When our youth centre moved into a temporary new building where we will be based for the next five years, we quickly realized the space had a problem: it did not inspire people.
The building was functional, but outdated and somewhat decrepit. Most young people in town had never entered the space before, making it difficult to create excitement or a sense of ownership around the move.
Instead of simply renovating the building internally and hoping young people would eventually connect with it, we decided to approach the challenge differently:
We brought the youth centre to them first.
Using VR cameras, we filmed the building and created immersive walkthroughs that allowed young people to experience the space before the transformation had even begun. We visited five different schools and brought VR headsets directly into classrooms, allowing students to virtually walk through the future youth centre for the very first time.
This immediately made the project more tangible and engaging. Young people were no longer hearing about "a new building" — they could already step inside it.
In total, around 60 young people between the ages of 10 and 23 participated in brainstorm sessions about the future of the centre.
The creative process in action
To help generate ideas and stimulate imagination, we also used AI-generated visual concepts showing how different types of spaces could potentially look inside the youth centre. These included ideas for:
These AI visualisations were not final designs, but creative conversation starters. By showing different possibilities visually, young people found it easier to think creatively and contribute their own ideas, preferences, and additions.
From all of these conversations, brainstorms, and collected ideas, we created a larger vision and development plan for the youth centre.
The gathered input was then bundled into a subsidy proposal submitted to a local community fund supported by the regional airport, with additional support from the municipality.
The Result
€12,500 in funding secured.
The proposal was successful — allowing us to purchase new furniture, redesign spaces, improve atmosphere, and begin physically transforming the centre together with the community.
Currently, the project is still ongoing. Together with volunteers, young people, and local supporters, we are repainting, rebuilding, and redesigning parts of the youth centre to create a space that reflects the creativity, identity, and ownership of the people using it.
What started as a challenge around an uninspiring temporary building evolved into a community-driven transformation project powered by immersive storytelling, AI-assisted ideation, participation, and collective imagination.
The project combines youth work, creative technology, community engagement, and participatory design to explore how immersive experiences and visual storytelling can help communities emotionally connect to physical spaces before they are fully transformed.