I have greatly enjoyed studying Architecture over the last three years.  Throughout my last year, my interest has been focused on philosophical thinkers in architecture and I have sought to understand some of their processes and theories. This has had a considerable impact on my work and thinking. It has pushed me to be more concerned with the process and the understanding of such, rather than, simply, the resultant set of drawings. I am currently working on a design book for the shown project. Having completed three years at the Mac, I am now looking forward to joining a practice as a Part 1 Architectural Assistant and gaining an understanding of other architects’ processes and how they allow a project to manifest itself in today’s age.

The project shown is of an activity’s centre and residential retreat, in Balloch, designed for Sistema Scotland. Sistema focusses on transforming children’s lives through music – offering group musical tutoring and social guidance to children and young adults in some of Scotland’s challenged areas.

The site stretched approximately 680m from the tourist office on Balloch road to the beginning of Loch Lomond and mostly consisted of green areas and forestry. I chose to design near the tourist office and engage with the urban material. Ultimately it was asked what this place meant to Balloch and what this place would mean to the children attending Sistema.

For the children it was a place of release, practice, and celebration: release from the day-to-day city life and a chance to experience a rural environment, of forests and picturesque views; practice of their instrument and social development within the Sistema program; and the celebration of the practice, by their performance in the activities centre hall.

To the people of Balloch the place served as a threshold between the urban and natural landscapes. It consisted of an uninviting gravel car park just off Balloch road. At the back of the car park was a grassy earth berm, that once you passed over, you were alleviated of all urban sounds, with no rumbling of cars or zinging of hedge trimmers. All that was left was you and a quiet path through a forest to the start of the loch.

I aimed to build on this change of scene, by placing two objects in the landscape that are experienced differently from opposite sides.  The two objects inform pedestrian movement and enhance the threshold between the urban and natural environment. Their material and structure take on a poetic quality that influences the experience of the passer-by and the child attending Sistema.

Kacper Ryske is a Polish artist and prospective architect currently studying architecture at the Glasgow School of Arts. In 2018 he went to Germany to do his exchange semester at the Bauhaus-Universität where he completed a project that challenged conventional working patterns. Based on building flexibility and the optimisation of evolving working dynamics, Kacper explored the impact of rapid technological development on creative industries and data storage. This seminar became a profound influence on his architectural style and approach to building design since. After the semester, Kacper trained as a Part 1 Architectural Assistant at Studio LIN Architects Urbanists in Berlin run by the German architect Finn Geipel. LIN is a laboratory for architecture, urbanism and design that focus on creating flexible and adaptable solutions that continue to intelligently and sensitively respond to the specific needs of their users and environments over time.

In his recent projects, Kacper strives to find the balance between the measurable and immeasurable. In the soulless, technologically induced environments full of repetitive forms that we experience today, Kacper seeks to harmonise the human scale and satisfy the complex spiritual needs of humanity in his projects. He believes in order to achieve an atmospheric quality, design based interventions within the built environment should resonate with human action, place and cultural context. The concept of Stimmung by Martin Heidegger has influenced Kacper’s design solutions and has become the atmospheric vehicle of his design intent to “carry the human language” through architecture. Taking his inspiration from phenomenological other figures like Kenneth Frampton, Studio Mumbai and Alvaro Alto, Kacper endeavours to explore if sustainable, efficient and flexible solutions may coexist with the poetic phenomenological architecture in order to achieve a holistically fulfilling environment for its users.

The “Residential Retreat” is a project embedded in the surrounding landscape of the river Leven and the national park. It is a place that allows children and teens to escape the hardships of everyday life, providing a place to practise music, play and, most importantly, build a strong sense of community.

The retreat follows the concept of “designing for wellbeing”, heavily influenced by Charles Jencks’ Maggie’s Centres, and puts emphasis on the relationship with the surrounding landscape and the power of nature with its stress-relieving abilities and positive influence on focus and concentration. The building is blending the line between indoors and outdoors, creating an illusion of living in the trees’ canopies.

It also aims to achieve a zero-carbon goal; carefully selected materials and systems strive to create as self sustaining building as possible.

Jordon Lim is a RIBA part 1 graduate born and raised in Singapore, who explores architecture as a medium for social engagement.

Being raised in a rapidly developing country, he acknowledges the disjunction of architecture. He believes that architecture should be thought with inclusiveness, to allow a whole community to thrive.

His works are based on research focused on experiential spaces, to enrich a given context with the opportunity of seeing and learning how environments can tell stories and communicate emotions, create formative moments, and provide a stage for public life.

Having completed the BArch programme at the Glasgow School of Art, I will begin establishing myself as an intern in Vienna, Austria.

I hope to learn from the construction methods and materials applied to European projects and expand my knowledge on sustainable building methods.

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.

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.

I am Jules Régis, student of architecture. I did my Bachelor degree at the Mackintosh school of Architecture. Currently in the 3rd year, I am finishing my study cycle this semester as part of an ERASMUS exchange in Spain at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura in Madrid.

I am now back in Paris working at distance because of the current situation.

Concerning my design, I’m inspired by architecture that brings dreams into everyday life. I also enjoy attention to places and materials as well as the freedom in design.

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.

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.

Jemima Harold-Sodipo is currently a Stage 4 Diploma of Architecture student, having completed her Part 1 BArch degree at The University of Nottingham.

The following is the thesis statement of the project showcased here.

In a society where many are separated or isolated, this scheme looks to retain community. Creating a place in the city catered to all ages and abilities, promoting inclusion and integration. All in light of the Glasgow City Council’s goal to repopulate the city centre.

