Middlesex University

Dezeen School Shows: an animal therapy support centre that aims to benefit people’s mental and physical health and a scheme that converts empty high street shops feature in Dezeen’s latest school show by students at Middlesex University.

Also included is a “Gamer Station” and a safe house for survivors of domestic abuse.

Institution: Middlesex UniversityCourses: BA Interior Architecture, BA Interior Design and MA InteriorsTutors: Francesca Murialdo, Naomi House, Gavin Challand, Jon Mortimer, Michael Westhorp, Jason Scoot and David Fern
School statement:
“At Middlesex University we run two undergraduate programmes and one postgraduate programme dedicated to studying the richly variant inscape.

“Interior Architecture operates within the existing architectural fabric and context, remodelling space through architectural intervention, and questioning the idea of interiority relative to a variety of scales – from rooms to buildings and cities.
“The programme speculates on the possible futures for buildings and environments that have reached the end of their current lifespan.
“Interior Design is concerned with the creation of new interiors that are inserted or installed into existing buildings or other places, relatively independent of their site contexts, for short-term use. Design projects may therefore be generic and applied to many different sites.
“MA Interiors continues to challenge and redefine what constitutes the ‘interior’.
“The programme places emphasis on processing a personal design approach based on individual interests, through the compilation of three portfolio volumes of analysis and project development.
“Common to all three programmes is the importance we place on intertwining theory and practice and the obligation, in this social media age, to prioritise real sensory human experience in the place-making process.
“Although student achievement is predominantly assessed against individually produced outputs, we acknowledge that designing interiors in practice is inevitably interdisciplinary – often crossing the domains of humanities, cultural studies, history, philosophy, psychology and anthropology.”

Communal Scape by Yinjun Shen
“Communal Scape is a development strategy that looks at reintroducing public space within commercial environments to help unlock new high street typologies.
“This idea considers a new approach to rebuild inner London high streets using communal spaces, reserved typically for private gated developments, to become new territories that cut into and weave under existing buildings, creating new hybrid shopping, working and social spaces.
“This newfound common ground helps to re-establish place, cater for new ways to engage with the high street and develop new mechanisms that encourage connectivity in an ever-growing space crisis.”
Student: Yinjun ShenCourse: MA InteriorsEmail: muyunfengliu[at]gmail.comTutors: Jason Scoot and David Fern

House of Soul by Ieva Karaliute
“House of Soul is a proposed community centre that celebrates diversity and gives people a platform to have a voice within their own community.
“Through careful design decisions and adaptive reuse strategies in the existing Elephant House in Camden, the project explores the importance of performance, collaboration and skills exchange.
“The project involved designing spaces focused on their needs for inhabitation and rehabilitation.”
Student: Ieva KaraliuteCourse: BA Interior ArchitectureEmail: sigurna[at]gmail.comTutors: Francesca Murialdo, Naomi House and Gavin Challand

Okuvlig by Irma Signe Linnea Vesterlund
“Okuvlig means something or someone who cannot be subjugated, controlled or restrained. The project aims to give voice to the survivors of human rights violations.
“These survivors are offered a safe space to live and re-integrate with society – a space that is inviting and warm and encourages them to be bold and independent.
“The project involves transforming an existing building in Camden to create an open public space with private areas, which creates new connections between the survivors and the wider community.”
Student: Irma Signe Linnea VesterlundCourse: BA Interior ArchitectureEmail: irma.westerlund[at]outlook.comTutors: Francesca Murialdo, Naomi House and Gavin Challand

Salvage Community Centre by Daryna Chobitko
“The project presents a salvage community centre run by volunteers in an existing building on the Regent’s Canal in London.
“The main adaptive strategy is to reinstate the building as a wharf – as it was when it was built – to use the canal to transport goods in a sustainable way.
“The programme provides spaces to process and consume salvaged food and workshops that collect and rework salvaged building materials, to produce sustainable temporary structures for events.”
Student: Daryna ChobitkoCourse: BA Interior ArchitectureEmail: chobitkodaria[at]mail.ruTutors: Francesca Murialdo, Naomi House and Gavin Challand

Revolut Bank by Alexandra Stroe
“Today the world is confronted with inflation, energy crises and wars that are creating a domino effect that is influencing the world’s economy.
“To be prepared for these kinds of events, the financial system should offer more support about money knowledge.
“This project takes Revolut as a bank that is shaking up the norm and builds a space where users can gain knowledge and build strong connections within the financial community.
“It is a space where people will be informed and trained to deal with challenging times, in order to better manage their money.”
Student: Alexandra StroeCourse: BA Interior DesignEmail: alexandra.elena_stroe[at]yahoo.comTutors: Jon Mortimer, Michael Westhorp, Naomi House and Gavin Challand

