This project is an accumulation of two separate parts comprised of a residential retreat and performance hall that together create an approach for a sustainable, sociable and environmental masterplan. In situation with the Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond, the concept is for an exciting client known as ‘Sistema Scotland’. Sistema is a charity programme that aims to transform the lives of children from challenging communities through the power of music. Whilst the primary aim is to develop core musical skills such as listening, concentration, teamwork and rhythm skills the secondary aim of the programme is also to develop social fluency and health and well-being. With such inspiring targets an equally aspirational and multi-functional building is needed: a building that is first and foremost a safe space; as well as an idyllic retreat where they can contemplate and reflect; a space where staff and pupils can free themselves to become immersed in creative experiences; and somewhere that can easily be personalised to suit the needs and preferences of the various individuals who will visit.
On my first site visit to the town of Balloch, enthralled by the picturesque landscape, the question occurred to me; in which way as a designer can I create a concept for a building that captures and compliments the natural untouched beauty already present? This burning question, along with my innate desire to create environmentally conscious creations was the catalyst for my completed design. To study the important relationship between Architecture and nature, I embraced the study of Phenomenology, which, when interpreted by and through human consciousness, seeks to understand the outside world. The belief of German Architecture theorist and Phenomenologist, Martin Heidegger, is that all man and nature are connected. He suggested that the best way to create an experience is to be more in touch with the mystery of existence. In architectural terms it is my challenge to create these experiences, which in turn create lasting, tangible memories. To make these memories more vivid I engage all of our human senses by manipulating materials, space and light. To truly embrace the theory of Heidegger my design also strives to bring man and nature closer together. By creating opportunities where we can submerse ourselves in nature Heidegger believes the more we will truly experience phenomenology and be at one with our consciousness, and once experienced, will have a lasting effect on how we view our world. It is my hope that through various design techniques and choices, a strong essence of the contextualism of nature and the experience that comes with that can be appreciated throughout the imagery of my Project.

My childhood unleashed a desire to know how things work, this soon developed into a more specific interest in Design, Technology and later Architecture. While looking for inspiration I discovered how architecture can enhance people’s everyday experiences as they move through and interact with a building. The right building can be both functional and beautiful, so that people feel engaged with it instead of being restricted.This strengthened my desire to be an architect, observing your hard work turning into a reality and having someone to not just admire it but use every day, I believe, is surely one of the best feelings in the world.

Currently in my third year of studying architecture I have developed a passion for sustainable and simple living. The brief to design a music retreat including a performance hall and accommodation for SISTEMA Scotland in Balloch was refreshing and challenging. It was important to consider energy, landscape and culture and bring them all together. With the site being so close to home i wanted to capture the feelings and memories i had of visiting the site as a child; taking the train to the last stop in Balloch where ironically the journey only just began, discovering Loch Lomond only a footsteps away. Inspired by my trip around Scotland visiting the Maggie’s Centres’, I further looked into the work of Frank Gehry. The curvature in his architecture and abstract angles led me to creating two very different buildings which were to contrast but also compliment each other.

Part 1 Architectural Assistant

In response to our brief to design a performance space and accommodation for the music charity ‘Sistema Scotland’ in Balloch, I have proposed a linear building which acts as an extension of Balloch Park. This acts to connect the train station and main road with Loch Lomond and ‘The Maid of the Loch’. The positioning allowing for performance to spill out of the hall spaces and into the park, harnessing it as a musical destination.

The overall concept reflects the linear park with the accommodation placed directly behind the performance hall to allow students to have maximum freedom whilst remaining safe within the building. As a result the building provides a deeper feeling of security as you venture further through its layers into the bedroom spaces. A break out space in the form of a raised external courtyard separates the two buildings and provides a stopping point to reflect upon the surroundings. This also provides private access for students from the accommodation into the performance space.

Lily is a RIBA part 1 graduate whose work is unique and playful. Social commentary and strong conceptual strategy inform her practice. Lily’s recent projects are highly polemical. With a spirit of invention and interrogation, she seeks to create inclusive spaces that will engage with the richness of a site’s community, landscape and history.

Lily’s achievements include Young Creative Awards 2016 for Architecture & Design and multiple ERASMUS scholarships to live and work in Germany, Romania and Slovakia. As well as working on many 1:1 builds, Lily is passionate about craft and heritage and is skilled in a multitude of disciplines including illustration, textiles and jewellery design.

Lily is primarily concerned with the social sustainability of the built environment and creating empathetic and accessible designs that facilitate empowerment.

Maeve Corke Butters is a third-year architecture student who enjoys exploring complex forms and communal environments. Her work focuses on the core ethos of empathetic design, sustainability, and fun. This was developed through the exploration of critical theorist Doreen Massey and Jane Jacobs leading to a better understanding of placemaking and the social systems that underpin them. She has developed her projects with careful consideration of client needs and requirements, offering creative solutions through complex spatial structures and communal spaces.

Maeve achieved a commendation from the Glasgow Institute of Architects Student Awards in her first year and is a current regional finalist for the Women in Property Awards.

Maeve is passionate, hard-working, conscientious, and independent. She always works to the best of her ability and strives to create the best result. She enjoys taking on tasks especially those that challenge her. She also enjoys working in an environment where she can work with others to refine and develop creative ideas.

Finn is currently on exchange to the Universität Liechtenstein. The last semester has undoubtably been challenging; starting the semester in a new country and choosing to stay through the pandemic. The work shown here is from this period, under Atelier Urs Meister and Carmen Rist.

The semester began with the development of a pedestal, which set the parameters for the project.

The primary design move – reflecting the past, by literally enveloping the footprint of the old courtyard, reflects this idea of a palimpsest. What was negative space becomes ‘space’. The scheme avoids, by mimicking the pre-existing, becoming a pastiche. On the other hand, it strives to not disregard the site, and its social/historical requirements.

The studio manifests a rigorous method of designing at every scale, starting from the micro to the macro, and this is reflected in the complexity and ambition of the proposal.

During the four months spent in Liechtenstein Finn has managed to expand his skillset in CAD and renderings in Rhino, producing work that is accomplished, despite the constraints created as a result of the pandemic.

Alexis Piponides

‘They say that wanting to be an Architect is innate; it chooses you. Having always been a wanderer, an explorer of my surroundings, the world around me has opened up with a new sense of purpose and meaning through recording and sketch.’

This was my thought process before I started my degree, and now near to the end of my part one bachelors, I can not only sketch and absorb my surroundings, I now have the skill set to bring my sketches into life and developing a set of projects that have a sympathetic understanding of the built environment, its cultural and social sensitivity and my pure emphasis of simple and sustainable design.
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The Balloch musical retreat project takes on a sustainable approach towards designing two new facilities: the residential retreat and a public performance hall stretching along the River Leven. Strategies in my design such as architectural amphitheaters along the banks of the river, elevated pathways, and integrated walls leading to ‘secret gardens’ pose a heightened sense of curiosity, wonder, and nostalgia for my target audience; youths from Sistema Scotland. Together the two spaces form a new language voicing a safe haven and are set to inspire creativity, performance, and foster social interaction within its custom environment.

‘between the exploration and what it will teach me, between my movements and what I touch, there must exist some relationship by principle, some kinship, according to which they are not only, vague and ephemeral deformations of the corporeal space, but the initiation to and the opening upon a tactile world.’
Merleau-Ponty, M (1968)

Mackintosh School of Architecture
BArch, 2020
Stage 3

Lily Sinclair, a Stage 3 student of Architecture at MSA, GSA. Born and educated in Newcastle Upon Tyne with a strong allegiance to the city and love of its coast and castles.

This year the Stage 3 Architecture Project brief was to design a residential retreat and music education centre in Balloch. The client was SISTEMA Scotland, a charity which takes young underprivileged children away from the stresses of everyday life on residentials to teach them music. The main theme of the project was ‘How Low Can You Go?’, this meant creating an eco-friendly build within a budget.

I brought to this project my experience in music education, which includes performing in various performance spaces from large venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and The Sage, Gateshead to smaller more intermate spaces, together with the experience of rehearsing in a residential setting. I loved this project as it felt very personal and learnt a lot about my style in architecture and where my strengths lie.

Currently, I am seeking 12 months placement in a RIBA certified practice for my Part I year out.

My practice explores the relationship between permanent and the changeable through playing with the extremities of contrasting scales, forms, textures, techniques and histories. I seek to create work that’s inclusive and human first; With people themselves acting as an integral element to the architecture, adding to the architectural space and their relationship with it, through the rhythms of their day to day inviting adaptation and involvement. I aspire for everyday design to have an effortless enjoyability and experiential quality, making the potentially mundane special.

Balloch, West Dunbartonshire is a village which lies on the banks Loch Lomond. This project is a Public Music Hall and accommodation for the charity, Sistema, that seeks to transform the lives of children, young people and their communities through music. Inspired by the history of the train line which ran through the town to the end of the pier as my starting point, the project is an exploration of journey, destination and place. I wanted to create a feeling of anticipation through designing the music hall to act as a monument at the end of the pier, an area that despite being naturally scenic views remained neglected. Sites like these are wholly deserving of buildings that create a sense of spectacle, with a strong rooting in community history.

I am an Architectural student currently finishing the 1st year of my Diploma in architecture at GSA. I have a keen interest in the environmental field of architecture, having a goal to specialise in within this upon moving into the professional world.

