momentum behind widening access to the profession, something the House of Lords Built Environment Committee has also urged. Students get a free way in, and practitioners get a front-row look at where the next generation is coming from.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Festival of the Future 2026 really free?
Yes, every event on both days is free, though you still need to book a ticket so organizers can manage numbers. Day and evening events are booked separately, so a day ticket doesn’t cover the evening.
Can professionals or parents attend?
The daytime programs are built for students, with Friday reserved for school classes and Saturday for ages 16 and up, but both evening events are open to everyone and can be booked individually through the official site above.
Is the venue accessible, and how do I get there?
All venues have step-free access and accessible toilets, and BSL interpretation is provided at key sessions. There’s no parking on site, so plan on the bus or the Tube to Battersea Power Station.
Get gorgeous projects via email
