The Village- King’s Cross Academy
Location. King’s Cross, London. UK
Completed 2025.
Architect: Mike McMahon Studio
A series of brightly painted play structures have been installed in the courtyard of King’s Cross Academy in central London, transforming the school’s playground into a miniature village designed to spark imagination and collaborative play.
Called The Village, the project reimagines early years’ learning spaces through a cluster of seven bespoke playhouses, each designed to encourage a different type of exploration. The concept draws from the African proverb “it takes a village to raise a child”, using architecture as a framework for both education and community.
The timber-framed structures float above the ground within a sculptural lattice. Each house is open on 2 sides, creating the effect of life-sized dollhouses that come to life once children occupy them. This openness allows fluid movement between the spaces, while framing the playground like a theatrical set.
Every child sized playhouse has its own character and function. The Velocity House
encourages physical activity and energetic play, while the Construction House provides
opportunities for building and problem-solving. The Theatre House supports storytelling, role-play and performance, and the Cooking House introduces elements of food and social play. The Green House, meanwhile, integrates planting and natural materials to connect children with their environment.
Fabricated entirely on site from everyday materials – painted plywood panels combined with sections of timber – the houses demonstrate how simple construction techniques can be transformed into an engaging environment.
Colour acting as a material plays a central role in the project. A carefully graduated palette shifts across the houses, catching natural light throughout the day and casting striking shadows across houses and courtyard. This interplay between shadow, colour and timber creates a sense of theatre and spectacle, amplifying the presence of the children as they animate the spaces.
From the perspective of passersby, the playground reads like a stage set, its sculptural forms activated only through play. “The playground becomes a backdrop for creativity,” the designers said. “The architecture disappears as the children play, leaving only movement, colour and imagination.”
The Village highlights how modest materials and small-scale interventions can redefine everyday educational environments. By combining architectural precision with playfulness, the project creates a social, open-ended setting where learning happens not through instruction, but through discovery and collaboration.