For this project I decided to do something close to my heart and look at a more sociological subject by means of defining what makes a queer space. It was an opportunity to investigate something that does not have a wealth of research currently available, challenging myself to look deeper into the subject and make my own conclusions from what I found.

I also used the opportunity to try and define what a queer space is architecturally within a building and how to physically design such a space. Again, something that has not been studied much to date.

This was indeed challenging, but I am more than happy I decided on this thesis and have learnt a vase amount about my community and its history while doing so.

I am a fourth year Architecture student at the GSA, recent graduate of the BArch. Hons. Programme. It is a challenge to describe a consistent theme of my architectural work, as I am aiming at being flexible with whatever project brief and site I am given – one could say that adaptability is, in fact, the main objective in my works. But I also want, and strongly believe that, as an architect, no matter the type and size of a project, to come up with a vision and create spaces which are welcoming to everyone, working at a human space; places that feel good and peaceful to be at.

Lillianne is a Norweigan Part I student, and has attended The Mackintosh School of Architecture since the beginning of her Bachelor. Her professional portfolio includes work from London as well as freelance work in various places of Norway.

Her stage 4 work is an exploration of how a building may serve as an asset in creating a sense of community, and how it can engage with the public creating interest of the program of the building.

I am interested in the intersection of architectural practice with environmental and social justice. I believe that the architectural profession is currently out of step with the environmental crisis we are in and that remedying this is the primary challenge of our current generation. We must update our practices to value ecological and social sustainability as paramount, reflecting the impact that the built environment has on carbon emissions, material waste and social inequality. These challenges inform my design work and research, and set a direction for my future career.
This year in my projects and research I have explored ideas of shared living, material conservation and reuse, circular design and structural appropriation. I have also previously incorporated self-build principles and natural construction materials into my work.
I would like to state my support for the Pause or Pay Campaign, which calls for reimbursement of fees or the provision of additional resources (when it is safe to do so) for art students across the UK. Read the full manifesto at pauseorpayuk.org.

Maisie Tudge – Graduated with First Class Hons from Oxford Brookes University in 2017. Worked at Shoreditch based practice, HÛT Architecture, between July 2017 and August 2019. Collaborating on a range of large and small scale residential and commercial projects, lighting installations, internal refurbishments and furniture design.

Martha Duncan is an Edinburgh based Stage 4 Architecture Student who has spent her past 4 years of study at the Mackintosh School of Architecture. Between Stage 3 and 4 she gained valuable experience in practice at Threesixty Architecture before returning to complete her Bachelor of Architecture with Honours.

Urban Building Thesis:

The library assumes the best of people. The services it provides are founded on the assumption that: if given a chance, people will improve themselves.” (Taylor, “BBC Radio 4 – Thinking Allowed, Palaces for the People.”)

Currently, there is a great disparity of civic buildings in Merchant City. Subsequently this devolves into a lack of community in a very socially diverse district. The site for “A Warehouse of Knowledge” sits on the boundary between the upper class and lower class areas of the district, so the building will act as an item of social infrastructure to increase the likelihood of social connections across the district.

With a combination of biophilic design and circulation which creates social connections, this building will use introverted and extroverted spaces to modernise the outdated library into a piece of contemporary social infrastructure for the people of Merchant City.

“A Warehouse of Knowledge” will act as a monument which builds on Merchant City’s identity.

“Biophilic design fosters feelings of membership in a community that includes both people and the non-human environment.” (Kellert, Nature by Design : The Practice of Biophilic Design, 20.)

An architecture student from Borneo, Malaysia, Sonia has achieved her RIBA Part 1 while studying at Glasgow School of Art. She has gained working experience at two local Malaysian firms and HBA Architecture in Singapore during her Professional Practice Year Out.

While Sonia spends most of her time as a student by day, she also enjoys spending time doing other activities. Her hobbies include hiking, Muay Thai, travelling, reading, and film photography.

Rebecca Hodalova
Stage 4

Urban housing

Nowadays we take pride in the reputation of being busy. Our business defines our social status. Even though, there is scientific proof that this type of overworking lifestyle is causing the rise of mental health issues, none of us are still able to give this reputation up.

This project responds to this problem by reintroducing the currently dissolved barrier between Labour and Domesticity. It does so through physical separation of these spaces and a carefully designed ‘green-belt’. It caters for the need of a working productive façade, while creating a retreat from work, a place where pure leisure is celebrated in the inside. So, you can metaphorically keep your façade of a hardworking busy person, while enjoying the benefits of a hidden labour free oasis.

Ana is a 4th Year Student of the Bachelor of Architecture with Honours. She is of English and Guatemalan descent and has worked for architecture practices in both countries, as well as volunteering in Guatemala City for the ‘Fundamental’ initiative and taking part in architecture and design community engagement at the Lighthouse in Glasgow.

Following taking Urban Design courses during her ERASMUS Semester in the Escuela Tecnica Superior de Arquitectura in Madrid, she developed an interest for multi-scale master planning in social and historically complex urban contexts. Her first experience of working with these conditions was with the multi-disciplinary firm ‘Taller Ken’ in Guatemala City, where she was involved with a project to build upon and improve informal housing occupied by climate change refugees. From the inception, the design was community led and the engagement of the residents was paramount in order to seamlessly weave the proposal into the complex pre-existing social and urban fabric. This led to Ana working on the regeneration project of a historically important post-modernist bank building, into the Cultural Centre ‘Mil y Una’ located in the commercial centre of the City. The creation of public space and community engagement was at the heart of both projects and where invaluable examples of how bottom-up design can work to alleviate problems in socially complex regions of the developing world and megacities.

Working for Donald Insall Associates, a practice specializing in historic conservation and urban regeneration: Ana was able to continue working on community led projects in historically complex urban sites, such as the conservation of Lincoln College in Oxford and Master planning for Bournemouth Council. These projects have all served to inform the design decisions in her academic portfolio, as she has learnt to use historic research, cultural trends in society and social discourse as tools for designing at different scales.

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I, as a graduating student at the Glasgow School of Art, would like to state my support for the Pause or Pay Campaign.

I am a 4th year Architecture Student at the Mackintosh School of Architecture.

I have completed an internship at OZ Architects in the Netherlands.

I am enjoying the course and I am passionate about creating functional buildings which are politically, economically and socially robust and sensitive at the same time.

Former graduate of the University of Liverpool, I joined GSA and the Mackintosh School of Architecture in 2018. I have a strong interest in architectural conservation and my projects tend to focus on the preservation of buildings and materials.
I use AutoCAD software to create any technical drawings and SketchUp for 3D modelling and to generate visualisations. This year, I have experimented using concrete as a medium for model making and have enjoyed making terrazzo in my own time.

After graduating with an Honours degree and embarking upon the final year of Architecture, I sought to build upon skills and interest from the previous Honours year. With a particular interest in Sustainable design and Passivehaus, the final design thesis for Stage 5 focused on an educational institution within the urban landscape of Antwerp.
Taking the concept from Hermon Hertberger’s Space and Learning and applying it to the site, a project is proposed which creates a “Learning Landscape”, sculpted from the tools and measures which promote social interaction. This is achieved through designed space which embodies the idea of inhabited circulation that is given equal importance to the classroom with regards to space and lighting. By providing a communal area to bring together the different cultures of users, a catalyst is created for greater social networking.

In 1943, Sigfried Giedion, in his essay on “Nine points of Monumentality” described a monument as a link between the past and the future. Monuments as civic structures, are symbols for collective ideals and actions, monumentality can be seen as an architectural language that emphasizes and materializes those ideals.
This thesis aims to redefine and explore the physical and metaphysical (program, space, symbolism) manifestations of monumentality.
In Antwerp, this exploration takes place at the oldest architectural artefact of the city, the Het Steen (the Stone Castle) which contains within its ensemble of components, the fortification wall of the original settlement. Now standing context-less, the “Castle” has been the subject of decades of gimmick face lifts, that evidently do not pass the test of time.
This project seeks to rehabilitate the existing architectural fragment, recontextualize it to the new city, and add a contemporary monument, reflecting the collective ideals of todays society.
The new building, acting as an Athenaeum for the city and the Academic institutions of Antwerp, will focus on environmental research and development, with facilities to connect, showcase and engage with the people of Antwerp and Belgium as a whole, whom the monument is intended for.

An aspiring designer interested in adaptability, metabolism within an architectural/ urban framework, future technologies and sustainable systems. I explore architecture mainly through photography and it’s manipulation as we currently live in a world in which our smartphones are an altered perspective of our collective realities.

This thesis investigates how the elevated promenade can connect the riverfront of Antwerp to the city. As the second largest European port city, Antwerp has developed through active trade using River Scheldt and active cultural and economic activities within city. Compared to the urban areas that have gradually expanded since the Middle Ages, the riverside of the city is left untouched with its past appearance. I worked on this project to explore the state of riverside, which lags behind the pattern of urban development around the river, and by looking at the geographical and cultural context of the city, I would like to present through this project how the lines of Antwerp in the past can be transformed into modern times. Here, as a response to the flood problem faced by cities, elevated promenade works in the project replacing the traditional form of one-sided defense techniques, such as breakwaters, while at the same time presenting the programs that cities need.

Andrew Law, a Malaysian-Born Architecture student. His design ethos, believe that Architecture, in its very elemental state, is able to convey an emotional influence to us, as a human beings. He is heavily interested in dealing with the contrasting scales of Architectural intervention, from the minimalism of Architecture, to the “avant-garde” provocations such as Utopias, Heterotopia, investigating the conflicts and the effects of both scales of Architecture to our human society, as a machine, it is all to deal with human beings.

