Unit A student Baris Freed nominated for RIBA ELAG Student Award 2025 for Contextual Design

 

Baris Freed has been nominated for the RIBA ELAG Student Award 2025 for Contextual Design for his project titled ‘Candy Wrap Studios’ that combines a shared programme of Creative Workspace with Sports and establishes shared spaces both for local youth and the emerging artist community. The project aims to off-set the erosion of spaces for cultural exchange and the everyday, that is fuelled by the profit-driven approach to development across Stratford. 

Congratulations and fingers crossed!


in connection with Unit A's investigations into Stratford Civic Centre (2024-25)

Unit A student Yogesh Mall nominated for RIBA ELAG Student Award 2025 for Sustainable Design

 

Yogesh Mall has been nominated for the RIBA ELAG Student Award 2025 for Sustainable Design for his project titled ‘Stratford Open Workshop’, that proposes to re-introduce spaces for collective making, learning and a building sustainable community across Stratford’s Civic Quarter. Embracing circular design using locally sourced low carbon materials such as rammed earth and thatch, the project aims to become an exemplar for alternative approaches to development and regeneration of the Stratford town centre.

Congratulations and fingers crossed!

in connection with Unit A's investigations into Stratford Civic Centre (2024-25) 

Unit A student Zaynab Ahmed nominated for RIBA ELAG Student Award 2025 for Contextual Design

 

Zaynab Ahmed has been nominated for the RIBA ELAG Student Award 2025 for Contextual Design for her project titled ‘Common Grounds’ that proposes a new civic space for Stratford’s town centre and aims to support creative exchange between artists at Grow Studios in Alice Billing House and the local community: Spaces for a book club, live-performances, events, workshops and meetings offer opportunities across all ages to meet, gather, learn, and share and to have a good time. 

Congratulations and fingers crossed!

in connection with Unit A's investigations into Stratford Civic Centre (2024-25) 

Unit A student Elizabeth Johns nominated for RIBA ELAG Student Award 2025 for Sustainable Design

 

Elizabeth Johns has been nominated for the RIBA ELAG Student Award 2025 for Sustainable Design for her project titled ‘Forging Civic Connections’ is a new hub for Stratford’s creative community that repairs the high street along West Ham Lane through insertion of two new buildings: one is housing a community workshop and the other a series of exhibition spaces. The new civic yard to the rear, provides flexible open spaces for forging connections between the public and the artists community at Alice Billing House. Congratulations and fingers crossed!

in connection with Unit A's investigation into Stratford Civic Centre (2024-25) 

Unit A student Emanuelly Cardoso Santos nominated for RIBA ELAG Student Award 2025 for Contextual Design

 

Emanuelly Cardoso Santos has been nominated for the RIBA ELAG Student Award 2025 for Contextual Design for her project titled ‘Stratford Craft School’ that offers opportunities for children to learn practical, hands-on skills in a supportive environment and combines multi-use galleries for local artists to exhibit their work, host workshops and bringing people of all ages together through art and making. Congratulations and fingers crossed!

in connection with Unit A's investigation into Stratford Civic Centre (2024-25) 

UEL end of year show 2025

 

UEL end of year exhibition open now. Everybody welcome

University of East London
Department of Architecture
AVA Building
Docklands Campus
London E16 2RD

Stratford Civic Centre (2024-25)

 

How can London’s existing creative spaces help us to re-imagine sustainable futures with people and planet at the heart of regeneration policy?

Unit A is interested across the domains of architecture and urbanism and understands architecture as a contextual response to the city, by critically questioning pre-existing and found conditions. Unit A works with live-project situations and connects the learning in architectural design with active engagement in knowledge exchange between students and external partner organisations. The unit approach and method are closely linked to research outcomes and the studio works as a platform for collaborative learning and critical design practice.

This year we set out to explore Stratford town centre, which has got plenty of places for work, live, study, shop, leisure, entertainment and a vast travel infrastructure. If cities were machines for living and working, Stratford would be a perfect city. But life is more than that, cities are not machines, and Stratford is far from perfect. What is it missing?

Collaborating with Grow Studios, Creative Land Trust, Purcell Architects, London Borough of Newham and Studio 2 at Central Saint Martins, we set out to explore alternative opportunities for Stratford’s Civic Centre and engaging with Newham's ambitious vision to place ‘people’ and ‘planet’ at the heart of public policy in the regeneration of Stratford Town Centre. As part of this new agenda, London Borough of Newham welcomed Grow Studios, an affordable workspace and artist studio provider, into Alice Billing House, the former Stratford Firefighters’ accommodation, and a listed building which remained empty for decades, that was brought back to life by the Creative Land Trust with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The opportunities and conflicts arising from emerging creative uses and shifting demographics were starting points for our social-spatial analysis and the subsequent development of transformative design interventions that foster urban and civic life to reimagine Stratford Civic Centre as a place for local people, for new social situations and new ecologies.

The students’ design proposals for a Project Space critically question predominant models of spatial re-production by exploring opportunities for adaptive spaces, proximity and co-existence of creative and social and programmes, that create value through building relationships.  

