Dezeen School Shows: a proposal for a waterside repair and reuse hub exploring craft, material reuse and environmental stewardship is among projects from the University of Plymouth.

Also featured is a regenerative laboratory restoring Plymouth Sound's seabed and a proposal to transform polluted harbour water into a resource for marine research, industry and public engagement.

University of Plymouth

Institution: University of Plymouth
School: School of Art, Design and Architecture
Course: BA (Hons) Architecture and Master of Architecture
Tutors: Alessandro Aurigi, Nikolina Bobic, Ricky Burke, Graham Devine, Mathew Emmett, Andy Humphreys and Sana Murrani

School statement:

"Architecture at the University of Plymouth is explored as a civic, environmental and material practice. The work asks how buildings, landscapes and institutions can support social and ecological life, and how design can shape futures responsive to the conditions of the present.

"Across undergraduate and postgraduate projects, students examine architecture as a way of connecting people, resources, knowledge and place.

"The projects showcased here focus on two settings of civic and environmental consequence in Plymouth: the working waterfront and the university campus.

"Postgraduate students worked through live engagement with Plymouth Fisheries and related stakeholders to reimagine the Fish Quay after the closure of the fish auction, asking how waterfront renewal might support the coexistence of small-scale fisheries, public access, marine ecology, local food economies and climate adaptation.

"Undergraduate students examined the university as a contested civic and knowledge institution through projects centred on the Students' Union, Campus Park and wider city connections.

"Throughout, architecture is framed as relationships between labour and ecology, institution and public life, material systems and long-term stewardship.

"Proposals for adaptive reuse, flexible adaptation and low-carbon material systems rethink how buildings are occupied, maintained and shared, supporting practices that can change over time."

Aperture Obscura: Mechanisms of Perception by Libby Volokh

"Aperture Obscura positions itself within Plymouth's reconstructed civic landscape as a mediator between everyday urban life and the distant realities of contemporary conflict and displacement.

"Located on Armada Way, a post-war axis shaped by wartime destruction and institutional reconstruction, the project explores how architecture can hold unresolved histories and present anxieties simultaneously.

"Through film, archive and collective occupation, it seeks to recover voices obscured by conflict.

"The adaptive reuse of the abandoned Salvation Army Congress Hall resists demolition, material extraction, replacement and civic erasure through reconstruction."

Student: Libby Volokh
Course: ARCH6002 Design Studio and Professional Practice, BA (Hons) Architecture
Tutors: Mathew Emmett and Nikolina Bobic
Email: elizabethvolokh[at]gmail.com

Civic Assemblage by Ciaran Halpin

"What is the future role of the university? As institutions increasingly advocate lifelong learning, existing pedagogical frameworks struggle to support evolving relationships between education, industry and public life.

"Conventional models of teaching risk becoming isolated from the realities of material production and civic engagement.

"The Civic Assemblage emerges as an investigation into this condition, reimagining the university as an open, collaborative framework where making, learning and industry converge, thereby activating public participation and positioning education as a catalyst for social and urban transformation across Plymouth."

Student: Ciaran Halpin
Course: ARCH6002 Design Studio and Professional Practice, BA (Hons) Architecture
Tutors: Ricky Burke and Alessandro Aurigi
Email: ciaran.halpin[at]outlook.com

Second Nature: Learning through Waste, Repair and Reuse by Holly Salmons

"This project addresses the UK's lack of education, responsibility and accountability around waste and recycling at both a national and domestic scale.

"Situated on the university's existing recycling centre, the project will localise the education and practice of upcycling and reuse.

"By involving students and the residents of Plymouth in practical lessons, and by making the sustainable, circular material processes that take place on site visible and integrated into public space, the project aims to change behaviours and attitudes towards over-consumption and carelessness regarding waste and recycling."

Student: Holly Salmons
Course: ARCH6002 Design Studio and Professional Practice, BA (Hons) Architecture
Tutors: Andy Humphreys and Graham Devine
Email: hollsjs8[at]gmail.com

Pathologies of Place: Echoes of the Flesh by Freya Marchant

"This project explores the relationship between environmental toxicity and bodily illness through the lens of industrial pollution.

"Situated within a former china clay quarry in Cornwall, the proposal reimagines a contaminated landscape as a place of healing, research and ecological repair.

"It examines how industrial extraction has shaped both the land and the bodies of those who inhabit it, proposing architecture as a means of revealing these often-hidden relationships.

"Through a series of therapeutic and scientific spaces, the project investigates how architecture can make visible the hidden impacts of pollution while supporting environmental recovery, research, education and public wellbeing."