In his final thesis, “The Ark of Antwerp”, a provocation against the apocalypse in a foreseen-able future, as the city is in a flooded state. The thesis deals with the preservation, conservation of the tangibles and intangibles of the soon-to-be vanished city, Antwerp. From a sole-flood barrier to a memory preserver. Where Antwerp is understood as a fragmented city, that is used to be fortified and what is going to be happened in the state of post-apocalypse.

His other work (of competition and academic) and architectural exploration can be browsed in the link below.

Reusing existing knowledge and materials is integral in order to promote a sustainable future for architecture. My thesis concerns reuse, and designing for disassembly in order to facilitate this.

I am defining reuse in two ways. The first is the physical reuse of existing components. This is not a new concept, but it is something that must be made more available in order to be readily accessible within new designs. By creating a framework for the circular economy and reuse of materials within one area, this allows for a similar structure to be set up elsewhere. This should include a place for salvaged materials to be stored in between disassembly and reuse, as well as each new building’s design being well documented and detailed in order to facilitate future disassembly if the building is ever to be taken apart.

The second definition of reuse, is the sentimental reuse of a place and it’s memory. By recycling the materials within the same area and detailing where they came from and where they go, you preserve a place’s history within the reuse. By creating more localised hubs for reuse, you preserve the material memories of a place whilst still revitalising and building on what is already there. The current culture of demolition without any effort to preserve the materials through salvaging or documenting them, is not only wasting resources but also wasting the chance to learn from what has already been done. Frameworks should be put in place to aid the preservation of reuse on a local scale.

My project compromises of three sites all within walking distance of the other in the University district of Antwerp. They are all gaps sites; there were many gap sites in the area and all of them left behind footprints of what was previously there, which parallels the idea of preserving an area’s memories through it’s materials reuse.

The three sites will also work together showing how the materials from one building can be reused within another for a different design and function. Two sites will work as case study A and case study B. The materials from A will be designed and detailed in a way that can facilitate the reuse within B, whilst still providing a unique design for a different programme. The third site will act as a Material Library; this will be the in between point where the reclaimed materials can be stored before reuse, as well as displayed to showcase and preserve the components of an area.

In summary the three sites should show how reuse can be facilitated within a local scale, in order to preserve the history of an area whilst also aiding to it’s growth.

Please not, the thesis is ongoing and will be updated as it develops.

Project: House of Memories: a feeling of time.
Location: Antwerp, Belgium.
Tutor: Stacey Phillips

Since the beginning, and inspired by Aldo Rossi’s readings, I was interested in the idea of the city, its memory over time, and the combination between the old and the new, the contemporary and the vernacular. When I traveled to Antwerp I discovered a vibrant and diverse city where the architecture reflects the character of the inhabitants and retains the history in its fabric.

This thesis explores the role of Architecture as a socio-ecological device expressive of its time. Using the idea of Architecture of time, the thesis researches the themes of fragments, layers, and contrast, derived from the study of the city and its architecture concerning the political, economic, and social history. These themes develop an architectural language that helps to understand and transform a specific locale which the only aim is to strengthen the social and collective fabric of the place, in other words, to create affections derived of the shared collective experience to reclaim the importance of the cultural and civil space as a place for citizen participation, encounter, and exchange.
The Project is developed in a block, located in the medieval and historical centrum of the city, it was, in origin, occupied by one of the most relevant medieval monasteries that resulted in the construction of Sint-Pauluskerk, one of the most significant Baroque Churches in Antwerp situated in the Sailor Quarter. Over time and history, the city has grown around the monastery leaving behind a series of hidden buildings, ruins, and fragments, most of them appear to be abandoned, redundant, or poorly transformed. The thesis investigates the idea of layers creating several architectural contrasts; the close observation of time progression; and the transformation of an old monastery that was once an important religious and cultural center of collective organization and ecological character.

Callum has studied at The Mackintosh School of Architecture since 2018 and received his Part 2 accreditation here, prior to this he completed his Part 1 at The Belfast School of Architecture. He completed his Part 1 year out working at Baker Garden Architects in Dunedin, New Zealand. His Architectural Interests are related to Adaptability in Architecture and the interplay between temporary and permanent elements.

The work enclosed is part of Callum’s Stage 5 Thesis Titled ‘Infrastructure as Performance’. The project was situated in Antwerp; Belgium, on a unique site located on the waters edge beside the historic Loodswezen building.

In the city key Infrastructure points are often closed off to the public which over time become derelict creating non-space within the city. The Hypothesis questions these notions and seeks to provide a hybridity to flood Infrastructure within Antwerp, and allow it to become a stage for performance / events that encourages social cohesion and activates the waters edge. These key ambitions are achieved through an acknowledgement of the quays qualities which inform the architecture. The notions of performance / events, transparency and the procession to the stage are important. How does this hybrid Performance Infrastructure come together and can it change common notions of Infrastructure within the city to engage the public?

A range of Analysis and research are enclosed with a detailed synopsis that highlights the main Architectural aims.

About me

I am curious about transformation of underused spaces, co-creation, rootedness, connection with nature, finding creative ways of working with communities and facilitating balanced urban developments.

I worked as architectural assistant with O’DonnelBrown Architects in Glasgow, Konishi Gaffney Architects in Edinburgh and EFFEKT Architects in Copenhagen. Also, I am a co-founder of Un/Common Glasgow (Architecture Fringe 2019 programme participants).

I would be pleased to discuss my thesis work or a future collaboration. My contact details are below.

Estate of Change

The thesis seeks to bring the diversity of urban life to Antwerp’s peripheral modernist social housing estates by improving the quality and equality of everyday spaces. Normally demolished as part of comprehensive redevelopment plans the four slab blocks of this proposition will be retained thus respecting the unique character of the modernist housing and allowing the existing residents to continue to occupy their flats during construction.

This proposition to transform modernist blocks in Luchtbal neighbourhood will focus primarily on re-working the ground level, which is so typically underused in modernist urbanism. Between the blocks and their existing pilotis the principles of shared commons, mixed use, gradation of scales, distinct spatial identities and lasting quality of design are explored.

Identified needs of the ethnically diverse and economically deprived residents were used to inform a new masterplan and related architectural interventions at multiple scales. The existing situation of a private dwelling, a common stair and an overwhelming open space outside are mediated in this proposal by adding the ‘missing’ in-between spaces, thresholds encouraging stronger social relations and trust between the residents of the blocks and the wider neighbourhood.

The proposition includes:

1. Additional ground floor housing to redefine the public realm. Existing flats are provided with new sunrooms to increase desirability and common stair landings are made more generous to provide space for conversation between neighbours;
2. New pedestrian streets with active façades linking major attraction points in the neighbourhood (for example, train station and leisure destinations) to create spaces with distinct architectural identities and reduce car dependency;
3. Affordable work spaces, community education facilities and the associated civic spaces are proposed to address unemployment and bring more visitors to the area;
4. Clear distinction between public streets and semi-private courtyards shared by the residents of the blocks in order to encourage ‘ownership’ of the underused green spaces and create opportunities to strengthen trust between neighbours. This introduces ‘fronts and backs’ to the serially planned slabs;
5. Shared community facilities such as kitchens and laundrettes in the semi-private courtyards to allow the possibility of residents to re-think their daily lives on more communal terms;
6. Architectural language, design code and materials of the newly formed spaces are respectful of the existing buildings, ease navigation and give a sense of scale, ‘warmth’, comfort and lasting quality.

Ollie Scott is an illustrator whose practice explores the topic of silence and noise in public spaces through a medium of writing, drawing, drypoint etching and book making.

In her most recent project titled ‘Observations of Strangers’, she delves into the interactions with strangers that often seem insignificant, exploring feelings of awkwardness and shared discomfort within the infra-ordinary.

Molly Lindsay is a Communication and Design graduate, specialising in photography.

The work presented centres around the theme of walking; tracing and tracking the journey by drawing into the landscape. The red line continues into the project Uses of the Erotic, a visual response to Audre Lorde’s essay, challenging classical depictions of the nude in attempt to reclaim a definition of the erotic through a female photographer’s eyes.

Abby Bayani is graphic designer working and living in Glasgow. With an interest in underlying structures, she utilises graphic design as a way to explore and visualise them in new ways.

Working across disciplines, her practice is process-led, experimenting with various methods and materials to develop ideas. She makes use of printmaking, bookbinding, and animation to aid her creative process; and is inherently driven by the possibilities of playful exploration and meticulous making.

I’m a photographer and multidisciplinary artist born in Brighton (1996) and based in Glasgow.

My current projects focus on human intervention, exploring globalisation, public space, British culture, urban environments and social behaviour.

Through contemporary photography I attempt to extract new meanings from within the landscape and materialise ideas, tensions or emotions that are otherwise unseen. Interested in the reciprocal relationship between human and environment; I often manifest my ideas through reoccurring motifs and patterns found in people and objects. My work has become more socially and politically motivated in recent years, a natural response to our current climate. Conveying the human condition through a sense of unfamiliarity, I attempt to reveal new interpretations of ‘truth’.

