Turning a cinema into a communal living space on the Interior Architecture course | Degree Show Stories
04 September 2026
BA(Hons) Interior Architecture graduate Hannah Schmidt reimagined an old art deco cinema in Plymouth as a communal living space for her final project. It's part of a course that asks students to explore who they are as designers and what place they want to take in the industry afterwards.
Last year, Hannah, an international student, won a scholarship after being introduced to the competition by one of her tutors, presenting her work to industry professionals in a London showroom. You can read more about Hannah's scholarship win here. She says the strong bonds formed at Falmouth extend to a worldwide network of graduates and are central to the community she has built here.
"My name is Hannah Schmidt, and I'm an international student in third year for interior architecture.
"My final project is focusing on the future. So I'm turning this old cinema in Plymouth in a communal living space at the moment, which is quite fun. It's a massive art deco building.
"We get to design what we want to design, and we really get to explore who we are as a designer, what our stance is, and what place we want to take in the industry afterwards.
"I won a scholarship competition last summer, which I got introduced to by one of our teachers, actually. I got invited to London to an amazing showroom and got to present it in front of some industry professionals. Three people got announced that won, and I was one of the lucky ones.
"I know that there's Falmouth graduates everywhere in the world, and it's such a strong bond you form with everyone. I think it's definitely the community you build here."
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