Studio Gil, The Ilford multiverse
In 2023, Studio Gil hosted a community participatory workshop titled The Ilford Multiverse at SPACE Gallery in Ilford.
This gathering invited local residents of all ages to reimagine Ilford Town Centre – not just as it is, but as it could be. It was an exercise in both dreaming and designing, where the practical met the fantastical. Imagination was the main ingredient; magic, a welcome guest. From this collective archive of visions, four proposals emerged – each one a universe unto itself:
We have imagined and illustrated each of these worlds, embedding them with their own distinct characteristics: geography, cultures, systems of life, creatures, and customs – all rooted in and around Ilford Town Centre.
These four realms coexist as parts of a single tapestry: The Ilford Multiverse. In one composite drawing, multiple views into these parallel worlds are shown – connected yet unique, fantastical yet grounded in the everyday lives and hopes of the local community.
Drawing, for us, is more than representation – it is a mode of thinking. Whether it takes the form of a pencil sketch, a computer-generated rendering, or a photograph of a physical model, we embrace drawing in its broadest, most liberating sense. It is through this act of thinking through making that we bring each imagined world to life.
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About Pedro Gil / Studio Gil
Pedro Gil with Jemima Harold-Sodipo and Nathan Verrier (Studio Gil).
Founded in 2009, Studio Gil works at the crossroads of craft, community, and care.
We blend design sensibility with social agency, working closely with global majority groups and organisations. We listen to the often unheard voices of marginalised communities; translating their stories into architectural propositions.
We work hand-in-hand with global majority groups, co-creating spaces shaped by unheard voices and overlooked histories. Our projects stretch across the UK and Latin America, shaped by joy, justice, and generosity of spirit.
From a child’s toy to a whole neighbourhood, we believe every scale holds potential for transformation. Studio Gil is a place of making, thinking, listening.
Pedro is passionate about the creative process of crafting buildings and the subtleties of designing for people, places, and communities. In 2020, he was appointed as one of 15 panel members for the Mayor of London’s Diversity in the Public Realm Commission. His lived experience, as a migrant of Black-Colombian dual heritage, allows him to engage with often hard to reach ethnic groups in a meaningful and collaborative way. He is a member of RIBA Architects for Change, as well as a trustee for Carnaval del Pueblo, a charity that serves to increase awareness of Latin American culture. His teaching at The Bartlett (UCL), where he is Associate Professor, invites students to rethink the architectural and cultural canon—placing the global majority, diaspora narratives, and cultural memory at the heart of design.
