From Brixton Wings to the Royal College of Art: Our Bike at Tender Revolution

This summer, a bicycle built by Brixton Wings Saturday STEM School participants has found a new home as part of Tender Revolution, an exhibition at the Royal College of Art during the London Design Festival.

Back in June, 12 of our young people joined forces with upCYCLE LDN and Imperial College London student Alex Clark at the Great Exhibition Road Festival. Together, they designed, assembled, and decorated a full-scale wooden bike frame. What began as a hands-on workshop in engineering and teamwork has now become something much bigger: a contribution to an internationally recognised design exhibition.

Why Tender Revolution?

The exhibition challenges rigid systems by highlighting design practices rooted in care, attentiveness, and renewal. It asks: what if contradiction, vulnerability, and lived experience could be sites of creativity and change?

Our young people’s bike embodies this vision. Built from salvaged parts, decorated with personal touches, and co-created by 12 first-time builders, it reflects community, collaboration, and the idea that design can be both playful and powerful.

What This Means for Our Young People

Seeing their work displayed at the Royal College of Art is more than a milestone it’s a statement. It tells our participants that their ideas matter, their creativity has value, and their efforts can stand alongside professional designers on a global stage.

As one participant put it during the build: “It feels different like something we never thought we could do, but we did it together.”

Thank You

This achievement was made possible through the guidance of Alex Clark, the partnership with upCYCLE LDN, and the dedication of our young people who embraced the challenge with energy and imagination.

We are incredibly proud to see their work celebrated at Tender Revolution and look forward to building more bridges between Brixton Wings and the wider world of design, innovation, and possibility.