A Fitness Hotel by Andrea Pereira
“My project is a space designed to gently encourage physical and mental fitness. The space takes people in as a place to stay and encourages the idea of a healthy lifestyle.
“The design will mainly be focused on expressing unintentional forms of fitness so that the guests can use the space without feeling too overwhelmed.
“The idea is to gently introduce them to a healthy lifestyle, making them realise that it is not as hard as they thought to change their bad habits.”
Student: Andrea PereiraCourse: BA Interior DesignEmail: andreape[at]hotmail.co.ukTutors: Jon Mortimer, Michael Westhorp, Naomi House and Gavin Challand

The Gamer Station by Ieva Marija Eid
“The online gaming world is becoming a competitive sport. However, a lingering disconnection can be present between professional gamers, fans and undertakers of esports.
“The Gamer Station is a facility open 24/7 where professional gamers, fans and the esports entourage can go. It creates an original space where like-minded people can come together and celebrate the digital joy of esports.
“The space requires a new design language to reconcile the physical/digital divide.”
Student: Ieva Marija EidCourse: BA Interior DesignEmail: ee389[at]live.mdx.ac.ukTutors: Jon Mortimer, Michael Westhorp, Naomi House and Gavin Challand

Calan Women’s Safe House and Cafe by Emily Marzocchi
“This project aims to contain all the parts of the rehabilitation process in one structure. Responding from the ‘first rescue’ to a rehabilitation process through a long-stay use of the facility, ending with the reintegration of the guests back into society.
“The facility is designed like a retreat rather than a clinical environment. The key design trait is the adaptability and movability of the space that empowers the guests, allowing them to comfortably find their own personal way to heal.”
Student: Emily MarzocchiCourse: BA Interior DesignEmail: em1065[at]ive.mdx.ac.ukTutors: Jon Mortimer, Michael Westhorp, Naomi House and Gavin Challand

Off Space by Miranda Cela
“Off Space is a project that aims to introduce new working, making and learning environments inspired by how the public now work and engage with the high street following the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The strategy uses existing redundant shops and inserts new access points to upper levels where it enables both private and shared spaces to co-exist.
“Connections and proximity are promoted via communal and independent spaces that reintroduce psychological and physical connections lost through the pandemic.
“It promotes visual and physical experiences via a variety of geometric, transparent volumes on multiple levels and trajectories, enabling a variety of different uses that help reinvigorate the high street.”
Student: Miranda CelaCourse: MA InteriorsEmail: mirandacela03[at]gmail.comTutors: Jason Scoot and David Fern

Farm Therapy by Nigar Hasanzade
“Farm Therapy is a project that looks at new ways in which local communities can cope with mental and physical health conditions via an animal therapy support focus centre.
“It provides a social sanctuary for both rescue animals and people to escape and seek support following diagnoses.
“Four key services are proposed – a veterinary clinic, formal and informal therapy spaces and a city farm.
“Fields and grazing paths enable the animals to interact with each visitor, creating a health service that seeks to provide support through alternative, qualitative interaction.”
Student: Nigar HasanzadeCourse: MA InteriorsEmail: nhasanzadehh[at]gmail.comTutors: Jason Scoot and David Fern

The midnight furnace by Seongmin Kim
“The project aims to turn an existing carwash building into a public bathhouse for night workers.
“The idea of taking care and using water to cleanse and transform is shifted from cars to night workers, a very niche and often neglected category.
“Using adaptive reuse strategies, the key elements of this building were retained and a new public space connecting internal and external activities and spaces was inserted.
“The act of cleansing, which already existed in this building, is transformed into a sequence of spaces where night workers can find their own identity, heal and socialise.”
Student: Seongmin KimCourse: MA InteriorsEmail: seongmin93uk[at]gmail.comTutors: Francesca Murialdo, Naomi House and Gavin Challand

Life Pods by Burak Ozturk
“My project seeks to address responsibly in food consumption in relation to sustainability, health, community and the environment.
“Life Pods provides at a new supermarket typology that uses current technologies in vertical farming to co-produce food locally.
“The ambition is to introduce a new offer, one that helps reduce product carbon footprint via cooperating with local and existing supermarket supply chains, tackle obesity and nurture new, healthier ways to eat.
“The design is powered by innovative methods of harvesting energy and resources through solar and rainwater capture.”
Student: Burak OzturkCourse: MA InteriorsEmail: arch.burak.ozturk[at]gmail.comTutors: Jason Scoot and David Fern
Partnership content
This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Middlesex University. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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