Westminster’s OPEN degree show offers students from the School of Architecture and Cities the opportunity to showcase their final projects. This exhibition marks the culmination of their creative journey and highlights their achievements at Westminster. The projects reflect a diverse range of experiences and perspectives essential to the exploration of architecture and place. 

OPEN is a highly anticipated event each year, drawing students, graduates, staff, and industry guests, and attracting a global audience. It provides a valuable platform for students to present their work to potential employers and industry professionals, opening doors to future opportunities. 

We caught up with two final-year students, Daniela Carolina Nagel, who is studying our Interior Architecture BA, and Leonardo Silva Ritter, who is studying our Architecture BA, to discuss their final projects and preparations for OPEN 2024. 

What are you most excited about for your end of year show? 

Daniela: I’m excited about reuniting with everyone after all the hard work we have put in for our final projects. It is going to be amazing to display our work to potential employers and see the creativity of my classmates. This event is a great boost for our CVs and a chance to celebrate together as a course one last time. Plus, it’s fantastic to bring people from outside into our university to see what we’ve achieved.  I’m also looking forward to the feedback from visitors, which will be invaluable as we step into our professional careers. Overall, I am just really excited for what’s to come and to celebrate this milestone with everyone. 

Leonardo: I am most excited to celebrate all our hard-work this year and to finish my undergraduate degree on a high. The end of year show is a great opportunity to admire everyone’s work, across all years, and get truly inspired and immersed into the world of architecture.  

How has your course prepared you for your final project?  

Daniela: My course has been incredible in getting me ready for this final project. The tutors have been fantastic, always pushing us to try new things and take on different challenges. We have had so many references and resources to draw from, and we’ve done a lot of hands-on work with different materials. The off-campus excursions and guest lectures have really broadened our perspectives and fuelled our creativity.  

Leonardo: Throughout the course, I have increasingly learned and improved my skills, both academically and personally. The course opened the doors to the world of architecture for me. The different modules and projects we completed were steps in my journey to find who I want to be as an architect. 

Tell us more about the activities you are involved in to help organise and prepare for OPEN 2024  

Daniela: We’ve been busy with online meetings to plan the schedule, prepare our images for the final show, and figure out the best way to organise the space. It has been a team effort, and everyone’s been contributing to make sure everything goes smoothly. We want to create a professional and engaging display that really showcases our work.  

Leonardo: All the students are extremely focused on finishing the work to a remarkably high standard, to be displayed at OPEN. This exhibition is to showcase us, so we are all involved in making our exhibition spaces the best they can be and to reflect all the hard work of our past years studying.  

What do you hope to achieve from your final project?  

Daniela: My project introduces guests to a Spanish wine brand in a unique and memorable way. My design removes the top floor of the existing building at 120 Marylebone Lane and creates a rooftop with private tasting caves made of wax. The caves change shape in the summer as the wax melts, creating a dynamic and evolving space. The basement features a sommelier training area to fully immerse people in the wine experience. Hosting an annual wine festival on Marylebone Lane will bring a lively piece of Spanish culture to London, creating a fun, community- focused event. Overall, I want my project to show how thoughtful design can bring people together and create amazing experiences.  

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Leonardo: With my final project’s brief being about the archive of alternative histories, my proposal focused on how the act of mapping a site should be directly related to the projects design and how incorporating these site relationships creates a more holistic architecture.  

My project explored the relationship between Somerset House and London, as well as its role as an architectural archive. Using mapping and photography as design processes, I investigated the site’s interactions with its surroundings and human activity. These elements were integrated into a model to deepen the understanding of the site. From this model, I identified key relationships and designed a factory that replicates my mapping process. Given Somerset House’s status as a listed building, I carefully preserved its architectural features while expressing my creative vision through the design. 

I hope to achieve personal fulfilment knowing that I added to the discourse of architecture. I want my project to have an impact in the way in which we view the architectural design process and how it can be changed and incorporated into our built environment in the future. 

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What has inspired your creative thinking and work so far towards your final project?  

Daniela: I am proud of how my final project brings together different elements of design, culture, and community. A lot of my inspiration has come from experimenting with materials, especially wax. I have loved playing and casting with it, seeing how it shapes and flows. Artists like Alex Chinneck and Anish Kapoor have also been huge influences, along with the culture of wine itself. I’m also committed to keeping as much of the existing building facade as possible, blending old and new in a meaningful way.  

Leonardo: Each project carries a different catalogue of inspiration and ambitions. I have always focused on the macro-level of architecture – focusing on the overall impact it has on the community and what can it add to the knowledge of architecture.  

To find out more about our architecture courses and the wide range of exciting student projects, visit the digital exhibition OPEN 2024.

You can also read more about our student projects from the Architectural Technology BSc and Architecture and Environmental Design BSc in our Launch of OPEN Degree Show 2024  blog.  

_{Header image: Daniela Nagel Rivas – Interior Architecture (2024)}

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About Westminster  

As one of the most diverse universities in the UK, we are a global university with London energy, with more than 19,000 students from 169 countries. 

To find out more, visit the Architecture, Interiors and Urban Design page.