Tower Bridge Primary School During the design phase Keith Williams discussed his developing designs with a group of 30 pupils from Tower Bridge Primary School, called Unicorn Young Consultants, who were part of a parallel education programme run by the Unicorn with the school. The process involved attempting to explain how theatres are designed and built, whilst considering specific aspects of the design such as seating with the children, who were encouraged to contribute their own ideas. The children were also consulted during the selection of the public art, made a video Transformations about what theatre means to them and created art work for the hoardings around the construction site.

	Equal seats: Bench seating will enable children to sit as close or as far apart as they feel like: children don't require the same need for physical space as adults do and will often sit tight together as a group. The bench seating avoids having to have little seats unusable by adults or large seats that are too big for children, cutting them off from their friends.
	Providing the same sight lines: The Unicorn has viewing platforms and windows that will provide adults with views across the theatre and London. Children will be provided the same sight lines via platforms and windows cut into the structure at a lower height.
	Equal service: Service and information points will be at child height. In normal theatres much information (and overall experience) is out of a child's reach and senses. At the Unicorn, children, just as much as adults, will be able to walk up and talk to staff at the information centres, order and see food/drinks at the café and collect information themselves.
	Bringing the audience closer: The main auditorium is designed so that no-one is far from the stage. With no proscenium but a thrust stage, it will bring actors into the heart of the audience to form an intimate space that can house epic theatre.
	Facilities: Toilets, basins and other facilities are designed with children in mind. These areas are constructed to avoid adults feeling like giants or making children feel uncomfortable.

Unicorn Young Consultants at the launch of Architecture Week Launch 2004 at the Unicorn Theatre construction site

Moving children
Most theatres don't have to worry about their audience needing to be moved in large class sized groups or being at risk of wandering off. Therefore the Unicorn is designed with safety in mind:

	Crocodile parking bays: A high number of schools will visit the Unicorn. The main foyer/reception area has 'Crocodile parking bays' where groups of children can be managed at once. This will enable teachers - from different schools - to control and engage their groups more easily.
	Carefully sited main entrance: The main foyer has been positioned away from the main entrance to the theatre. This will reduce a child's temptation to investigate what is going on outside the theatre. By removing the main entrance from the hubbub of the foyer it also means it can be better monitored.

Education and storytelling
New theatres are not commonly designed with educational and storytelling spaces. The Unicorn has these:

	The Foyle Studio is exclusively for participatory workshops and projects involving schools, youth theatre, holiday projects.
	Unicorn's main auditorium (called the Weston Theatre - capacity 340) and the Studio (capacity 120) enables work across the age spectrums - from small children to young teenagers.
	The Studio provides the Unicorn with space for specific activities e.g. a Story Telling Festival or to create particular installations or different environments (e.g. Beneath The Sea, Above the Clouds, Inside a Yurt, etc.).

Finders Keepers education workshop		Children from Bigland Green Primary School, Tower Hamlets, taking part in the Unicorn Float in the 2004 Lord Mayor's Show

Quotes from Tower Bridge Pupils, aged 10, involved as Unicorn Young Consultants.

"The theatre is a place where your brain opens up and sees the future"
Corvel

"Theatre is a place where the impossible becomes possible, the beast turns into a human being when he's kissed."
Olgun

"Theatre it's amazing. It's a children's home where TV is false, and the theatre is true. The lights shine, the voices change, It's there, it's really there!"
Almahdi

"A theatre is a place where you can sit, listen in quiet, and enjoy. It feels like you are not in this world and the play's the real thing. But when it's finished, your dream's ended and there's nothing but a memory."
Sade

"The architect [Keith Williams] wanted a piece of our minds about what we like as well. He wanted to blend his ideas and ours".
Cleo

Unicorn Young Consultants at the launch of Architecture Week Launch 2004 at the Unicorn Theatre construction site