It seeks to strengthen community infrastructure through shared experience and shared resource, creating a diverse and immersive communal space to engage with others. This is primarily achieved through participation and collaborative design within the immersive theatre space and craft facilities.

Tool hire, DIY advice workshop, and a community kitchen with a cooking workshop, share skills often shared within families and communities. Providing essential facilities for people from different social and economic backgrounds.

The program looks to support existing social infrastructure, with workspaces provided for existing networks that also seek to sustain community, boosting their reach.

A holistic approach to sustaining a community is advocating for longevity and sustainable practices. This is achieved through optimisation of passive technologies and natural resources.

Chloe Spiess is an American architect in training. Spiess graduated with her B.S.Arch from the Ohio State University in 2017 and proceeded to find work in an architecture firm in San Diego for two years. During her time at Ohio State, her interests in architecture focused on considerate design reflecting the history and needs of a place.

“each of us is not simply a machine “sleeping, eating, drinking, and performing its numerous other animal functions- but also seeing, touching, and remembering familiar associations and all the other intangible activities of the mind and soul; all of which I personally believe are of far greater importance and in far greater need of consideration than our purely practical functions in life.”
– Alexander Girard

The project – a physical critique on the present-day relationship between labour and domesticity, developed in three phases and scales: a cell unit, a masterplan, and a housing block.
For the working parent, navigating the time/interaction between labour and domesticity is crucial, for their own well-being, the well-being of the next generation, and the impact of their labour and dreams. I believe that by increasing living arrangement flexibility, “sharing” the burden of domestic labour between genders and under-employed neighbours, providing opportunities for rest, wonder, and exploration, working parents and their families will have more time to focus on what they deem most important.

The Cell – I started with a double-unit 2-story cell with a shared terrace for an inter-generational family, wrapped around a tree. Crucially, each unit possessed an independent entrance. As I adapted the initial cell to the form generated in the masterplan, the stair-and-tree-well lost the tree and was pushed to the edge of the unit, creating a filtered-light effect and providing a green-house-like effect inside.

The Masterplan — was the result of the collective work of Samuel Us, Tess Hillan, Gabriella Togni, Norbu Verhagen, and myself. Multiple courtyards take the central idea of my cell and expand it with gardens and plazas in the centres. As a prospective development along the high street of Glasgow – Trongate, we felt that such a project had a duty to provide an alternative to the commercialism of the surrounding area. Towards this aim, we imagined a series of public, semi-public and resident-only open spaces to make up for the lack of similar spaces in the Merchant City.

The Block – The block of the masterplan that I chose resides in the South-Western corner of the site. Hedged by the main street of Trongate and the side-street of Hutcheson, the block is a sandwich of dental offices, live/work units, a creche, a grocer market on the ground floor, housing in the middle, and entertainment (badminton court, petting zoo, community garden, café/bar, and therapy offices on the top with a view of the magnificent Merchant City skyline.

Graphic style – During the last few weeks of the project, I was also reading a book about Alexander Girard – pioneering designer of the mid-century modern movement and friend of Charles and Ray Eames. His playful use of colour and texture inspired me to go wild with my graphics, as well as add a kinetic rain-screen to the deck-access units.

Social experiences and equality remain at the core of design intentions.  Bridging the fragmented gap between social divisions and the young and old within Merchant City is crucial. Spaces for education and cultural exchanges form inter-generational bonds, while strengthening the social and civic infrastructure maintains a cultural link to the existing urban context. The idea of combining education, as a form of public and private labour, with domesticity arose from a study of the urban demographic, where the lack of family-orientated activities maintains transient experiences within this district of Glasgow.

Many artists’ studios exist in the east end and south side of Glasgow, but not necessarily in the heart of the city. Proposing a building with a significant exterior, carefully balanced with an ephemeral interior best describes Merchant City as a whole. The proposed building with its brick and arched façade sits well within its context, even with a seemingly institutional appearance at first, it is intended to be a permanent structure, changing periodically internally and reclaiming the aesthetic of a building which is otherwise formal and controlled and giving it back to the people of Glasgow.

Cultural and technological shifts in the recent years have contributed to the increasingly blurred distinction between living and working, where we are no longer organised by the traditional 9 to 5 workday. Contemporary forms of labour involve entire life of workers and their spectrum of social relationships- relationships reliant on technology to mediate real-life interactions to a degree to which social isolation and loneliness are now considered a serious epidemic in the UK. These shifts are, to lesser and greater degrees interconnected with forms of living closer together.

The proximity of the site to the City Centre and transport links provide an opportunity where it is able to accommodate various commercial and residential uses where they are able to flourish. With housing shortages, inflated prices and increasing levels of loneliness mean that shared living models are becoming more relevant.

At the basis of this thesis lies the ambition to rethink the idea of housing as an apparatus where form, economy and dwelling converge. The project implies a new social contract in which housing is driven no longer by traditional forms of ownership, but by a cooperative contract among inhabitants that allows them to live together by sharing spaces and facilities that would not be possible within the confined orthodox typology of a “house”.

Jackson Deans is a multidisciplinary designer from North Yorkshire. He specialises in architectural design, graphic communication and illustration. With a fondness for bold and brutal forms, his work draws from 20th century Post-Modern, Metabolist, and Brutalist architecture that feeds into all aspects of his work. Whilst studying in Stage 4, Jackson has designed two large-scale architectural projects relating to domesticity and labour in the urban context of Glasgow.