My current project ‘In Moleca’ documents the events and effects of the ‘Acqua Alta’ (high-water) which transpires annually in the city of Venice, Italy. This tidal activity is a natural occurrence, however in recent decades it has been aggravated by the effects of human activity. Mass-tourism, global warming, urban expansion and industrialisation are damaging factors which have influenced the deterioration of the Venetian lagoon, this has led to the increasing tide and subsidence of the ‘floating city’. Exploring issues caused by human intervention; this series highlights the tender balance between urban inhabitants and the environment. ‘In Moleca’ questions how cities like Venice can harmonise this interdependent relationship and adapt to the age of the Anthropocene in an increasingly globalised world.

This year I worked on a short film commissioned by the Scottish Football Association (SFA). This documents United Glasgow FC, a club who campaign for refugees rights and champion the ideals of inclusivity and accessibility in Scottish football.

In recent years my work has been published by Intern-mag, CNN, Public-Source XYZ and Issues-mag. Please contact me via email for any enquiries, commissions or collaborations!

My work throughout 4th year derives from my interest in social action.

The displayed project is my newly-developed typeface, inspired by ancient scripture and designed to be powerful and sacred in appearance.

It also is elegant but has intentionally sharp, lethal-looking features. Altogether, the typeface emphasise the strength and dignity in the chosen texts.

The texts themselves reference cultural appropriation, with the contemporary phrase ‘culture vulture’ and a quotation from black feminist writer, bell hooks.

Georgina Bailey is an illustrator whose recent practise with pen and ink depicts our inner thoughts and narratives as intruders to a mundane space: a confrontation between the mini universes lived in our minds and the physical one we exist in.

I am an observer! Through both photography and film, I explore landscapes and those who seek the outdoors and the adventure it brings. Thriving in challenging conditions, I aim to capture moments in which humans interact with the environment, whether it is through athletes pushing their bodies to the limit in extreme conditions, or simply as an onlooker to a landscape.

I’m a graphic designer and image maker based between London and Glasgow with a focus on art direction and process led design.

My design style falls between graphics and illustration as my practice often includes some kind of image making element. This even translates into my lettering and typography with my interest in decorative and bespoke type design, which is best illustrated through my work with FATHER. This stems from my love of process, whether that be the carving of Lino or the sketching of letterforms, I really enjoy the journey from the initial spark of an idea through all it’s iterations until it’s final form as well as the constant learning that comes with the discovery of new techniques relevant to my projects.

I am a graphic designer based in Glasgow, primarily focusing on motion and identity design. I enjoy constructing user focused narratives that draw people in, encouraging engagement and a sense of experience within my design.

Throwing myself into my research process helps me achieve this. I don’t tend to start any designing until I have thoroughly – and perhaps a wee bit exhaustively – torn open the brief to explore every visual concept, historical relevance, social aspect and practical use. With this process I feel more informed in decision making, confident I have left no stone unturned.

I believe that having an appetite for knowledge of the worlds surrounding your own is vital for a designer in navigating the design process. Being able to reference a multitude of perspectives, stories and experiences allows us to create a more conscious, kind, inclusive and sustainable experience for everyone.

Printmaker, illustrator and schemer.

Elisabeth is most immersed when getting tactile with ink, making drypoint engravings and woodcuts. it is a process-oriented practice; chipping and burring, scraping and turning. tranquility is the result.

Looking for a press, for images to make, and finding ever more thrilling means to produce prints.

Melody Uyanga Ramsay is a Scottish-Mongolian fashion designer whose work focuses on heritage, ethics, sustainability and its intersections using fashion.

After gaining invaluable experience in the Concept Design Department at Ralph Lauren, she has honed her own creative vision working between fashion, installation, performance and video.

As you start to figure out her visual language; the process of theoretical and historical research becomes evident as a form of figurative expression, transporting you with tailored British narratives and a homage to Mongolian horse-riding culture. This melting-pot of culture and art forces to overwhelm and define you.

Through her research, she has developed a design process that involves a rich cross-pollination of sources, bringing together literary, material and visual references.

Her 2020 graduate collection is presented as a meditation on cultural narratives, presented within a carefully considered scenography and casting.

Drawing upon the images and textiles of authoritarian dress in a transnational dialogue, she moves across time and space by bringing these references under the lens of a new era in postcolonial critique.

Sophie Marshall is a Womenswear Designer and Pattern Cutter based in Glasgow. Throughout her studies, Sophie has developed a keen interest in tailoring which has become a fundamental component of her graduate collection. Sophie is passionate about the physical aspects of the design process, particularly creative pattern cutting.

Her graduate collection, ‘These Will Be Our Pink Days’ is a womenswear tailoring collection which aims to challenge society’s construction of femininity. By deconstructing sexualised representations of women in the media, it is possible to instead create a flattened sense of sexuality- leaning towards androgyny- which will allow women to exist outside of the confines of their gender. Sophies research consists heavily of female artists whos practices are fuelled by a desire to emancipate women from the patriarchal gaze of our heteronormative society.

Sophie’s practice involves using traditional tailoring found in menswear, alongside silhouettes and fabrication techniques from women’s lingerie. Her design process involves analysing the cultural significance and sartorial power associated with certain items of clothing- namely, traditional tailored pieces-and using these symbolic references to distort and subsequently rewrite society’s idea of how a woman should dress, look and behave.

The aesthetic drive for this collection lies within the highly sexualised and auto-erotic representation of women in 1990’s/early 2000’s advertising and the media in general. Sophie is interested in the individualist portrayal of women in postfeminist imagery, which suggests that women are empowered and in control through consciously conforming to a heteronormative, patriarchal construction of sexiness. This collection has been influenced by feminist theory and an in depth understanding of the need to disturb and breakdown stereotypical representations of women in the media.

Even when worn by a woman, it is difficult to see a suit and not also have an attached idea of that suit belonging to menswear. For this collection, Sophie takes specific elements found in tailoring and uses these in nontraditional ways to grant women the power which belongs to men’s tailoring, without there actually being any notion of gender.

I, as a graduating student at the Glasgow School of Art, would like to state my support for the
Pause or Pay Campaign. To read the full manifesto click here

Zoë Ward is a womenswear designer from Brighton, currently based in Glasgow, Scotland.

She appoaches design and making with a visceral exploration of craft and craft history resulting in textiles and garments rich in detail.

Zoë prioritise’s a slower approach to making – isolating techniques, such as hand smocking and appliqué that would enforce a more mindful and meditative approach. By applying honest, traditional craftsmanship, the garment can be seen as a narrative object; it tells a story of time and care before its even worn. Zoë believe’s considering clothing in this way we come to respect and value our belongings in a deeper sense. Applying this philosophy she hopes to re-address the relationship we have with what we use and what we wear.

Sustainable practice is at the core of what Zoë does. Utilising second hand, up-cycled, found, or in some way repurposed cloths and materials. The resulting textiles and garments reflect this history, the provenance; the landscape they come from and the people who created them.

Zoë hopes her collection honours the communities that have inspired her, that it recognises the traditions and processes of generations of craftsmen, and that it celebrates narrative in the objects we own and treasure.

I, as a graduating student at the Glasgow School of Art, would like to state my support for the Pause or Pay Campaign.

Exploring the role of place as the cause and outcome of social action, Gibb’s work examines how the multiple and dynamic identities which emerge from and within place impact the past, present and future. Her work primarily comments on the influence of Christianity in the shaping of social relationships, attitudes and outcomes within the context of her native Northern Ireland.

The graduate collection featured, Where There Is No Vision the People Perish, explores the influence of strict Christian morality in our affinities to each other, ourselves, our bodies and our space. Gibb scrutinises the manifestation of creed in the sculpting of societal ideals of sexual virtue in contemporary Northern Ireland and respectfully commemorates the subsequent detriment with the objective of equality. Through the study of changing bodies, posture and psychology, healing and mending Gibb presents this relationship to materiality through the creation of genderless, slow fashion.

As a graduating student of the Glasgow School of Art, I won’t be using this platform to present and promote my practice as an act of solidarity with the Pause or Pay Campaign. If you would like to see my full works please follow this link to my website: gibb.cargo.site

Born in Germany, Isabell is a Glasgow based designer and seamstress. After successfully finishing an apprenticeship as a seamstress she moved to Glasgow in 2014 and will graduate with a BA (Hons) in Fashion Design summer 2020. Isabell gained a wide range of knowledge for manufacturing and garment construction, throughout her studies and work in the bridal, costume and performance sector.
Especially through her work for bespoke bridal gowns and creating her own collections at the art school, she developed creative problem solving and pattern cutting skills.
Isabell herself is outside the studio passionate about a wide variety of outdoor activities. Her connection to nature and her creative way of thinking is her drive to push sustainability in the sports industry forward.

With an enthusiasm for story telling and cultures of the past, Caitlin Fraser is a unisex designer from Glasgow. Whilst studying her BA in Fashion Design, Caitlin has had a keen interest in garments of the past and how they could convey so much information about the person wearing them. This interest has spanned from the tudors of the 1500s to the punks and skinheads of the 1980s.

Caitlin’s current project is about exploring her own heritage and identity by focusing on the city where not only she grew up but also her family generations before her. The main inspiration behind this project comes from old family photographs, poems and film as each garment aims to tell a different story through the cut, silhouette and fabric choice.

I, as a graduating student at the Glasgow School of Art, would like to state my support for the Pause Or Pay campaign. To read the full manifesto click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MwdvZfLTp1udaASJ1EAmRT9XR-OPQIyU/view

Throughout her practice, Ailsa’s work focuses on the subject of identity, which has been explored in several different mediums. Many of the works focused on the face; specifically how history, culture and similarities passed on through the generations help to define us as individuals.

