photograph : chris scott

Through a series of workshops with English classes at Leith Academy, we worked with young people to develop whole worlds of characters, narratives, themes and spaces. Shoeboxes were reimagined as superhero hang-out spaces, villain’s lairs, private aircraft interiors, and top-secret bunkers.

With the use of everyday materials, pupils were able to articulate and represent the ever-evolving stories of their imagined characters through discussion and design decisions.

From the other-worldly imaginings that emerged in the workshop, we were able to develop designs that incorporated many aspects of the shoe-box scenes, including galactic finishes, team gathering spaces, flexible partitions and colourful flooring.

With the amazing paintwork of Jamie Johnson externally and the transformative fabrication and fit-out from Splintr, these shoeboxes have become an exciting reality.

As a mobile classroom, shop and workspace, the Super Power Bus is now touring schools, communities and book festivals to welcome superheroes to-be.

photograph : alan rennie

photographs : chris scott