‘Urban Housing’ explores the relationship between not only domesticity and labour, but the broader district in which our site is located, and a masterplan design was established in order to discuss vital social issues within the district. The project is presented from the large scale of the city down to the small scale of an archetypal dwelling, or ‘cell’ that forms the larger build up of the housing complex.

With ‘Urban Building’, Jackson develops a hybrid typology that incorporates contemporary nightclub spaces into the fabric of a traditional Roman bath house. This project addresses issues relating to the LGBTQ+ community and offers spaces that intend to provide different, perhaps contrasting experiences catered to the desire of the user; a meditative spa, an intense techno nightclub, private darkrooms, and virtually any spacial and experiential variance in between.

Nichole Ann Samson is a Filipino student, graduating 4th year Architecture (Honours) at the Glasgow School of Art in 2020.

Migrating at a young age, Nichole Ann Samson is inspired by contradictions and connections between cultural and spacial aspects in her projects. Employing the intertwined concepts is a personal reference that highlight the contrast as well as the resemblance in architectural design. The journey and flow through the space of opposition and juxtaposition explores the ideas; of public and private, exterior and interior, industrial and environmental, urban and oasis, dark and light, shared and individual experience within a piece of architecture. Clearly showcasing the importance of spacial route in a way that can be defined as one or the other or to blur the lines between the two.

Having completed my undergraduate degree in University College Dublin, I moved to Glasgow to broaden and re-contextualise my architectural education. My work focuses on presence and the balance between heavy and light taking particular interest in materials and what they offer the user over time.

I aim to think of the built environment as a living, ever-morphing realm and carefully consider time passing and a building’s continuous existence through it. True sustainability and usefulness comes not just from fulfilling a brief but imagining the brief in many years to come and taking ownership of your responsibility to design for humanity.

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 have been an architecture student at the Glasgow School of Art since my first year in 2015. This year, I will be graduating my Bachelor of Architecture (Hons)

The two projects presented here are parts of my work from my 4th year. One is a housing project from the first semester, and another one is my thesis project from the second half of the year which, unfortunately has to be cut short.

Despite the halt in the teaching, I have continued to work independently on the project to the most of my ability with the limited facility and resources.

For more information, CV or complete portfolio, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

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

My focus this year was to investigate, analyse and reflect on the themes of imagination, play and education. I’ve developed an interest in design for play as a form of education and have tried to integrate this passion into all three projects of 4th year. Three projects have been included in my exhibition each studying different techniques of architectural design that enhance socialisation, education and play aimed at a range of ages.

Projects remain unfinished but will be updated on both this page and my instagram as progress continues. @g_reiddesign

Karina is a recent RIBA Part 2 Architecture graduate, also a holder of a degree in Architectural Technology.

Karina worked in Vietnam and the United Kingdom. Studied in Denmark, Scotland and Japan.

Her interest is in community architecture and art projects, build for and with local communities using recycled and eco-materials. She also is passionate about illustrations and graphic design, which helps her to present the ideas in a clear and attractive manner.

In 2020 Karina was nominated for RIBA Norman Foster Travelling Scholarship with the research topic in Craft Revival.

The final year thesis question stated: ‘How can the participatory architecture in underused sites of Kyoto, bring new notion to the oriental street and its’ communities in a contemporary context?’

It also sought to investigate the relationships between the professional and the user; unintentional and undefined design processes.

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.

As a response to the expanding city and the large amounts of abandoned industrial warehouse areas, the thesis explores the possibilities of deconstructing abandoned industrial 20th Century buildings for the potential of reusing all their materials and elements to create new buildings for different functions.

Elements and materials from 20th Century warehouses that are considered to be of a low architectural value are taken in use for testing their ability and future as a base for new public buildings. A catalogue of elements can be used to promote the modern production of reuse and remaking, seen as an important and publicly accessible activity, therefore creating a monumental space expressing the importance of remaking in the modern world of consumerism.

I am testing this in the district of Den Dam in the north east of the city centre, where I have identified thirty three warehouses that are abandoned or that lack potential for adaptation for new use. All elements and materials that these buildings are made up of have been catalogued and studied, which has been taken in use when designing the new buildings. The entire masterplan is made up of new buildings, determined by the amount of materials available.

In order to test new expressions with the elements they have been tilted, rotated and combined in different ways, allowing larger spaces to be created and new textures to be explored.

The programme of the building explores the push of remaking, made up of workshops for professional and for public use. The process consists of a waste collection point, going through to workshop spaces, and with remade and fixed objects being sold at the market. Additionally there is a teaching facility for sharing the knowledge of making and remaking, so that it is accessible and available for
everyone.

Tom Stark BSc DipArch studied architecture at the University of Strathclyde before completing his diploma at the Mackintosh School of Architecture, in 2020. He has worked for a range of practices within Glasgow including Hoskins Architects, Dress for the Weather, Marc Kilkenny Architects, and most recently with Baillie Baillie Architects on several residential projects throughout Scotland. In 2017, he was awarded the Glasgow Institute of Architects’ student prize for third year.

Since 2016, he has worked in partnership with James Faulds, a collaboration which is founded on a common philosophy that speaks to the on-going dialogue between a universal simplicity, context and the long lineage of architectural history. Through an appreciation of the humble and mundane, the studio maintains an approach which strives to make concrete an architecture which is subtle, considered and meaningful.

