Students Redesign Bodmin Engine House

First year Architecture students and first year Interior Design students have just completed a four week collaboration.

The students got involved in a joint project working on the re-design of the Prince of Wales engine house in Bodmin. They focussed on adaptive re-use of the engine house. The project included an exploratory site visit, working in teams to consider the challenges and opportunities of re-using the engine house, and how they might bring the engine house back to life by designing a museum experience focussed on its heritage.

Architecture Course Leader, Tom Ebdon, shared that, “Trans-disciplinary projects such as this bring the skills of architecture and interior design students together. We emphasise that in future practice, students will be working in collaborative teams not in their single disciplines, so these type of projects prepare them for the real-world.”

Interior design student, Jenna White said, “Our brief was to make an exhibition space within the existing shell of the Bodmin engine house. After our site visit to Bodmin Moor, we drew up plans and elevations of our designs, which was a new experience for us, as we were working across multiple floors. 

"We spent studio days with the first year architecture students, sharing ideas, helping eachothers progress and developing our strategies. It was really helpful to see a new perspective on the building, and how different course students tackle the redesign of a structure. 

I loved the adaptive re-use sustainable approach, which is on topic with current design trends. 

"Overall I really enjoyed the project, and think exploring the architectural side of interiors is extremely valuable and something I hope to work with in the future.”

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