This year Ailsa’s work consists of various studies looking at the gestures that we all use to accompany our dialogue, predominantly centering around hand movement. People often display nuances in their movements, emphasising how gestures are specific to that individual. It is Ailsa’s belief that these subtle differences in gestures can convey as much information and emotion as the spoken words they accompany.

Starting with detailed pencil drawings of hands, Ailsa progressed to several small studies. These included looking at contrasting performing arts and exploring the ways people use hand gestures to express themes and passions. Through a series of interviews, she scrutinised the way in which people’s bodies responded to her prompts and guidance. Experimenting with both digital machine learning and physical plotting devices, Ailsa’s work continues to explore the use of sculptural materials as a means of data visualisation.

Charlotte Holland is a creative technologist exploring the intersection of art and technology. Her latest body of work explores our relationship between the real world and the virtual, through the lens of online gaming.

Her work incorporates the “W”, “A”, “S” and “D” keys, which are a common input when playing computer games. Each letter acts like an arrow key, moving the player up, down, left, or right in relation to its position on the keyboard.

Mirroring these controls, she has used each letter to signify a direction. Generative line drawings are created by analysing a text and then plotting each instance of “W”, “A”, “S” and “D”, moving the line in the corresponding direction.

She developed a particular interest in the unique language patterns used in gaming chat logs. Taking gaming conversations out of their original context, she uses chat-log messages as input data to create these generative artworks.

Chat-log language is typically informal, rude, misspelt, and laced with gaming jargon. She found it humorous to create works of art inspired by this which from the outside seem sophisticated and mature. Her work plays with perceptions of what is worthwhile or important in this new digital age, finding beauty in unexpected places.

YongWon Choi is an artist based in the Glasgow, United Kingdom and Seoul, South Korea. He is working on various subjects of art and science conflict, reality and virtual, immersive content, brain-computer interface, data visualisation, and user experience based on the question of human essence and humanistic knowledge.

His latest study, “Implementation of Interactive Content in Virtual Garden with Application of Personal Data,” is questioning about “Can future immersive content, such as virtual reality, be used as a form of art?” and “How can we use reactions such as the mind and the emotion of human nature to provide a different experience in art?”

His work is a virtual garden space where you can experience a new form of multisensory (visual, auditory, tactile) as an immersive content, and implements a responsive brain-computer interface based on theoretical backgrounds such as immersive content, simulation, and user experience data. His work consists of a brainwave recording device (EEG) and a virtual reality headset, and that produced in the Unity programme.

The new value presented by his proposal is that the user’s creative response (sensory experience) to virtual reality, emotions and empathy can be interpreted and understood in a new way by integrating into the art in the form of ‘data’, and this value can lead to new forms of creativity that are different from existing art. His work says that the act of seeing in the future will be an active process based on interactive communication, not a passive process that unilaterally accepts transmission from a two-dimensional screen. This change of experience will eventually change the future beyond our conventional and general perceptions and lives.

Light is the primary creative medium of Sean Mallon’s practice and he has been increasingly inspired by the technological use of light in invisible wavelengths for networking and data distribution. He is concerned with using visible light to express the effects of connectivity on the psyche. Seminal texts have been drawn from, such as those by Marshal McLuhan, who famously wrote of the interplay between the development of our brains and the media processed by them or as his contemporary John Culkin said; ‘we make the tools and then in turn the tools help to shape us’ (Culkin 1967). His work aims to express this interplay between technology and human experience and to show that we are at a new intersection of adaptation as we are exposed to networked media.
These ideas are expressed with interactive installation work which aims to draw attention to the body / self. An awareness of oneself is created by mirror images of pixel-like white light, transplanting the body with a digital representation of such. Light follows the movement of the viewer, reaffirming the interplay and our close ties with technology; symbolising the technological human condition we now inhabit.

Callum Blair is a Scottish born creative technologist who is interested in discovering how design and technology can be used to convey movement in sports, particularly in tennis which he has a passion for. By comparing the elegance and beauty of the movement in tennis to an improvised dance he can see the relation to art. The skills required to perform at highest levels allows players to develop shapes and styles while they move on court which Callum transfers into his design practise.

Callum’s work looks at how he can turn this motion into data visualisation, by listening to radio broadcast of past tennis matches he turned the language used in the broadcast and turned it into data. With inspiration from Brian Eno rule based thinking, Callum explores how rule-based patterns could influence his work using them to direct his design choices when using data to create his visuals.

Along with the data visualisations of past matches, Callum experiments with machine learning, feeding a computer algorithm text from radio broadcasts. He taught the machine how to reproduce its own tennis points. By interpreting the points made he would draw the interpretations and create prints and calling it a collaboration between human and machine, drawing the interpretations and creating prints.

Inspired by the blurring line between reality and the imagination, Ankita Nagaraj’s work is an experimental exploration into our relationship with the technology we have created. Finding the most interest in the journey of research and development, her work branched from the imagery of machines gaining consciousness, free thought and emotions, shown in the music video ‘The Music Scene’ by Blockhead. Basing her work on this science fiction idea, while pulling reference from the concept of singularity in Eastern culture as discussed by Alan Watts, she uses browser extensions, popups and physical pieces of technology to personify and humanise these machines.

Rebecca Lindsay is a digital artist and designer who in her recent work explores the act of cognitive offloading and the trust we place in technology storing information without error. We often misremember things as our memories change over time and can be altered due to outside influences. As our minds are fallible we take pictures to remember events which we backup to computers and phones under the assumption that this information will remain unaltered. Many of us use memory apps through social media to remind us of events. However, as our devices and apps can be hacked our information can be compromised – could we remember clearly enough to dispute that our information and consequently our memories had been altered?

Inspired by artists such as Zbigniew Rybczyński and Sophie Calle, her recent work uses machine learning and coding as a method of generating imagery. Using personal information uploaded by others and herself ranging from text to images Rebecca’s work explores our relationship and reliance on technology to both save and express aspects of our lives and identities within a non secure digital landscape.

Zach Mason’s work investigates the relationship between digital and physical spaces through design research across both spaces. The liminal space created between these environments is experimented with in order to reproduce objects in alternative forms. This subverts their purpose, and reduces their forms to better understand them, and the process of object reproduction.

Hoping to break down the stigmas associated with digital space, he uses 3D modelling and machine learning along with 3D printing to move objects and ideas from one facet of space to another. Using surreal and intangible notions, he aims to break down engrained barriers within the spaces we inhabit, in order to invite users to approach them in a less fragmented manner. He sees mental, physical and digital space as a continuous realm to be explored, made tangible through a symbiotic trifecta which allows for the creation of objects in liminal space.

Sally’s practice primarily focuses on ideas and issues related to mental health. From experiencing mental health problems herself, Sally has become passionate about using her personal lived experience and creative practice to open up much needed conversation and challenge existing stigma and ill-informed perceptions of mental health problems. She uses technology to develop interactive and immersive audio and visual experiences that communicate the often hard to explain realities of living with a mental health problem.

Sally often combines her creative practice with her voluntary youth work role at See Me Scotland. In her most recent work Sally has been working closely with other young people from See Me to develop a series of engaging and interactive works that communicate voices, lived experiences, challenges and stigma that young people face in relation to mental health. This work focuses on three key themes; stigma, medication and barriers to accessing support.

Valentine Scherer is a French/Australian interaction designer who is interested in finding and making connections between generative and organic processes, analogue and digital, material and non-material, to discover new lenses on sense-making in a world of chaos & disinformation. Her most recent research and work were initially inspired by some of Richard Sennet’s writings on craft and how we live in the built environment.

Her work interrogates processes in making, production and consumption in the networked digital society. Allusions to the circularity of the economy are made throughout her work as an attempt to make a playful commentary, drawing from a broad range of inspirations such as Dadaism, George Brecht’s instruction art or more contemporary artists and designers like new media artist Philipp Schmitt. Much of her research and work on the ecology of modularity stems from a fascination with the role of craft as a means of sense-making in society.

Much of this work is based on a set of images of hybridised furniture pieces which were produced using Machine Learning algorithms via Runway ML software. This process enabled the generation and computational ‘imagination’ of a new set of furniture designs based on standardised IKEA graphic instruction covers.

Seeking to critique flat pack and modular furniture and the IKEA model which is hyper-dominant for all students and young people worldwide, she uses machine learning, 3D modelling and printing methods to uncover the flawed value system underlying the culture and production ethos. Using a playful and absurdist spirit of inquiry, she developed a way to auto-generate semi-functional modularity which shows just how ridiculous it is, and how it is just creating toxic landfill at an exponential rate, how this culture in itself is a huge driver of economic externalities that can only be eliminated by thorough system change.

I joined the GSA Interior Design programme in 2016, having received my Foundation Diploma in Art and Design at Newcastle College.

In my time at Glasgow School of Art I have worked on a range of conceptual and live interior design projects. In this time I have developed my studio skills including sketching and model making, with a view to exploring spaces . I have developed digital skills that allow me to convey my designs, using Vectorworks and Adobe programmes including Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.

In June 2019 I was a Student Ambassador for the GSA Overseas Immersion Project, which involved working in collaboration with interior design students from GSA Singapore.

In July 2019 I worked as an intern with ICA Architects in Glasgow, assisting the interior design team with a number of hotel projects. Working with ICA provided valuable experience of working in the industry.