James Faulds BSc DipArch is an architectural designer, educated at the University of Strathclyde, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and The Glasgow School of Art, where he graduated in 2020. Prior to completing his studies, James worked with Collective Architecture in Glasgow, where he gained experience working in the public-housing sector. In 2015, he was the recipient of the Glasgow Institute of Architects’ J.B.Wilson Prize.

Since 2016, he has worked in partnership with Tom Stark, a collaboration which is founded on a common philosophy that speaks to the on-going dialogue between a universal simplicity, context and the long lineage of architectural history. Through an appreciation of the humble and mundane, the studio maintains an approach which strives to make concrete an architecture which is subtle, considered and meaningful.

An Architecture of Emotion acts as a critical reappraisal of the value and necessity of collective and solitary emotional space, proposing a revised typology that considers the future of emotion, contemplation and memory within the contemporary city. Seven chapels form a constellation at the heart of the block, fed into by four gardens which are screened from the street by a series of modest gatehouses, each addressing their immediate context. Each chapel serves to offer space in which one may seek comfort, solace or celebration: spaces that aim in atmosphere, scale and material expression to elicit and sustain an emotional and spiritual need.

jamesfaulds6@gmail.com / tstark.arch@gmail.com

How can seized goods be reused in a way that fights illegal wildlife trade and it’s effects?

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My research started with a TRAFFIC and WWF report highlighting Belgium as a hub for both legal and illegal wildlife trade. This includes live animals and plants, animal products and also timber.

The Port of Antwerp is the 2nd busiest port in the EU and plays an important role in wildlife trade, importing 58% of the EU’s sawn timber. The port of Antwerp is much larger than the city itself, the scale incomprehendable from the city itself.

The environmental effects of illegal logging include deforestation, the loss of biodiversity and the uncontrolled emission of greenhouse gasses.

Antwerp as a city is particularly susceptible to the effects of climate change, with likely increases in flash flooding due to extreme rainfall.

It is highlighted in the TRAFFIC report, that the amount of seizures at the port is suspiciously low, suggesting greater security measures are required. Seizures of timber shipments have been made from companies that have been trading in the port for years without being noticed. It is for this reason that Antwerp’s role in illegal wildlife trade must be put into the spotlight.

When goods are seized, they are typically sold at auction, the profits of which go back to the state treasury and so some money from this can contribute towards actions against illegal trade. However, this does nothing to fight against the environmental effects of illegal wildlife trade, nor to raise awareness of the issue.

In a WWF survey, ~80% of Europeans were unaware that it was still possible to buy products containing illegally harvested timber. What if there was a way to use these seized goods that fought climate change, raised awareness of the issues, and simultaneously helped to build local community?
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The programme focuses on bringing together the various forms of seized goods in a way that draws attention to the issues surrounding them and also teaching how to fight its effects on the climate, using the materials to teach skills and sustainable practices which can be taken away and applied to people’s daily lives and therefore help local communities.

The programme further aims to provide for local communities by incorporating public green space into the proposal, something much needed for Antwerp.

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The volume of goods handled by the port each year overshadows the city. By using this volume, scaled down and using an equally scaled model of the iconic MAS building opposite, it provides a constant reminder of the scale and hidden nature of the port.

Shipments are delivered off the boat via crane into this mysterious box to be sorted. In the entrance, a model of the MAS, scaled down to the same scale as the box, it provides a visible reference point for people see and comprehend the size of industry at the port. By creating these shocking moments, it will have a lasting impact on people and raise awareness of the issues.

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The public programme on the ground floor includes a workshop, marketplace, gallery, café and permanent exhibition, as well as a botanical glasshouse where seized plants are cultivated and displayed. The main entrance is here, between the delivery dock and the box. From the foyer space is the reception and gallery, the entrance to the exhibition, and the café, which has views across Willemdok as well as being able to sit and watch deliveries being made overhead. This then comes round to the market hall, which is adjacent to the workshop so that work made there can be easily taken out and visitors can also see where the crafts and such have been made. The workshop also connects through to the gallery for invited artists to display their work made in the workshop. It has views into the botanical gardens, grounding what is quite an industrial space with a connection back to nature and the source of the materials.

The permanent exhibition winds around the box, with displays that highlights statistics about international wildlife trade, the box constantly bringing Antwerp’s role into question. It culminates in an anechoic chamber, a completely sound-absorbent silent room, which represents the effects of wildlife trade. It then continues up a ramp which snakes around the box, emphasising the scale of it and allowing a closer inspection of the cladding of it, which is made up of various seized hardwoods, and then this leads to a rooftop walkway which allows visitors to peek down into the otherwise private first floor programme. The narrative of this is an understanding of the issue, its ultimate effects, and then getting to look at what goes on within this building to combat it and encourage visitors to get involved.

On the upper floor is the delivery and sorting area within the box, from where goods are moved to a processing plant where large timbers are cut down, reptile leathers are shredded and reconstituted into larger sheets which are no longer recognisable as reptile leathers, ivory is crushed and burnt to be reused as pigments and fertilisers. There is also research office for charitable organisations, and an animal rehabilitation centre for caring for seized live animals before they are reintroduced into the wild in their country of origin.

After processing, the output of this is brought down into the workshop, used there and then goes out to the market or gallery. The public interact with this process at several intervals, with views from the café, in the exhibition, and up at roof level.

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The site of the proposal is on Entrepotkaai, by Willemdok. The location bridges between the historic city centre and the docklands, with good connections to the north by both land and water.

As a key aim of the project is to raise awareness, the building should sit in a prominent location. At the end of Italiëlei, the wide boulevard circumnavigating the city centre, and opposite the MAS at the head of Willem dock, it is certainly a prominent site.

