A historic haven for
 hardworking students 

This project began with a simple but meaningful brief: to create a dedicated student space at St Thomas’ House, one of King’s College London’s satellite campuses. The students were spending long hours on placement and the client wanted to give them somewhere they could genuinely relax and unwind.

What made the project unique was the building itself. It had these beautiful high ceilings, original panelling, and historic memorial plaques that we were really keen to preserve and highlight in the final design. Interestingly, the building is now being demolished, so the client is planning to relocate the scheme entirely to a new site.

I took over the design from Kathryn, who had developed the initial strategy for the campus, and worked alongside Kai and Liam, who helped produce the visuals. I was responsible for the site visits and acted as the main point of contact with Overbury, coordinating the day to-day elements to keep things moving on site.

There were definitely some memorable moments, including one where building control raised a bizarre concern about students possibly falling out of the windows. 🤷‍♀️ 

On a more practical level, managing the client was occasionally tricky. With such a large institution like KCL, it wasn’t always clear who had the final say on design decisions, which meant progress could stall. I had to be proactive in keeping momentum going and chasing clarity where needed. 

This was my first time being on site and acting as the go-between for the design and delivery teams, so I learnt a huge amount. The whole experience really helped me develop confidence in being proactive and driving the project forward. 

More than anything, it gave me the chance to apply everything I’d learnt at university in a real-world context and to see how all those pieces come together to make a finished space.