Portfolio for admission to MArch course at The University of Edinburgh 2025
UUN: S2889998
I am deeply interested in the intersection of architecture, social justice, and political issues, particularly around affordability, migration, conflict zones, and urbanisation. Too often, architecture serves the elite, leaving vulnerable communities without access to safe and dignified spaces. I believe architects have a responsibility to prioritise people over facades and foster community-led design that doesn’t alienate or displace.
My undergraduate degree in Interior Design Environment Architectures focused on redesigning existing spaces rather than constructing new buildings. It addressed realworld constraints where demolition isn’t always sustainable or practical. I learned to apply building regulations, follow RIBA design stages, and gained confidence in Rhino 3D and Adobe Creative Suite to clearly communicate my design ideas. My final major project on multi-generational co-living responded to the UK’s housing crisis and deepened my understanding of how shared spaces foster social interaction.
My dissertation on Gaza explored how architecture is inherently political - shaping power dynamics, societal structures, and access to space. This awareness guides my approach to socially and ethically responsible design. Similarly, working with an artist on a public mural in Bethnal Green highlighted how art can transform public spaces and foster belonging. Involving local children in the design process allowed them to engage meaningfully with their environment.
At Manalo and White, I’ve worked on large-scale residential, commercial and student accommodation projects, focusing on amenity spaces. I’ve developed joinery drawings, material palettes, and “look and feel” presentations while organising the materials library and sourcing sustainable finishes, while gaining my technical skills in Vectorworks. Through CPDs, I gained insight into fire safety, the Building Safety Act, and the role of the Principal Designer - particularly regarding high-risk buildings and the Grenfell case.
My long-term goal is to qualify as an architect committed to inclusive, communitydriven design that serves underrespresented communities. The University of Edinburgh supports this through its emphasis on sustainable methodologies, political awareness, and research-led practice. I’m particularly drawn to the Architectural Technology Research (ATR) module, having begun exploring sustainable design in practice and keen to develop further. This programme’s global and political outlook aligns with my interests, and Edinburgh’s rich architectural heritage provides an ideal setting to grow both technically and critically.
Contents
Part 1 Final Project
Final Year: 2023
Title: Get to Know Strangers
Key project elements:
• Architectural design proposal
• Multi-generational co-living scheme
Location: Lewisham High Street
Group Model Study
Year: 2022
Title: A Public Room within a Room
Key project elements:
• White card model study
Location: City of London
Lockdown Build
Year: 2021
Title: Domestic & Urban Interior
Key project elements:
• Camera Obscura’s
• Built prop exploration
Location: Home/Local Park
Practice Work
Year: 2024 - Present
Title: Projects at Manalo and White
Key project elements:
• Interior design for purpose built student accommodation’s and an office fit out
Location: Wapping
Interior Project
Year: 2024
Title: House Renovation & Rear Extension
Key project elements:
• Interior Designing for clients
• Built/Live construction work
Location: Sidcup
Mural Artwork
Year: 2024
Title: Volunteering with Artist Dina Chehrazi
Key project elements:
• Painting Mural at Bancroft TMC estate park
• Live performance and workshop for children
Location: Bethnal Green
Part 1 Final Project
Get to Know Strangers
Taking into consideration the cost of living crisis and affordable housing, the project addresses the future of dwelling through a radical approach of intergenerational communal living.
This is about building a community, that learn to live with another creating bonds socially to provide this hierarchy of living through co-housing; from sharing kitchens to gardens and distributing responsibilities, thus allowing the young and old to co-exist.
The design consists of combining three adjacent buildings from the retail unit accessed via Lewisham High Street to the main building, Sainsbury’s Depository and the extension work office building, consisting of flats and a shared kitchen unit and ground floor utility space.
Side Entrance Render - Rhino 3D, Photoshop
Design Proposal
Get to Know Strangers
To address the cost of living crisis, I analysed the site’s constraints and opportunities, using natural light, noise reduction, and access to shape the design.
Balconies face sunlight and avoid the high street, supporting a passivhaus strategy: Natural one-way airflow in summer and an Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery (MVHR) in winter.