It was formerly the site of 2 customs houses, the first of which was built in 1830 and the second of which was demolished in 1990. As the proposal is related to customs and seized goods, it comes at a third iteration of customs buildings on the site.

The key feature of the previous customs house was its solid boundary wall, making the series of warehouses within private and inaccessible.

This typology doesn’t fit with a programme of accessibility, transparency and awareness. By flipping this typology on its head, it creates an open public ground floor level with a permeable boundary, with private elements of the programme on the upper levels.

The customs house would have been a point of delivery into the city. By reactivating Willemdok to bring deliveries to the site via ship into newly dug out inlets, it reconnects the city with the industry of the port and makes the delivery of these seized goods a public and visible spectacle.

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The wider site strategy examines Willemdok as a ‘room’, the surrounding buildings forming a clear boundary. The office blocks which replaced the old customs house breaks this morphology. I have used nearby blocks as rough guidelines to complete the room, in which the building sits. The new dock is at the north side of the site, the building mostly centred so that the green space and the botanical glasshouse can be on the south side of the site, as this part of the site is the natural end point of the walkway past the MAS. By providing green space at this point in the city, it helps to bridge the gap between the old city centre and the new developments to the north.

Erica Alexis Caballero is a Norwegian aspiring architect. Before completing her Diploma at the Mackintosh School of Architecture, she worked as an intern with two architectural practices in Oslo. Here she had the opportunity to take part on various projects in different stages, as well as competitions. In 2016, she graduated from Newcastle University with Bachelor of Honours in Architecture.

An ‘Absolute’ Truth?

Institute of Political Objectivity
Steenplein, Antwerp, Belgium

“If truth is thought of as a goal that can never be attained, those who rather conspicuously do not care about it will seem that much less villainous than they are”
– Simon Blackburn, ‘Truth: A Guide for the Perplexed’

“Public Truths are precious collective achievements arrived at…through slow sifting of alternative interpretations based on careful observation and argument and painstaking deliberation by trustworthy experts”
– Sheila Jasanoff, ‘Back from the Brink: Truth and Trust in the Public Sphere’

In a near and not implausible future where society’s descent into a maelstrom of misinformation has obliterated the boundary between fact and fiction, and populist rhetoric and emotive language become evermore prevalent, an Institute of Political Objectivity is proposed as a global exemplar in Antwerp. The international outcry against King Leopold II’s abhorrent reign over the Congo Free State is the genesis of the proposal’s objectives: the holding of political parties and institutions to account, and the promotion of objectivity within society through didactic teaching, active discourse, and procedural transparency.

Fundamental to the proposal’s programmatic inspiration are the key figures who brought King Leopold II’s atrocities to a global audience through various forms of media, lobbying, and discourse, including Alice Seeley Harris, a photographer; E.D. Morel, a journalist; and Roger Casement, a diplomat. Their actions ultimately exposed Leopold’s intricate web of lies and deceit with damning, irrefutable evidence, holding him to account, and forcing him to cede the Congo Free State to Belgium. Crucial to our knowledge and understanding of Leopold’s reign are the late twentieth-century publications of Jules Marchal, a Belgian diplomat, whose work brought previously unseen archived information to light, ensuring that Belgium’s colonialism was not misremembered or conveniently forgotten. Ultimately, it is this ability to reassess information which gives confidence in institutions and sources of information.

The proposed Institute of Political Objectivity is simultaneously concerned with the synthesis of objective truths regarding current events and topics on a daily basis; and the transparency, openness, and trust generated by the knowledge that its archives can be accessed and evidence revisited at any time. Objectivity and truth are reached not through judgments made by an omnipotent organisation, but through conclusions reached by individuals via a critical analysis of all viewpoints, and a collective reassurance that all information can be revisited should new evidence or arguments materialise.

Spatially, discrete yet intrinsically linked volumes facilitate dialectics, discussion, and the pursuit of objective truth through the examination of all hypotheses, as asserted in Plato’s Analogy of the Divided Line. Galleries and exhibitions; accommodation for visiting experts; and debate spaces of varying formality and scale encourage the formation of theses and antitheses within visitors. In analysing and discussing a multitude of viewpoints, visitors form well-informed opinions. Objectivity is sought through the careful analysis of all relevant information on a given subject or event, in order to prevent the mishandling, misinterpretation, or misrepresentation of said information. A subterranean, digital archive holds a record of all events within the building, accessible by anyone who seeks objective information on a given subject. The archive ensures that the Institute itself can be held to account, and is trusted by society to protect information in a time where public trust in institutions, media outlets, and political figures continues to dwindle at an alarming rate.

I am a graduating architecture student from Sweden. After receiving a Bachelors Degree in Architecture from University of Dundee I returned to Stockholm for a year internship before coming to Glasgow to complete my architectural education. During my diploma at Glasgow School of Art I have developed an interest in architecture’s potential role as a mediator between people and nature.

A Landscape Palimpsest At Antwerp’s Green Ring

The concept of landscape palimpsest is to consider a successive episode of landscape change as a blanket being laid across the site. In the end, several blankets will be on top of each other, some more present and some almost completely invisible. (From: Time perspectives, palimpsests and the archaeology of time by Bailey, G.)

