A room of her own
My interest in architecture comes from the belief that space is never passive. It can protect or expose, include or exclude, calm or unsettle. Having lived and studied across different cultural contexts, I have become especially aware of how fragile the idea of “home” can be, and how strongly the built environment shapes a person’s sense of safety, dignity and belonging. This has led me to approach architecture not only as the design of buildings, but as the design of conditions for care, recovery and everyday life.
My recent project, A Room of Her Own, develops this interest through a community and refuge building for migrant women in Old Trafford, Manchester. The project responds to experiences of displacement, domestic abuse, homelessness, single motherhood, social isolation and housing insecurity. Rather than treating refuge as a hidden or purely functional facility, I explored how it could become a calm, protective and empowering civic space, where women can access support, privacy, community and emotional recovery.
A key part of my design approach is the relationship between environmental comfort and human wellbeing. In this project, the winter garden became the emotional and environmental heart of the scheme. It provides daylight, planting, warmth and a protected connection to nature, responding to Manchester’s wet, dark and cold climate. For me, sustainability is therefore not only a technical question of energy performance, but also a social and emotional question: whether a building can remain comfortable, meaningful and supportive for its users over time.
Through my work, I aim to combine social research, spatial clarity and environmental thinking. As I move towards practice, I hope to learn how sensitive design ideas can be developed into realistic, well-detailed and socially valuable architecture.
