Diploma Unit 2 has run at Kingston University School of Architecture and Landscape since 2008. Currently taught by David Knight and Adam Khan, we taught with Bernd Schmutz until 2011. This page is an ongoing archive of unit work.
In 2010 Unit 2 was chosen as one of The Architectural Review's Top Ten London Design Units. Unit 2 student Carlos dos Santos was nominated for the RIBA Silver Medal in 2010 and, with Yemi Aladerun, was selected for Blueprint Magazine Best Student Projects in Britain.
2010-11: PALAZZO LIDL
If retail is the driver of town centre redevelopment and the core activity on London’s high streets, it’s time it was taken seriously. With this in mind, Unit 2 went shopping in Peckham. We investigated places of commerce and exchange – from souks and stoas to Liberty of London and Leadenhall, and then moved on to propose retail-centred, urban projects for underdeveloped sites close to Peckham High Street. All our projects feature a Lidl supermarket as a core tenant.
2009-10: PUBLIC HOUSE
We began the year by investigating six London public houses. We then designed external furniture for each pub in an attempt to capture its character whilst opening it up to the scale of street and landscape. This informed final designs for community buildings in Stepney.
2008-9: CROYDON SPA TOWN
Central Croydon boasts acres of office space, a diverse retail offer, and enviable transport infrastructure. So what’s missing, and why does the centre of town feel so incomplete? Could it be that an injection of wellbeing provision might lift Croydon's urban soul?
Critics since 2008: Dominic Arni, Pierre d'Avoine, Peter Karl Becher, Pablo Bronstein, Aoife Donnelly, Tom Emerson, Emily Greeves, Viktor Jak, Alex Jones, Manuel Julia, Michael Levy, Cristina Monteiro, Juliette Scalbert, Fred Scott, Daniel Serafimovski, Oliver Wainwright, Florian Zierer.
Selected Work by: Yemi Aladerun, Alexandra Bailey, Tom Brooksbank, Stuart Darling, Liidia Grinko, Monica Heilpern, John Henden, Ming-kun Huang, Alexander Jenkins, Sharareh Khodabaksh, Robert Mccarthy, Tobin Mccloy, Danielle Pascoe, Carlos dos Santos, Thomas Sellars, Craig Smith, Nora Smith, Hannah Tourell, Paolo Zambelli.