Student: Freya Marchant
Course: ARCH6002 Design Studio and Professional Practice, BA (Hons) Architecture
Tutors: Mathew Emmett and Sana Murrani
Email: freya.marchant[at]outlook.com

The Generative Library by Oliver Mowbray

"The Generative Library reimagines the university library as a civic institution where knowledge is produced, exchanged and made accessible through collaboration.

"Responding to changing patterns of learning, the project proposes a flexible environment that brings together research, making and public engagement.

"Spaces for fabrication, experimentation and shared learning sit alongside more traditional study environments, encouraging interaction between students, academics and the wider community.

"Rather than functioning solely as a repository of information, the library becomes an active generator of knowledge, supporting new forms of education, creativity and civic participation."

Student: Oliver Mowbray
Course: ARCH6002 Design Studio and Professional Practice, BA (Hons) Architecture
Tutors: Ricky Burke and Alessandro Aurigi
Email: olivermowbray.architecture[at]gmail.com

Data for Democracy by Yola Troughton

"Data for Democracy explores how architecture can make the systems that shape public life more transparent, accessible and participatory.

"Situated within the university campus, the project proposes a civic hub where data is collected, interpreted and shared, enabling communities to better understand and engage with the environmental, social and political conditions that affect them.

"By combining spaces for research, public exhibition and collaborative decision-making, the project reimagines data as a civic resource, positioning architecture as a framework for democratic participation, collective knowledge and informed action."

Student: Yola Troughton
Course: ARCH6002 Design Studio and Professional Practice, BA (Hons) Architecture
Tutors: Ricky Burke and Alessandro Aurigi
Email: yola.troughton[at]gmail.com

Molecular Microplasti[cities]: Degradation as Disclosure by Charlie Hirst

"This project investigates the hidden presence of microplastics within marine environments and considers how architecture can reveal, monitor and respond to this form of pollution.

"Situated on Plymouth's waterfront, the proposal combines scientific research, public education and environmental remediation.

"It explores how processes of degradation can become visible through architecture, transforming pollution from an invisible condition into a catalyst for awareness and action.

"By integrating laboratories, exhibition spaces and water-filtration infrastructure, the project proposes a civic landmark that supports ecological recovery while fostering public understanding of marine pollution."

Student: Charlie Hirst
Course: ARCH6002 Design Studio and Professional Practice, BA (Hons) Architecture
Tutors: Andy Humphreys and Graham Devine
Email: charliehirstarchitect[at]gmail.com

The Seabed Laboratory by Ben Howley

"The Seabed Laboratory explores how architecture can support the restoration of degraded marine environments while strengthening connections between scientific research and public engagement.

"Located within Plymouth's historic waterfront, the project proposes a research facility dedicated to monitoring and regenerating the seabed.

"Laboratories, educational spaces and public programmes work alongside marine restoration initiatives, creating opportunities for collaboration between scientists, local communities and visitors.

"By combining ecological research with public participation, the project reimagines marine infrastructure as a civic resource, positioning architecture as an active participant in the long-term stewardship of coastal ecosystems."

Student: Ben Howley
Course: Master of Architecture
Tutors: Alessandro Aurigi, Andy Humphreys and Sana Murrani
Email: benjamin.howley[at]outlook.com

[RE]Imagining Resilience Through System Thinking by Alastair Freeman

"This project explores how systems thinking can inform more resilient approaches to architecture in response to environmental, social and economic uncertainty.

"Focusing on the university campus, the proposal considers resilience as an adaptive process rather than a fixed outcome. It brings together spaces for learning, collaboration and experimentation, enabling changing patterns of occupation and use over time.

"By integrating ecological, institutional and community systems, the project proposes a flexible architectural framework that supports long-term resilience while encouraging collaboration, knowledge exchange and collective action."

Student: Alastair Freeman
Course: Master of Architecture
Tutors: Alessandro Aurigi and Sana Murrani
Email: alastair.freeman[at]plymouth.ac.uk

In Mutual Dependence – Mending through material, craft and environment by Zi Jie Chan

"This project explores how architecture can support reciprocal relationships between people, materials and the environment through acts of repair and making.

"Situated within Plymouth's waterfront, the proposal draws on craft traditions and circular material practices to create spaces where maintenance, reuse and fabrication become visible public activities.

"It considers mending not as a temporary solution but as an ongoing process that strengthens connections between communities and their environment.

"By bringing together workshops, shared spaces and material reuse, the project proposes architecture as an evolving framework for collective care and environmental stewardship."

Student: Zi Jie Chan
Course: ARCH6002 Design Studio and Professional Practice, BA (Hons) Architecture
Tutors: Andy Humphreys and Graham Devine
Email: zijie.chan1999[at]gmail.com

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and the University of Plymouth. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.