Birmingham City University's School of Architecture and Design has unveiled an impressive collection of student projects that tackle pressing environmental and social challenges through innovative architectural interventions. Among the standout proposals is a "microplastic aquarium" designed to collect and store harmful microplastics, alongside projects that reimagine urban spaces and explore the relationship between architecture and power dynamics.
The featured projects come from the university's MArch Architecture (RIBA Pt.2) and L7 Architect Apprenticeship (RIBA Pt.2 and 3) programs, guided by an extensive faculty team including Alessandro Columbano, Rachel Sara, Mike Dring, Ian Shepherd, Ana Araujo, Anna Abengowe, Senem Zeybekoglu Sadri, Lucas Hughes, Andy Hilton, Marina Mitchell-Heggs, Karim Rouabah, Helen Chapman, Rob Nield, Dan Aubrey, Barbora Bott, and Blanca Valdes.
According to the school's statement, the MArch program responds to Birmingham's dynamic identity as Europe's youngest city with a multicultural population that drives entrepreneurial spirit. The program is founded on principles of "designing through making" and "active design research," seeking agency over the environment with ethical social practices that respond to hyper-local issues in a global context.
One of the most environmentally focused projects, "Currents of Renewal: Restoring Florida's Industrial Coast" by Alece Foden, addresses the critical issue of cyanobacteria in phosphorus-rich environments. The project proposes a Gaia device and Cyanobacteria ecosystem designed to better utilize clay settling areas and treat water to break down heavy metals and radioactive substances across the mines of southwest Florida, while installing a new industry to increase renewable energy through biological photovoltaic panels and photobioreactors for biofuel production.
Paveena Sidhu's "Falling Blocks, Rising Worlds" takes a different approach, investigating the complex relationship between architectural design and power dynamics between adults and children. Set within a housing estate by Tachbrook Market in London, the project reimagines play activities that redefine settings for living and working, inspired by the 70 scenarios of Cedric Price and Joan Littlewood's Fun Palace, with new structures that weave within the estate to promote children's voices, creativity, and imagination.
The housing crisis receives attention through Widuri Clare's "The Spaces We Negotiate," which reimagines the Victorian terrace for Birmingham's diverse, multigenerational households. The design challenges rigid UK housing norms by blending Birmingham's red brick identity with traditional Eastern values, featuring removable party walls and moveable screens that allow spaces to grow or shrink while balancing privacy and togetherness through thoughtfully arranged courtyards.
Simon Wilson's "Plastisphere Plasting" presents the innovative microplastic-capturing solution at Birnbeck Pier in Weston-super-Mare. The architectural intervention proposes a heterotrophic structure inspired by Suctorian ciliates to capture and process plastic waste. Using "polystomy" devices, the structure collects, cleans, and stores microplastics, while its basement innovation center converts waste into edible products using fungi and enzymes, topped by a restaurant that serves this food, blending environmental remediation with public engagement and sustainable dining.
Urban regeneration takes center stage in Reece Minott's "Reviving The Glass City," which reimagines Nottingham's Victoria Centre as a living civic artifact. Built in 1972, the center was originally imagined as a new urban core, but the ambitious visions set out by architect Peter Winchester were diluted by political compromise and commercial pressure. Minott's project treats historical material as active design tools, reworking the Victoria Market as a civic anchor using expressive tectonics to create a more open, generous framework.
Stephen Oshagbemi's "The [Cy]Urban-Eti[h]c Production of Space" offers a cautionary exploration of cybernetic ideals inspired by the fun palace concept. Drawing on Henri Lefebvre's spatial triad, the project examines how spaces are conceived and perceived, investigating how data increasingly drives the world through gathering, storage, and processing, and its inevitable influence on the spaces we inhabit.
Molly Dhillon's "Stage-D-isruption" advocates for temporary, flexible, and participatory uses of space that resist capitalist planning. Drawing on the work of the Situationist International, Joan Littlewood, and Bernard Tschumi, the proposal for Birmingham's Smithfield site includes temporary structures using found materials, inspired by protest design and détournement to challenge fixed meanings and promote freedom, creativity, and shared ownership.
Rural housing receives focus through Thomas Davis's "Sticks and Stones," which explores alternative housing forms in response to the rural housing crisis. Set in the small harbor town of Tobermory on the Inner Hebridean Isle of Mull, the project utilizes sites nestled within existing urban grain to form a strong dialectical relationship with its historic context, offering a crafted approach to buildings that provides necessary grounding for contextual credibility.
Mohib Ullah Khan's "Finding Moments" centers on the House of Annetta, a community center beside Brick Lane in East London. Originally built in 1705 as a Georgian townhouse and home to artist/activist Annetta Pedretti, the thesis takes cues from Richard Wentworth's 1999 exhibition "Making do and getting by," highlighting "moments of the incidental" usually walked past in everyday life through five illustrated moments.
Joshua Veale's "Cut to the Chase" investigates how dispersed communities can become reconnected through changes of use to establish renewed identity, specifically exploring Cannock Town Centre's diminished commercial high street. The proposal attempts to remove barriers that segregate pedestrians from the town center and enrich the high street to broaden appeal to a wider demographic.
The program also featured a collaborative group project for New Westal Market Stalls, responding to an exhibition of Cedric Price's work that toured UK Schools of Architecture. Students created a new display system for Birmingham Rag Markets, informed by themes of the everyday and reappropriating products from the market itself to create infinite interchangeability.
Jaspal Khangura's "Balsall Bazaar" rounds out the showcase by reimagining Birmingham's Balsall Heath as an inclusive, interactive space. Inspired by thinkers like Sennett and Anderson, the project transforms Stratford Road into a pedestrianized cultural hub, drawing from diverse precedents like Reading Terminal and Istanbul's Grand Bazaar to blend local commerce, food, performance, and digital engagement through the "metapolis" concept, seeking to dissolve social divides and foster cross-cultural interaction while supporting economic and environmental sustainability.