My final year project is a proposal for a new Hotel and Cook School in Glasgow. The concept occupies The Wheatsheaf building at Speirs Wharf, which was once a part of the Port Dundas Whiskey Distillery. A structural void throughout the building plays with verticality, allowing light to travel throughout and create a visual connection to the cook school from the floors above. The ethos of the cook school is founded in the seasonality of Scottish ingredients. This is expressed throughout the project in the materiality, aesthetic and atmosphere of each key space.

Mikaella Socratous is a multi-dimensional artist born and raised in Nicosia, Cyprus. Her work circles around energy, existence, spirituality and narrational opportunity. It ranges from 2D works, 3D sculptures and installations, video work and performances; as well as art + energetic therapy. The artist’s main focus is the stimulation of creative expression and the introspective methods of time and space apprehension. As a freshly graduated Interior Designer (BA Honors) from the Glasgow School of Art, the long-aim of the artist is to conduct grand scale transcendental and experiential spaces to allow for consciousness to dive within itself and potentially push masses to attain a sense of belonging in this world of ours.
In her BTEC Foundation Degree(Distinction), Mikaella Socratous formed a very successful large scale interactive installation exhibition in Cyprus, with 150 visitors that unknowingly contributed to a social experiment with their interpretations on the table. Something that she thoroughly enjoys doing is triggering the openness of the mind.

Her work mostly portrays fluidity, bold colours and positive energy. A connection to nature is always the case. What she longs for as a designer is a future with people feeling more alive and happier; and Socratous believes that through the evolution of design, that can easily happen. She aims at combining various creative fields when developing a design, whether that be music, theatre, sculpture or dance; in tribute to the power of inventiveness.

My chosen site, The Crystal Palace, is currently home to a Wetherspoon pub, however I wish to re-establish it as a hotel celebrating Scottish authors of the 19th century and the building’s historic relationship with the Great Exhibition of 1851. The site was constructed five years after the exhibition’s grand opening as a result of the architect, John Baird’s, appreciation for the cast-iron and glass venue, which showcased the best of British design alongside notable global works. I chose to focus on hotel design as I have been keen to look deeper into the hospitality industry – particularly hotels – as I am fascinated with how one space must meet the needs of many, consequently impacting an individual’s experience in a given environment. Books are a great passion of mine so I was eager to explore the country’s storytelling past, researching Scottish writers’ works to enable an investigation into ways I could intertwine their illustrious imaginations within my hotel concept and design.

“As you grow ready for it, somewhere or other you will find what is needful for you in a book.”

George MacDonald (1824 – 1905) in The Marquis of Lossie

I took advantage of this last year to tackle the themes that obsess me in my design practice.
The themes of memory, psychogenealogy and synaesthesia of the senses have often surfaced in my work in the past, often unconsciously. With this project, I unearth these motivations, these design impulses, and try to dissect them in order to better understand myself as a designer.
My grandfather left a memoir before he died. I used it to explore the possibility of transforming his memories into emotional spaces. in an exhibition context. Visitors would wander through each space and experience the journey while projecting their own emotions and personal grief.
This project aims to address my own grief, to imagine someone’s life, and to challenge the visitor, who in turn would question his own memories and family.
In order to show my ideas, I like to try various mediums. This allows me to communicate sensations that are difficult to replicate with traditional design limits such as technical drawings and CAD. I love to use animations, sculptures, emotional drawings and textiles to trigger the viewer. This more abstract and conceptual approach to design helps me connect my practice to my personal creative obsessions. Making the process more intense and exciting.

I am an Interior Designer from the Highlands. I have studied Interior design at The Glasgow School of Art for the past three years. During my studies, I have researched the history of social housing, with a particular focus on Glasgow and have developed a passion for affordable, sustainable and high-quality design that can improve the quality of peoples lives. For my graduate project, I developed a social housing scheme which I named LYCHEE.

LYCHEE Housing stands for Light, You, Community, Health, Education and Environment. Its main goals are to provide tenants with a high quality of life by focusing on sustainable, affordable living that encourages a community spirit and sociable behaviour.

To provide a sustainable, affordable and high-quality environment, a range of energy-saving products and systems can be installed to achieve this.

Internal insulation, new energy-efficient doors, windows, lighting, and water-saving plumbing will be used to increase the energy efficiency of the building to also keep the cost of living and running the flat to a minimum.

Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery can be used to improve air quality and keep heating costs down. An MVHR system removes moist stale air and delivers fresh air to a property, in an energy-efficient way. It works by extracting warm, moist air from around the home, putting it through a heat exchanger to extract the heat and then expelling the cool stale air to the outside.

32.7% of households live in fuel poverty. Tumble drying is the healthier option for drying clothes but this is energy-intensive and indoor drying increases mould spore count in homes and can lead to health problems such as asthma and eczema. With a communal laundry room, this allows homes to have better air quality and also save money on energy bills by using the wastewater from washing machines to heat communal clothes dryers and louvre windows to ventilate the space for air drying clothes.

The communal laundry also acts as an opportunity for tenants to socialise and get to know one another encouraging the idea of community living. The focus of social space is considered throughout the building, dedicating the top floor to entertainment for tenants of all generations, in addition to wider corridors, to accommodate the voids through the centre of the building, which provides the corridors with natural light. This decision has been made to bring the sense of the streets indoors, giving peoples doorways personality and also providing a boundary between public and private space with the use of curved walls doubling up as storage on one side and a light void on the other.

I am a conscientious, self-motivated and driven Interior Design student in my final year of BA (Hons) at The Glasgow School of Art.

I have a great eye for detail which is reflected in my visuals and technical drawing skills. My hand drawing skills were recognised by the National Design Competition Costa Coffee, London, 2019 when I was a shortlisted finalist. Interior Design brings out my creativity and gives me an opportunity to express myself which I have shown in each of my projects.

With each new challenge I increase my personal expectations, go over my limits and work even harder to create the best interiors.

I have a natural talent for art which sums up the type of person I am, energetic, always positive and full of creative ideas, either working alone or as a part of a team. Art allows me to put my feelings into my hand-drawings and designs.

I have developed a strong 3D modelling and model making skills as it helps me to get the feel of the space, explore the potentials as well as a variety of different design solutions. My aim is to enhance interiors by injecting colours, materials and finishes to bring it to life.

Therefore, I believe I have the skills, ability, talent and enthusiasm to lead me to a long successful career as an Interior Designer.

This project revolves around people from different fields working in one building and occupying shared spaces. The aim was to create a workspace tailored to the needs of a specific profession while simultaneously allowing them to use shared spaces with other workers. This in turn would encourage them to learn, discover and inspire others.
My inspiration came from my personal experience while studying at GSA where I had students from other fields around me. I would also share facilities with them such as various workshops where I got the opportunity to discuss my work.
The biggest challenge I faced while designing was to find the right combination of professionals to occupy the space together and to create small interrupting points where people could take a break from their work and discuss it with others.
The main focus point in my design was the void, which allows light and sound to travel through it as well as providing a subtle peak into the workspaces of other people.
The void allowed me to explore different planning possibilities; on top of that it created an opportunity for me to explore different CAD softwares and Addobe packages to create a visual language for my project.

My passion for Interior Design stems from the love I have for show homes, seeing the way people manipulate a space in various different ways. The achievement I feel when I see a project coming together is extremely motivating. I particularly enjoy designing domestic and commercial interiors. I have chosen to design a building featuring activities to enhance the learning and play of children. This proposal is a place that suits any type of child including children with learning difficulties giving parents an ideal place to take their children to experience the power of play.The interior features specific areas that expand different types of learning skills. I was inspired to design this type of space as I have a family member who is autistic and wanted to delve into their complex needs this is why I have designed this space within my concept to enhance their education through play.

As a designer I enjoy combining imagination and speculation with logical and rational outcomes. I am passionate about exploring disciplines outside my own such as illustration and textiles and incorporating them into interior projects. I am eager to explore numerous aspects of design both within and outside the realms of Interior design. The House Of Stories is a project which intends to restore engagement with Scottish Mythology whilst also encouraging users to engage with oral culture. Scottish myths have evolved organically from generation to generation for thousands of years and this project aims to create a space to continue this practice. The building allows users to learn about myths whilst also evolving and building on them. The creation of new stories is also encouraged and users have the opportunity to document and archive their own myths. The design of the building symbolises the myth ‘The coming Of Angus and Bride’ which tells the struggle of ‘Beira- Queen of winter’ with her son ‘King Angus’ (the physical embodiment of Summer) and ‘Bride’ (the embodiment of Spring). The tale, which was created by the ancient people of Scotland to humanise and rationalise the unpredictable weather patterns, represents the battle between storm and calm, spring and winter, growth and decay, light and darkness, and warmth and cold. This is conveyed throughout the space through various design choices such as, moss, rust and flowers cast in resin which are a preservation of both growth and decay.

The activities within the space are also inspired by the tale, the main body of the design is taken up by the mythology library which is a reference to Beira’s knowledge and age as she is the goddess of all gods and goddesses for she is all knowing and seeing. The creation of new stories is inspired by Angus and Bride as they symbolise youth, spring and summer which can be interpreted as the blooming of new ideas. The building should remind the visitors of the strength and great presence of nature. This is done by numerous structural implementations which connect the building to its surroundings as it is situated on the edge of the River Clyde as it flows through Glasgow Green. This is also done in less overt ways, by using forms and patterns which have been constructed from the topography of Scottish mountains and weather graphs. The main structure of the building echoes that of a Tholos, which is a type of Greek temple. The application of ancient Greek architecture is important within the space as the House Of Stories should encompass a modern day temple in which to celebrate and honour Scottish mythology and storytelling.

