Collaboration for Wellness

18 May 2023

Architecture students and staff at University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) are collaborating with University of South Wales (USW) and Bronwen’s Wish charity on a project that will be based at Cardiff High School.

Virtual Reality interior model, by Hashim Izzidien, UWTSD.

Architecture students and the Director of Architecture at UWTSD, Ian Standen, hosted USW Graphic Communication students at the IQ Building on the University’s SA1 Waterfront Campus, Swansea in April.

The two groups of students were briefed and undertook team building exercises. They will be working together on a project to design an outdoor wellbeing space and pod at Cardiff High school, as well as to run the publicity campaign for the centre.

The project brief stems from the mission of Bronwen’s Wish charity, which was set up in 2020 in memory of a mental health student nurse based in Cardiff, who tragically died by suicide.

The charity supports children and young people by giving them a place to feel calm, supported and safe in the form of pods or den sanctuaries placed within school settings, solely dedicated to the emotional wellbeing of pupils.

The students at UWTSD and USW will design and promote these pods as part of their assignments.

Ian Standen, Director of Architecture at UWTSD, says: “The project provided a great opportunity for students within their respective disciplines to work together, faced with the challenge of a real-life client, brief and site.

“Given the context, commitment and importance of Bronwen’s Wish to the well-being of school children, they produced an abundance of great design ideas that can be used by the charity for future projects.”

Ian Standen and Dr Rachel Grainger, Senior Lecturer in Design History at USW presented a paper on the project at the AMPS: Applying Education in A Complex World Conference in Toronto in April, entitled: Bronwen’s Wish: An Interdisciplinary Project to Build and Promote Wellness Centres.