 

Collaborators: 
Jordanna Greaves (Grow Studios), Marguerite Metz (Grow Studios), Yves Blais (Creative Land Trust), Simon Cole (Hackney Tours), Alex Peacock (Purcell Architects), João Mendes (Purcell Architects), Shabana Qadir (London Borough of Newham), Studio 2 from Central Saint Martins

Guest critics: 
Armor Gutierrez, Alan Chandler, Catalina Pollak, Charlotte Harris, Colin O'Sullivan, Hamda Jama, Legend Morgan, Mark Sustr, Oscar Brito-Gonzalez, Teresa Serrano, Robert Whitlock, Philip Christou, Keita Tajima, Stephanie Schultze-Westrum

Many thanks:
Álvaro Siza Vieira, Alfonso Silva, António Choupina, Ivana Sehic, Jónatas Pego (Bomfim Conservatory), Nuno Silva (Instituto), Paulo Moreira Architectures, Pedro Jervell (Gorvell), Pedro Pimentel 

Students: 
Year 3: Amiran Khan, Baris Freed, Elizabeth Johns, Emanuelly Cardoso Santos, Katarzyna Szczegielniak, Marwah Ali, Sunamita Russu, Yogesh Mall

Year 2: Azra Tamer, Ahab Nawab, Ismail Bendaba, Madihah Hajar, Neusa Nancassa, Rohan Robinson, Yasmin Reames, Zaynab Ahmed
 

Unit Lead: Carsten Junger and Fernanda Palmieri 

 

image credits: Urban Impact drawing by Emanuelly Cardoso Santos, Axonometric drawing of Stratford Civic Hub with proposal for a School of Food & Gardening by Madihah Hajar

Guardian Article: ‘My studio costs half my income’: can British art survive soaring rents and property developers?

This article published in The Guardian titled "‘My studio costs half my income’: can British art survive soaring rents and property developers?" contextualises current issues of displacement that artist communities working in the capital are facing. The research project referred to in the article, was initiated through students from UEL's Unit A and Central Saint Martins working on this subject under direction of tutors Carsten Jungfer and Fernanda Palmieri and Oscar Brito-Gonzalez during the 2022-23 academic year (phase 1), and expanded into a collaborative research project with SPACE Studios, Aboard and graduates from both architecture schools working as co-researchers with support from the Mayor of London / GLA (phases 2+3). We are currently seeking funding for phase 4 to conclude, bring together and publish the findings.

Unit A student Nabiha Warsame nominated for RIBA ELAG Student Award 2024 for Sustainable Design

Alongside Nabiha Warsame's nomination for RIBA's Presidentsmedal and winning UEL's Portfolio Award, she has also been nominated for the RIBA ELAG Student Award 2024 for Sustainable Design for her project titled 'The Blackhorse Lane Collective' envisages the historic industrial shed to be preserved, adapted and transformed into a centre for productive activities for the existing community of creative organisations and a place of knowledge exchange for the implementation of circular economy models including re-use of local material resources of buildings destined for demolition. Congratulations and fingers crossed!

 

Unit A student Anik Md Chowdury nominated for RIBA ELAG Student Award 2024 for Contextual Design

Anik Md Chowdury  has been nominated for the RIBA ELAG Student Award 2024 for Contextual Design for his project titled 'Lockwood Cycle & Leisure Centre' that promotes closer integration of spaces for well-being into Blackhorse Lane’s industrial landscape with a focus on activities for the benefit of the local community. The proposal carefully reconfigures the found industrial structure and proposes a new indoor pool, a cafe, a bicycle workshop, green spaces and extends the Walthamstow wetlands bicycle network. Congratulations and fingers crossed!

 

Unit A student Joanna Wong nominated for RIBA ELAG Student Award 2024 for Sustainable Design

Joanna Wong has been nominated for the RIBA ELAG Student Award 2024 for Sustainable Design for her project titled 'Blackhorse Lane Leisure & Community Hub', a multi-programme building arranged around a raised open deck with views over Walthamstow wetlands and consisting of a library, auditorium, MUGA/cage, playground, sports hall and a gelateria for a site at Blackhorse Lane in Waltham Forest. Congratulations and fingers crossed!

 

Unit A student Zuhaida Salum nominated for RIBA ELAG Student Award 2024 for Contextual Design

Zuhaida Salum has been nominated for the RIBA ELAG Student Award 2024 for Contextual Design for her project titled 'Yard in between' that envisages inclusive spaces for collaborative making for a site at Blackhorse Lane in Waltham Forest. Congratulations and fingers crossed!

 

 

 

Happy faces: Prize winners and award nominations

Happy faces at the end of year show with lots of prize winners and award nominations in Unit A this year. Congratulations to all students for your achievements this year!
 Student work on display at the University of East London, Department of Architecture AVA Building, Docklands Campus, London E16 2RD from 7 June 2024.