Positioned on the south-facing side, this reduces energy use and long-term costs, promoting affordability and sustainability.
The construction detail highlights the connection between the interior flats and exterior balconies, showing the structural columns, insulation, and material transitions. It illustrates how the existing and new elements integrate, ensuring thermal efficiency and structural stability.
Balcony Render - Rhino 3D, Photoshop
Construction Detail: Balcony\Bedroom - Rhino 3D, Illustrator, Photoshop
Group Model Study
A Public Room Within A Room
This group model study aimed to explore form, scale, and texture using white card, allowing us to achieve a sense of homogeneity and focus solely on the spatial composition of the room. We chose to study the Courtroom at Cutlers Hall, an interior characterised by asymmetry, intricate wall paneling, and decorative craftsmanship, reflecting the late 19th-century Arts and Crafts movement.
Lockdown Build
Domestic & Urban Interior
During lockdown, I observed and studied my bedroom window as a framed threshold between private and public space. This led to an exploration of how domestic views connect to urban realm.
From creating camera obscuras to building a persicope, that extended the act of looking - redirecting the lines of vision from my bedroom to beneath a local bridge.
The project was a playful yet critical investigation of scale, perception, and spatial connectivity between interior and city to create a prop.
Sketch Drawing of Site
Sketch Iteration of Prop
Bedroom Camera Obscura
Model of Bedroom 1:20
Model Obscura 1:20
Bedroom Model at Site Model Obscura of Site Test Model of Periscope Prop 1:20
Periscope Prop at Site 1:1
View Inside Periscope Prop Zoomed in View Inside Periscope Prop
Practice Work
Unite Jubilee/Hawthorne House - PBSA
As the interior designers for the Unite Jubilee/Hawthorne House PBSA project in Stratford, a new build student accommodation, I worked client-side, focusing on the amenity spaces. Inspired by Stratford’s 19th-century industrial mills and the zero-waste movement, the design embraced a raw, sustainable material palette of dark greens, greys, and textured surfaces.
I modelled the reception space to test and refine key interventions, introducing acoustic baffles and integrated lighting above the welcome bar to enhance atmosphere and functionality. Through this process, I developed my understanding of sustainable design approaches and materiality, and how small touches like baffles can enhance and create a spatial moment within a space.
Foss Islands Road - PBSA
At Foss Islands Road, a new build student accommodation project in York, near the historic city walls and River Ouse, I worked client-side as an interior designer on both amenity and bedroom spaces. Drawing inspiration from York’s chocolate factories and medieval construction traditions, the design blended historical references with modern materials. I modelled joinery in 3D and produced detailed joinery drawings and interior elevations for the different bedroom types.
This experience reinforced my interest in how architecture can respond to history without imitation, through craftmanship, materiality, and thoughtful detailing.
Practice Work
At a Cat B office fit-out refurbishment in Whitechapel, I worked client-side on FFE visualisation, modelling furniture, joinery, and finishes across a single-floor layout with a central atrium. The project features distinct zones such as a green house entrance, earthy tea points, and a range of meeting rooms and committee board rooms.
Supporting the visualisation process exposed me to a different typology beyond student accommodation, strengthening my skills in 3D modelling, material representation, and reinforcing my interest in sensory-led atmospheric design.
Interior Project
House Renovation - Rear Extension
As the interior designer for a home kitchen extension project, I worked closely with the clients to navigate budget constraints, decision-making challenges, and material shortages. This experience strengthened my interest in residential refurbishments, an area I am keen to explore further in my Masters.
Kitchen Axo - Vectorworks
Finishes Collage - Photograph
Photograph
Mural Artwork
Volunteering with Artist Dina Chehrazi
I collaborated with artist Dina Chehrazi to design and paint a mural in a Bethnal Green estate park. Drawing from my cultural background, I contributed design ideas featuring marrows and global symbols to reflect the estate’s diverse identities. A community workshop involving local children made the project inclusive and participatory, reinforcing my passion for community-led design and the role of public art in connecting people to spaces - an approach I aim to develop further in my architectural practice.
