Virginia Beach kids built, designed, and explored cardboard creations at Pop-Up City, a hands-on event inspiring future architects and problem-solvers.
Families in Virginia Beach had the chance to build, design, and imagine a city of their own Saturday, all using one unexpected material: cardboard.
Pop-Up City transformed the Town Center Fountain Plaza into an interactive architecture experience, giving children the chance to explore large-scale cardboard structures created by local architecture firms while learning how creativity, engineering, and problem-solving can shape future careers.
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The free, family-friendly event was hosted by the Central Business District Association (CBDA) in partnership with AIA Coastal Virginia. Six local architecture firms designed and built human-scale cardboard installations for families to walk through, interact with and experience.
For organizers, the goal went beyond creating a fun afternoon activity.
“It’s a wonderful learning experience,” said Jeanne Evans-Cox, executive director of the Central Business District Association. “It fit right into all of our criteria of family-friendly. The children have hands-on experiences.”
Evans-Cox said Town Center was a natural fit for an event focused on bringing people together through creativity and education.
“Town Center is a gathering place,” she said. “It belongs to the people of the city of Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads. And we want them to feel welcome and safe and have fun.”
Throughout the day, children explored oversized cardboard creations, built their own designs and learned how architects turn ideas into real-world spaces.
For architect Brittany Raffin, who helped lead the Pop-Up City effort, those moments of creativity are where future designers and problem-solvers begin.
“You don’t turn an architect in high school,” Raffin said. “You turn an architect when they’re little, when they’re playing Legos, and they’re building forts.”
She said events like Pop-Up City allow children to see the possibilities behind careers in architecture and design.
“You can see what architects can do and you can see what kids can do,” Raffin said.
Bernadette Keplinger, executive director of AIA Coastal Virginia, said introducing children to architecture early can help them see themselves in careers they may not have considered.
“Our mission is to really share the value of what architects and architecture does and brings to a community,” Keplinger said.
She said the hands-on experience helps kids connect creativity with STEM and STEAM concepts.
“They have a chance to engage with architects and get excited about something visually and start thinking, ‘I could do this,’” Keplinger said. “The STEM and STEAM activities are great for even engineering and construction.”
The event also highlighted the work happening behind the scenes in the architecture industry. While children created their own cardboard designs, professional architects showed how large-scale concepts can grow from simple ideas.
Keplinger said having multiple firms participate helped showcase the variety of opportunities within the field.
“Just seeing all the kids already here, whether they live here or they’re coming from all over, it’s just been a great place for them to learn and build with their hands and walk through the structures,” she said.
Organizers hope Pop-Up City becomes a recurring event at Town Center, continuing to inspire children to explore design, construction and other creative careers.
CBDA and AIA Coastal Virginia say the event reflects their shared goal of activating public spaces through accessible experiences that bring the community together.