Hi there 👋

I am a designer whose work explores the relationship between the virtual world and online spaces. I am specifically interested in the sociological aspect of the continuously advancing technology and how this impacts our interior environments. Throughout the past 2 years, I have been exploring how digital media, social media, and the internet has affected people, their mental health, and daily lives, through Interior Design and academic writing.

I have designed PLATFORM, a centre striving to support young people’s interactions with the continuously growing virtual world. Enabling the visitors to PLATFORM to feel empowered by the knowledge they have gained, to intelligently navigate social media and other online spaces. The centre offers counselling services and other education spaces where visitors will learn interactively.

PLATFORM tests how wrapping the built environment with a precise material pallet and technology enables questioning the boundaries between the physical and the digital worlds

Zilin Dong is an international student from China, she has studied at the Glasgow School of Art on the MDes Communication Design specializing in graphic design and illustration. During this two year period, her work has covered type and publication design and iconic mask design using a combination of illustration and graphic design. Works always begin with an element of hand-rendering to then be developed and finessed digitally.

Zilin explores the concepts of uncontrollability whilst to reach an outcome combining dreams and three-dimensional book works. Another topic has been identity and personality in contemporary culture—particularly those of political figures—and drawing links to masks used in Peking Opera.

“My practice focus on the visual expression of internal feelings, observations of environment and society and the space in which individuals and groups inhabit. I use a range of materials and techniques to explore various visual languages to identify the most exciting approach for the subject, its outcome and myself.

By recording the lives of people around me and their surroundings through daily tasks, exercises and experiments I continue to find a firmer voice and search for a world language through the mediums of drawing, painting, collage and digital techniques.”

As a student from China, I have had to adapt to many new ways of thinking and learning throughout my studies in the vast and sometimes overwhelming space that is Communication Design. I don’t think of graphic design as merely a form of utilitarian communication, I consider it a powerful platform for authorial practice and self-expression. My work primarily focuses on social issues, like cyber sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and more broadly, the change of women’s rights in the course of social development.

Leda Bartolucci is a visual designer and storyteller. In her practice, the narrative comes first, allowing her to work with a variety of medium depending on which is more suitable for the message to come across. Her projects include the use of photography, graphic design, illustration, moving image or a combination of the above.

During her studies at The Glasgow School of Art, she researched and consolidated the relationship between activism and her professional practice. Believing in the role of Citizen Designer, she is interested in applying intersectional work ethics to the fields of photography and design.

In 2019, she spent a year documenting climate strikes in Glasgow, Edinburgh, London and Italy, producing a reportage where pictures are paired with the narration of her intimate take on the events they portray. At the same time, she volunteered as a graphic designer and teamed up with youth strikers to develop environmental campaigns such as the global strikes for climate, both at local and international level.

She was the European winner of the 2019 Wunderman Thompson ‘Helen Lansdowne Resor’ scholarship for female creative students. She is currently working with themes such as the climate crisis, migrants and refugees, human rights and the interdependence of these issues.

Having graduated from the Shanghai Institute of Visual Art with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication & Information Design, Qiaojia Song joined the Masters in Communication Design programme at Glasgow School of Art in 2018.

With interests that range from cyber- and youth culture to pop art and feminism, Song’s current work seeks to explore the impact that emerging communication technologies are having on our identities and relationships with one another.

As an undergraduate student, Song’s final year project received an award for excellence and she has exhibited in China, Japan and the United Kingdom.

Apolline de Luca is a graphic designer who focuses on editorial and type design. During her studies at GSA, she experimented with book design and its components such as printing techniques, book binding, and layout design, working both with clients and for her personal research. Her design practice is research based and she finds interest in telling stories through design creating physical or emotional experiences for the user/reader/viewer.
Alongside her graphic design practice, she specialised in type-design. During her final year at GSA, she designed Diaspora (a display font exploring Italian immigration to Scotland) with her class mate Alessandro Prepi. From this collaboration and love for type-design, they are now launching their own type foundry, GoodEggs TypeFoundry, to release Diaspora and future projects: goodeggstypefoundry.com

For her next steps, she is aiming to expand her practice at the intersection of graphic and type design.

Prior to joining the Glasgow School of Art, she graduated in 2018 from ECV Bordeaux with a Bachelor in Graphic Design. Throughout her studies, she completed several internships as a graphic Designer at Bordeaux’s CAPC Museum of Contemporary Art, at Studio Kubik in Bordeaux, and at Glasgow-based studio Cause & Effect. More recently, she was in charge of the design of A New Spirit in Painting, 1981, an art book published in 2020 by Koenig Books, London.

e-mail: apolline.deluca@gmail.com,  hello@goodeggstypefoundry.com
website: apollinedeluca.com, goodeggstypefoundry.com
instagram: apolline.deluca

Žarko Dumičić is a graphic designer who is exploring and re-imagining ways we communicate by creating more immersive modes of information exchange through a hybrid of design, sculpture and installation art. Influenced by the Radical and Critical design movements, the work developed as part of the GSA Master’s programme is a reaction to the current social and political environment riddled by misinformation and distrust, as evident by the spread of conspiracy theories and anti-science movements online.

Žarko’s GSA design work encompasses research on the impact of physical dimensionality on graphic design, especially within the field of data visualisation. His primary focus is on experiential and emotional aspects of communication that aim to create a conducive environment for critical thinking. As part of his research he developed a series of sculptural graphic design work constructed out of abstract data, statistics, as well as typography. By grounding communication in a three-dimensional physical form that one can interact with and experience in relation to their body, the work aims to slow down the consumption of information and create a tactile reference of the data presented. The resulting tangible objects and multi-sensory environments engage the audience emotionally and invite them to critically examine the information.

Originally from Zagreb (Croatia), Žarko is an alumnus of Parsons School of Design in New York (USA), was a co-founder and co-director of an award-winning and internationally published design studio in Mumbai (India), and has been selected for an exchange to Tokyo University of the Arts (Japan) during his Master’s studies at the Glasgow School of Art (Scotland). As a result of his international experience, he believes in a global outlook and reach of design that strongly influences his practice. For more projects, images and details of the developed work please visit his portfolio website at zzzzarko.com

My work mainly involves posters, collages, book design and other fields. I am good at hand-making stuff. I love to complete the design through hands-on technology, such as screen printing and laser cutting. As a young visual designer, I want to reflect some social problems through my own effort. For example, one of my projects is about the redesign of waste paper. I have been doing research on the reuse of waste paper, trying a lot and enjoying it very much. I try to make my own paper, make posters with my own paper, make books and other things, and make some installations and books from waste newspapers.

Another project is about collage, because collage is one of the things I am most interested in graphic design. In this project, I explored the difference between East and West about collage in my own way, hoping to have a deeper understanding about collage through the combination of materials, numbers or handicrafts.

Hannah McInally is a Scottish illustrator and ceramic artist, currently working between Stirling and Glasgow. Her practice pushes traditional expectations of illustration by exploring three dimensional forms and spatial occupation. Through an instinctive approach to making and thematic exploration her work aims to inspire visual engagement and interaction with the audience, whilst still being highly emotive. At GSA her work has been guided by loss and creation, opposing states working in tandem, allowing her practice to be informed by emotion in a conducive manner. Hannah’s practice exists in a shifting state, fluctuating between art and design.

Before completing her Masters at GSA, Hannah graduated from the Illustration course at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in 2018. During her undergraduate studies she undertook a semester abroad at the Alberta College of Art and Design, where she diversified her creative practice and expanded outwards into ceramic sculpture and design.

Whilst my background is in traditional Chinese painting which carries its own skills and theories, I found myself becoming increasingly interested in publication design. This led me internationally from CHina to study here at The Glasgow School of Art on the MDes Communication Design course.

Graphic design for me is an expressive tool to communicate information and it provides me with a clear path to introduce or covey complex ideas and emotions. I believe graphic design cannot always solve problems for everyone but can offer different thoughts and perspectives allowing the on a range of issues.

The 2 years of study at The Glasgow School of Art has allowed me time to observe, research and process and issues that I was not previously familiar with allowing for experimentation with ideas. During this times, I focused on exploring how digital media influence our reading habits and how much it had changed our intake of daily information. The past decade or so has seen a rapid development of information technology has brought great change to our lives. While enjoying the convenience brought by technology, we also suffer from information overload, fragmented reading, and reduced attention. Based on this research and through my outcomes I want to highlight issues that may not have been so obvious to the viewer and I consider a physical publication the ideal vehicle to consider the advantages of paper reading to digital reading.

I am a final year Product Design Engineering student on the integrated masters program with both the University of Glasgow and the Glasgow School of Art.

The past 5 years, on the Product Design Engineering course, have massively developed my skill set, confidence and creativity in regard to design. Having teaching from both institutions has provided me with both technical engineering-based learning alongside personal creative development and I hope that this is highlighted in my final year project where the aim was to inspire joy in train stations through interactive, rotating platform seating.

Over the span of this project, beginning in September 2019, I progressed through the major design phases to arrive at the final solution. A large amount of time was spent on the Discover phase where I explored what joy and well-being really means to people and more specifically, where it is lacking in our daily lives. I found that a moment of joy can not only be ignited through well designed functionality, i.e. providing a dry seat outdoors, whenever it is needed, but also that joy can be found within a subtle, pleasant touch or playful interaction. Being able to spark a moment of joy into someones day or distract them from the hard realities they may be facing, has the potential to positively impact their general mental wellbeing.