The proposal celebrates an intangible presence of the past within new landscapes for recreation and reflection, an escape from the bustling city, and a bath house at its heart. Antwerp’s ring road corresponds to the line of the 19th century Brialmont wall fortification and today only a few remaining traces from the wall are visible. The ring road is a vast space dominated by road and rail infrastructure, disconnecting the inner and outer city. However, the City of Antwerp recognises the potential of this becoming a strategic area in the future city structure by turning the ring road into the ‘Green Ring’. The thesis is seeking a potential language for the landscape of the strategic area and proposes one of the locations along the Green Ring to explore how a bridging landscape might reconnect to the wider city.

The thesis includes an in-depth study focusing on the element of water initially in relation to issues of urban runoff. Through sustainable urban drainage systems the landscape forms elements to collect and filter rainwater and finally recharge the groundwater. The program of the building is a bath house where visitors can experience natural pools and the filtration process becomes a visual part of the building experience and tectonics.

Architecture embedded in place has been a pivotal line of enquiry throughout Nancy’s practice and therefore the vernacular and both listed buildings and structures have become a focal point in the progression of her career. This thesis therefore considers the ruinous post-industrial landscape as a place-less fragment of the modern city and seeks to reconnect it reinforcing its historic connection to the cities economic growth from the industrial revolution. Sustainability can no longer be ignored through architectural practice and has also played a part in driving the design thesis.

The Anthropocene and climate change are in urgent need of addressing. The Anthropocene is the current epoch that some define as the point in which we have altered our environments on and irreversible planetary scale. This is greatly linked to the Industrial Revolution and the push for development within the Great Acceleration from the 1950’s onwards. Within Antwerp this is conveyed through the industrial externalities of modern and disused mass petroleum refining sites.

The thesis addresses issues within the Anthropocene with the intention to improve upon contamination left behind by the petroleum industry within the soil and air. This is done through utilising mycology (the study of fungus) as a biotechnology for bioremediation and CO2 down-draw/carbon store. Overall the thesis considers how architecture can be used as a tool to educate, facilitate and reconnect the city to its polluted landscape as a symbol for a new future built on the ruins of industrialism.

Thomson Lee is a passionate young architect who aspires to continue his architectural journey in the UK, working in the UK and being qualified as an Architect by the RIBA.

I am a Canadian born Hong Kongese, I believe my international background facilitated my sense of design and aesthetics greatly. My design language and architectural interests is a collective blend from my multicultural background. Having worked in various multilingual professional environments, it well equipped me to communicate with colleagues and clients under all circumstances. I strongly believe the combination between my architectural knowledge, ability, and experience allows me to be a productive member in any environment.

Having the opportunity to study in GSA throughout my whole architectural tenure has been nothing but memorable, this school was able to provide me with countless tangible and intangible skills and knowledge.

Architecture has always been my passion and life long dream, and I look forward to continuing my professional journey in the UK. I am a hardworking, self-motivated, and fast learning individual. I strongly believe that providing me with an opportunity to work in the UK would not be a disappointment.

Mairi Louise Caldwell is a Glasgow based illustrator, and recent graduate of the Glasgow School of Art.

Characterising the main themes of her practice as ‘Hidden’ Histories, Memory and the Mythological (that is, concerned with untold stories, folk knowledge, superstition, personal recollection and the unwritten history) her work typically combines analogue drawing, writing, collage and photography.

Bel Docherty is a self taught CGI artist and student in Graphic Design (Communication Design) using digital mediums for object, space and image creation. The works explore future potential design processes and the visualisation of scent and the culture that surrounds it. With experience in textiles and sculpture, the work researches the digital materiality of objects in aim to appear realistic and engaging. It takes visual reference from luxury fashion, technology advertising and contemporary graphic design in the venture to create clean, inventive graphics.

In my final year at Glasgow School of Art studying Communication Design specialising in Graphics where I have immersed myself in a wide range of subjects, undertaking independent research projects, answering design briefs and finding creative solutions to problems within tight deadlines.

For most of this year I have been working on a short film on the improvement on mental health and well-being through football — with the focus on physical and emotional well-being and how they are interconnected.

Through mental well-being, I have tackled underlying topics such as anxiety, depression, addictions and how football (particularly the football community) can play a vital role of support for coping with such problems for some individuals. Emphasising that team spirit, and being part of something bigger than yourself, can help people gain confidence and self-worth through community support and the camaraderie of the game itself.

Commissioned by the SFA I have been working with Stenhousemuir Warriors which is part of Stenhousemuir Football Club one of the most community-active professional football clubs in the UK.  Warriors in the Community is the community arm of the football club which aims to have a positive impact on every household in Stenhousemuir and the surrounding areas; either directly through club activity or through the Tryst Community Sports Club partnership. They strive to encourage more boys, girls, men and women to participate in regular physical activity and to be an active part of their local football club and community; regardless of their level of ability.

Due to the current situation I have been unable to finish this project. I plan to upload the finished film in due course.

If you would like to reach out please feel free to get in contact.

Thanks

Mark

I’m an illustrator from West Yorkshire. I work both digitally and traditionally in gouache and coloured pencils. My primary focus at the moment is children’s illustrations and picture books although I also enjoy editorial work. I enjoy observing and drawing from life, particularly whilst out walking my dog, Mya, in the Yorkshire Moors.

I enjoy creating narratives visually, as well as creating work that people can interact with. I like my work to be accessible and enjoyable for everyone. My work focuses on issues that important to me, particularly focused on dogs. My current book focuses on highlighting the options available when considering getting a pet dog. In particular focusing on adoption in order to bring awareness to shelters, making it a viable option alongside buying. It tells the story of a dog looking for a home, using simple language and playful images to engage with children of all ages. Alongside this, I also created daily quick illustrations capturing moments with my dog Mya.