Nomination for RIBA Presidentsmedals 2024: Nabiha Warsame

Portfolio Prize year 3: Nabiha Warsame

Portfolio Prize year 2: Sahil Nayak


Nomination for RIBA ELAG Student Award 2024 for Sustainable Design: Joanna Wong

Nomination for RIBA ELAG Student Award 2024 for Sustainable Design: Nabiha Warsame

Nomination for RIBA ELAG Student Award 2024 for Contextual Design: Anik - Md Chowdhury

Nomination for RIBA ELAG Student Award 2024 for Contextual Design: Zuhaida Salum

Unit A student Nabiha Warsame wins UEL's Portfolio Award and is nominations for RIBA Presidentsmedal & RIBA ELAG Student Award 2024 for Sustainable Design

Unit A student Nabiha Warsame wins UEL's Portfolio Award and is nominated for the RIBA Presidentsmedal 2024 and the RIBA ELAG Student Award 2024 for Sustainable Design for her 'Blackhorse Lane Collective' proposal'. Congratulations and well done!

Unit A student Sahil Nayak wins UEL's Portfolio Award

Sahil Nayak wins UEL's Portfolio Award (year 2) for his 'Bio-social' project for a site at Blackhorse Lane in Waltham Forest. Congratulations and well done!

 

 

End of year exhbition 2024

Unit A end of year exhibition open now. Come and see!

University of East London
Department of Architecture
AVA Building
Docklands Campus
London E16 2RD

Productive City (2023-24)

 

 

 

 

What role does London’s remaining industrial areas play in the production of social spaces and in the development of circular and de-carbonised local economies?

Unit A is interested across the domains of architecture and urbanism and understands architecture as a contextual response to the city, by critically questioning pre-existing and found conditions. Unit A works with live-project situations and connects the learning in architectural design with active engagement in knowledge exchange between students and external partner organisations. The unit approach and method are closely linked to research outcomes and the studio works as a platform for collaborative learning and critical design practice.

This year we set out to explore Blackhorse Lane, an industrial area located within in the Lea Valley adjacent to Walthamstow Wetlands, that was designated as a Creative Enterprise Zone (CEZ) by the Mayor of London in 2021. Over the last decade, the ‘Blackhorse Collective’, a loose cluster of makers and entrepreneurs, have gradually re-invented and transformed the historically significant industrial zone into an innovative hub for creative production and a unique destination for social interaction. However, only in 2022, Waltham Forest council launched a masterplan, that seeks demolition of nearly the entire area and replacement with high-density residential development in combination with industrial uses. This ‘tabula-rasa’ approach contrasts with the acknowledgement of the CEZ and shows little consideration of inherent value generated from within the existing urban and social fabric.

Through engagement with and analysis of key stakeholder organisations across the study area, students gained an understanding of the wider social, spatial and transactional context. In response to the questions arising from the described conflict, students developed personal project strategies and building briefs, that include spaces of circular production, re-use, learning and recreation. Students travelled to Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent to visit and experience contemporary buildings, that embrace a wide range of circular strategies and adaptive re-uses of light industrial spaces. 

The final design proposals critically question the predominant model of spatial re-production and explore opportunities to promote co-existence of productive and social activities and de-carbonisation through integration of circular flows resources and material banks.

Guest critics:
Armor Gutierrez, Dickon Hayward (Material Works), Haleema Ahmed, Leyana Clarke, Luke Jones, Mark Sustr.

Many thanks: Ajay Pabial (Waltham Forest), Ashley Lotcho (All Plants), Ellen De Naeyer (Bronks Children Theatre Brussels), Fiona Broni (Waltham Forest), Frank Maguire (Big Penny Social), Holly Faires (Signature Brew), Kate Cowan (Waltham Forest), Jan Ackenhausen (Waltham Forest), Kartjin Demuyt (Standaertsite Ghent), Kristiaan Borret (Brussels Capital Region), Liesbeth Amelia (LAB 15 Ghent), MAD Brussels, Oscar Brito-Gonzalez and students from Studio 2 at Central Saint Martins, Patrick Shannon (Waltham Forest), Paul Jellis (Big Penny Social), Ryhove Sheltered Workshop Ghent, Stephen Bates (Sergison Bates Architects).

Students:
(Y3) Charlie Chinama, Divine Lembe Dodiya, Joanna Wong, Krishnan Nagarajan, Lida Amiri, Anik - Md Chowdhury, Nabiha Warsame, Safiya Baazi, Tarannum Mushtari Anam, Zuhaida Salum. 

(Y2) Armin Jahan Tab, Carolina Machado, Emmanuel Torson, Haadiya Ashraf, Ivan Mills-Lamptey, Mae Nerona, Manuel Jackson, Maryam Khan, Sahil Sanjay Nayak, Teodora-Marilena Busnosu

Tutors: Carsten Jungfer and Fernanda Palmieri

 

'The Blackhorse Lane Collective' proposal by Nabiha Warsame

The Blackhorse Lane Collective proposal envisages the historic industrial shed to be preserved, adapted and transformed into a centre for productive activities for the existing community of creative organisations and a place of knowledge exchange for the implementation of circular economy models including re-use of local material resources of buildings destined for demolition. Project by year 3 architecture student Nabiha Warsame for a site at Blackhorse Lane in Waltham Forest working with Unit A's 2023-24 theme of Productive City by exploring alternative approaches to spatial production and city-making through strategies promoting a local circular economy.