My Product Design Engineering final year project is an Accessible Auto-injector Dispenser for people who suffer from severe allergic reactions. The product is designed to be installed within indoor public places such as shopping centres and restaurants for emergency situations where an adrenaline auto-injector is immediately required. The presence of this product will bring more awareness of anaphylaxis (severe allergic reactions) and potentially save peoples’ lives.

I have gained experience throughout my time at university working on various projects within GSA as well as volunteering with a start up business in my free time. In addition I have acquired skills in website creation, creative photography and the conducting of effective user testing.

In the future I would like to explore this area of design further and be able to use my knowledge and skills to design and create unique and beneficial products.

I am a Product Design Engineer with a specific interest in the mediums of furniture and sculpture. I find fulfilment in the design and physical construction of my work and strive to expand my knowledge in both, as I continue to create.

Outwith my studies at the Art School, I have interned with London based designer Faye Toogood during the summer of 2019, where I worked on a plethora of furniture items and other home goods. I also collaborate closely with designer Geo Owen as we work towards a release of physical items in the near future.

I’m interested in understanding and improving human experiences. I enjoy engaging with people, learning about new things, and problem solving – all of which I hope to continue throughout my career.

My project focuses on improving patient experience following orthognathic (jaw) surgery. After undergoing orthognathic surgery myself two years ago and having experience working in the orthodontic design and technology sector, I identified an opportunity for a patient focused solution which could improve clinical outcomes. The project involved working with patients and collaborating with the maxillofacial department at Glasgow Dental school, as well as members of the Centre for Medical and Industrial Ultrasonics at the University of Glasgow. Support was also awarded from the GU68 engineers trust.

Around 3,500 patients undergo orthognathic procedures in the UK every year. Following surgery there is a period of intermaxillary fixation where the jaws are banded shut. Patients are unable to eat or speak properly, and there is considerable facial pain, swelling and bruising.

Novo is a wearable system which accelerates post-surgical healing. The reusable adhesive patches apply low intensity pulsed ultrasound to the surgical sites, which has been clinically proven to increase bone density and reduce pain. A shortened intermaxillary fixation period enables the patient to get back to normal life sooner.

I am a Maltese Product Design Engineering student at the Glasgow School of Art and University of Glasgow. An MEng in Product Design Engineering at the two institutions has been an exciting and challenging journey, which has provided a multitude of opportunities in both engineering and design cultures.

My final year project, flexIV, was an exciting venture into the world of biomedical devices. flexIV is a stabilizing intravenous cannula for comfort and freedom. The device protects against dangerous accidental administration of an intravenous fluid into the subcutaneous tissue. This is known as extravasation, which is mainly caused due to movement and instability of the intravenous cannula. Extravasation causes painful side effects, as well as permanent cosmetic damage, loss of function in limbs, and potentially fatalities.

The flexIV device is an innovative redesign of the intravenous cannula. It introduces flexibility to the device to prevent internal catheter movement. With patient comfort in mind as well as extravasation prevention, the user is free to move comfortably without the worry of the catheter becoming displaced.

This project was an excellent opportunity to execute and improve my research skills, build professional relationships with a multitude of professions, and integrate my work ethic from my summer internship at ExxonMobil.

I have recently completed my MEng undergraduate degree in Product Design Engineering at the University of Glasgow and the Glasgow School of Art. Within my coursework, I have been able to address, and design solutions for, a range of problems in several industries.

With my final year project, I addressed the effect that a drop in incidents attended by firefighters has had on their operational experience through designing an augmented reality system which displays real-time situational and environmental data.

In my fourth year, using geographical information captured by NASA from the surface of Mars, I designed and manufactured a small batch of jesmonite coasters which were sold at a retail level through the GSA shop. In the same year, within a group of students, I also helped to design a range of smart telecare products which granted the elderly and vulnerable more autonomy and independence within their own home.

During my third year, within a group of my peers, I looked at the potentials of ultrasonic technology from which we developed a product for students that stimulated the brain to induce a relaxing, de-stressing effect. On my own, I continued developing the product by designing it for manufacture. Some of my work from this project was shown in the “Ultrasonic Glasgow” exhibition in the Glasgow School of Art in late 2019.

Alongside my studies I have also completed two internships; as a graphic design intern at CCL Design, and as a product design engineering intern at Cohesion Medical. I continued working for Cohesion Medical throughout my fifth year where I have mostly worked on UI/UX projects.

Monitum is a speculative project into the world of seizure prediction using next generation technology in ear EEG and mobile processing. Epilepsy is a condition that effect around 50 million people worldwide and causes danger and distress due to the unpredictable nature of seizures. The EEG earpiece was made using generative design in Fusion360 and is custom for each user to ensure a tight fit for the dry contact electrodes. This data is then transmitted via the Bluetooth module behind the ear to a phone or a dedicated processing unit carried by the user. The unit uses a neurosynaptic processor allowing for low power consumption when running deep learning algorithms which is needed for seizure prediction. When a seizure is detected the module behind the ear vibrates allowing the user to get themselves to safety.

My final year project at GSA involved designing an augmented reality app paired with a 3D printed wristband that facilitates independent shaving in men with Down’s syndrome. In the future I hope to be able to apply knowledge and experience gained throughout my time at GSA and UofG in the product design/mechanical engineering sectors.

Having spent a number of years working in the specialty coffee industry I’ve come to appreciate the craft involved in creating the perfect milk to accompany espresso. This has lead me to scrutinise the quality of milk produced by consumer products. Many home milk texturing solutions on the market don’t match the quality delivered by a barista.

Through research and testing of how milk responds to the injection of steam in a jug, my design intends to replicate the caliber of milk you would expect in your local speciality coffee shop.

Through my Meng degree I have developed both engineering knowledge and design experience, giving me the tools to improve real world problems with future forward thinking.

Striving for sustainability is a big part of my work. Most recently, my masters project focussed on trying to reduce the terrible environmental impact of the livestock agriculture industry by encouraging future generations to eat insects, a much more sustainable form of protein. The result is a unit for primary schools which facilitates the farming and consumption of mealworms in the hopes of destigmatising the consumption of bugs. I like the ‘cradle to cradle’ approach to design and believe that creating circular economies of resources is the best way to reduce our strain on the environment. This approach is most clearly seen in a project where I chose to develop a concept for menstrual cup packaging which was made from recycled plastic tampon applicators.

Other notable projects in my university career include; the design and manufacture of felt hanging plant pots for the GSA shop in which I developed some experience with hand felting and natural dyeing techniques. I was also involved with a live project run by Glasgow City Council aiming to bring Telecare into the 21st century. My team and I were able to design a system of products and sensors allowing adults with profound learning disabilities to be given more independence safely during the night, as well as reducing the cost of their care to the council.

Having completed internships at Jaguar Land Rover and COHESION Medical during my time at university I have been able to gain valuable experience with transferring my knowledge and design process into the professional environment.

My theme is about a childhood fantasy of skies, with an idea of reproducing childhood naivety. The fantasy symbolizes my curiosity about nature, the universe, as a child, while providing a beautiful sky unique to myself in the complex world of adults. My exploration revolves around clouds in their fluffy and plump shape, playing with clouds in a series of movements. For example, when I was a child, I often wanted to get hold of it, close in it, and go through it, so I will perform visual movements like enclosing, piercing, and wrapping in my design process. The design turns childhood fantasies into real-contact experiences.

Chang Wu BA(Hons) Silversmithing and Jewellery, The Glasgow School of Art, 2020

How Autistic space is understood is the basis of an idea for this collection. Autism is often associated with negative attitudes, such as fear, panic, anxiety and inferiority. Such attitudes can cause people with autism to be more defensive, in an attempt at a more robust sense of self-protection. In this collection of designs, these relationships are explored, with an emphasis on the self-conscious and self-absorbing nature of Autism Spectrum Disorder. The collection presents objects that might aid us in communications between these complex interior worlds and other external environments. This is achieved in the process of designing these objects: as the silver changes from a cold, hard to a soft, malleable fine line, silver wire is woven into an open and semi-enclosed space. It moves from its original isolation to a state of openness. Silver wire interconnects with the wearer on contact, but the woven reasonable space maintains a little safe distance from being disturbed, and the soft metal mesh leaves only traces of contac

Alaitz MM. Gavilan is a visual artist originally from Barcelona now based in Glasgow. Inclined towards jewellery making as mode of expression, Alaitz also engages with other self-taught artistic practices, like illustration and collage, to present her work.

The series of objects designed for this collection derives its meanings from social movements and reflects on how the fundamental rights that we take for granted today have always been achieved by public protests and demonstrations on the streets, and very often with violence involved. To create an aesthetic of resistance, of a type of distressed materiality, the jewellery pieces have been abused or damaged; putting the enamel under the pressure of a press form, for example, and creating a crackled texture, as metaphor of a broken individualistic society, characteristic of neoliberal economics and politics. The objects here call for empathy and solidarity, a demand for a more community-minded society, symbolised in these small-scale works. Importantly, this collection is part of a broader personal project to expand silversmithing & jewellery designs and bring these closer to a wider spectrum of people, from different social classes, a goal of many previous generations of craft-activists.

The works shown on this showcase are works in progress, (the completed pieces will be shown at a later date) yet the artist is open to commissions.