My name is Annie Kobyluch and I am from London but currently live in York. I studied communication design with a specialism in Graphic design. My aim as a designer is to forge my own creative path towards unique solutions that solves the problems. The type of design that interests me is editorial, how graphics can create interesting ways of visualising current news stories. This philosophy also applies to how I view branding, as I aspire to be a designer that can take important and relevant brands and articles and both do them justice and elevate them with design that reflects their values.

✆ +44 7477851832
✉ phoebe.kerr97@gmail.com

I’m a multidisciplinary graphic designer, splitting my time between Glasgow and the south coast of England. Integral to my practice is a love of craft, which translates into the work I do – spanning editorial, typography, branding and digital design. I seek to challenge convention by adopting a playful and inquisitive approach to solving design problems, to create work that brings joy to the way we see and interact with the world.

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.

Léa Mariella is a freelance Photographer completing her last year of Undergraduate studies in communication and Design at the Glasgow School of Art.

Her practice, influenced by a background in environmental and behavioural sciences, focuses on the definition of ‘the body’ in a political and cultural context.
From physiological studies of boxing practice to the documentation of physically limited artists, Léa’s use of visual language aims to highlight the inherent link between scientific and artistic disciplines.

As a photographer, Léa constantly questions her practice with a clear emphasis on ethics and empathy.

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

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.

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.

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

I am a visual communicator from Latvia with an innate socio-anthropological interest. My work strives to explore relationships between and to others within an integrated design practice.

Through a trans-disciplinary format I like to provide visibility to people, objects, settings and narratives which would otherwise not be told.

Currently I am working on a collaborative project with Latvian weavers, jewellery makers and craftswomen to understand the relationship between historical trauma, craft and design now. It is a research of human displacement in the history of Latvia, the formation of memory and possible ways of preserving the ancient craft skills.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This year I have been working with a local blacksmith to gain a greater understanding of traditional techniques within ironworks. Through my research, I have discovered a wealth of information on the steel & ironworks of Glasgow, specifically the work of Walter Macfarlane. I wanted to explore how iron could be used in Glasgow today. For one of my projects, I chose one of Macfarlane’s structures that was local to me; Kelvinbridge. The current staircase joining the road to the walkway beneath is well-used and worn out. Redesigning the stairway, I wanted to apply what I had learned to a new connecting structure. My proposed design is wood encased in steel, with windows inlaid to give a panoramic view of the Clyde.

I am Megan Collins, an Interior Designer from Glasgow. I studied at The Glasgow School of Art for four years whilst maintaining consistent employment throughout. In 2018, I and a group of collaborators designed and produced the school’s Graduate Fashion Week pop-up for that year’s graduates, seeing the development through from a charette based project into a fully realised scheme.

My Graduate Project – “The Waverley Studios”- surrounds the repurposing and restoration of a forgotten community building in Glasgow’s Southside. Originally used as a Cinema, the design aims to showcase several fundamental features that were discarded over time through revealing the barrel-vaulted ceiling and staircase in the building’s main hall. Split into two parts – The Waverley challenges the old and the new. The Entrance Hall acts as a tribute to Victorian Era in which the building was built, whilst adopting contemporary finishes. The Main Hall maintains its element of theatre through the construction of studios on the stairway, creating alien forms which allow glances into the workspaces through slit windows – revealing only moments of what is happening internally. Theatricality is also maintained for the user – with the addition of a louvre roof that when opened allows them to hear the sounds from throughout the building as well as maintain a visual connection with their surroundings.

Overall, The Waverley Studios presents Glasgow’s Southside with a new way in which to gather and celebrate both the Arts and the Local through both the building itself and the Community that inhabits it.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

I’m Namy who is from South Korea.

I like the place connection with nature. The moment of connection between space, nature and I makes me feel the most comfortable.
I want people to stay in their own comfortable space and time even for a moment. It can be in any place, such as real or imagined. This is because I believe that the expression of proper emotion begins with comfort. This is why I work the priority of providing various comforts through different spaces to me and many people. To give comfort, I explore and project myself first.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Alessandro Prepi Sot is a highly motivated Italian graduate of The Glasgow School of Art who is deeply interested in editorial and typographic design. For him, graphic design is not a hobby, job or even a love anymore: it’s an obsession. Designing a project means telling a story where the concept is at its core, with nothing left to chance; all details are meticulously attended to and it is hoped projects are timeless but with a degree of tension.

During his two years on the MDes Communication Design course, he has continued experimentation in the field of publication design and production, deepening an existing understanding of layout, materials, printing techniques and bookbinding. During the second year of the course, and in collaboration with fellow course mate Apolline de Luca, he conducted a deep and rigorous investigation in the field of typography which led to the realisation of the DIASPORA typeface. Through this successful collaboration, Alessandro and Appoline have formed GOODEGGS TYPEFOUNDRY, their own type-foundry to continue releasing type related projects.

Alessandro graduated with honours from UNIRSM DESIGN in the San Marino Republic in 2017. He has worked with ROVAIWEBER DESIGN STUDIO (Florence, 2015) and the photographic collective CESURA (Milan, 2017), with a particular focus towards the independent publishing activity of CESURA PUBLISH on which he continues to contribute.

email: alessandro.prepi@gmail.com
instagram: sir_sot
websites: alessandroprepisot.com, goodeggstypefoundry.com

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.

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.

Suzie Cichy is an illustrator and animator based in Glasgow. As an image-maker Suzie explores themes of gender, censorship and the provocative within her practice. For the last few years this has resulted in focussing on the phallus, and how the male gaze informs reactions to her work. At GSA Suzie has been exploring the ever-growing issue of unsolicited dick pics: something that is rarely discussed, yet happens to over 40% of young British women.

After graduating from the Graphic Arts & Design course at Leeds Metropolitan University, Suzie worked as a graphic designer, before going freelance and working as a print technician and co-operative member at Leeds Print Workshop. Alongside her freelance illustration practice, Suzie works at Print Clan, an open-access textile screen printing studio in Glasgow. She has also completed an internship at Risotto Studio. Suzie is particularly interested in facilitating arts access for disadvantaged communities and groups.

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

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.

“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.”

Sarisa Leelayouthyotin is a BEng Product Design Engineering graduate. Her final project, Communicare aims to integrate technology into healthcare.

Communicare aims to provide an effective meltdown and shutdown prevention system for autistic children through modular 3-lead ECG monitoring and stress analysis. It connects the ECG wearables to the caregivers’ devices, allowing them to detect the upcoming meltdown and shutdown, in order to provide the right support at the right time.

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.

Ignacio Amui is an Argentinean inventor and engineer. As a product designer, he is a spirited advocate of environmental sustainability. In 2016, Amui entered the University of Glasgow, where he developed his passion for renewable energy technologies. During his stay in Glasgow, he pursued most of his projects in the topics of IoT and renewable energy. In 2019 he was awarded the Best Student Certificate by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Nanode, his most recent project, shows a homogeneous relation between design and technology. By using dye-sensitized solar cells, he created a portable solar charger which benefits form this technology. Amui believes that energy micro-generation can bring numerous advantages to users and guide us towards a sustainable future, as the user has more control over his energy sources.

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.

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.

Inclusive design is quickly becoming a movement within the sports industry. Big sports brands are becoming more aware and more concerned about providing everyone with equal opportunity to participate in sporting activities. As an advocate of this inclusivity movement, I was eager to address this campaign head on. Through thoughtful and empathetic design, I have been able to produce a considerate, user orientated product solution.
The SLIP N’ GRIP is a 3D printed prosthetic terminal device that enables children with right transradial amputation to participate in hockey at school. The central ball joint mechanism mimics the natural rotation of the human wrist, offering the user full range of motion and hence allowing easy manipulation of the hockey stick during play. An adjustable elastic band system enables the user to alter the resistance of the ball joint, allowing them to tailor the device to suit their own mode of play.
Two of the key issues associated with current sports prosthetics are cost and accessibility. SLIP N’ GRIP aims to tackle these issues by offering a quick, cheap and easily accessible alternative that can be assembled at home.
It was extremely important to me that this project not only solves a problem and makes a genuine difference to people’s lives, but also enables me to explore the field of sports design and engineering. This is an area I have developed a passion for during my time studying at Glasgow and is one in which I hope to pursue a career. Being able to combine my passion for sports with my design and engineering skills has become the ultimate goal. I will be going on to commence a further Masters in Sports Product Design at the University of Oregon this coming September.

I am a University of Glasgow and Glasgow School of Art student who has recently completed an MEng Product Design Engineering degree, of which I was a GU68 Engineers Trust award recipient for my final year project.

I am actively seeking employment in a design or engineering role from September 2020 to begin my career.

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.

I am graduating from Product Design Engineering (MEng) a multidisciplinary course with a unique balance of engineering and design philosophy and practice. Throughout my time at Glasgow School of Art I have developed a passion for environmental and social design working both in and out-with my studies on a range of design and research projects in these areas.

For my final year project I began by researching the social-political relationship with rivers as an example of our damaging relationships with natural systems, looking into how design can create positive change. Through a mixture of qualitative, literature research, lab testing and an iterative human centred design and testing process I created a micro-plastic citizen science testing kit and surrounding data analytic system. This combines public engagement and scientific study to improve the understanding and create the foundations for systematic change.

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.

Michelle Currie BA(Hons) Silversmithing & Jewellery, The Glasgow School of Art, 2020

My final year show at the Glasgow School of Art, is an exploration of the physical properties of ferromagnetic materials, combining them with the traditions of silversmithing and emerging technologies, exploring the beautiful collision of science and art which takes craft skills and fuses them with scientific enquiry, collaboration and scientific materials. My research includes observations of gravitation experiments at Glasgow University’s Physics and Astronomy Laboratories and exploration of materials used in apparatus for the detection of gravitational waves caused by exploding stars. Combining my interest in physics with my creative process to develop wearable objects using iron particles and iron oxide powder, I document their reactions when subjected to a strong magnetic force. These explosive moments are captured to form miniature static sculptures inspired by the capture of gravitational wave data by scientific apparatus, confirming the warping of spacetime. I employ the use of magnetic forces to warp and manipulate ferromagnetic materials, highlighting the unseen forces acting on our physical experience. These explorations are combined with traditional silversmithing methods such as lost wax casting, 3d printing and granulation to form wearable, interactive objects that aim to encourage conversations around collaboration of scientists and artists engaging in scientific research and discovery. My future aspirations are to continue to collaborate with particle physicists and astronomers in research to promote their work and encourage artistic engagement in the sciences. Ultimately, I would like to undertake a PhD in Silversmithing Techniques and the Engineering of Gravitational Wave Detection Apparatus.

A special thank you to the wonderful engineers, researchers and scientists at the University of Glasgow, Physics and Astronomy Department for their kind assistance with my project research and allowing me access to their amazing labs.