Maryam Nisa Taqiya, 2023 MA Illustration and Visual Media, London College of Communication, UAL

University of the Arts London

UAL Showcase Collections

London, City of Layers

Entrance view from Willan road  of the spatial tool kit activated on Broadwater Farm Estate.

A toolbox of creative design strategies, unleashing its power to bring life and vibrancy to intergenerational spaces in neglected communities.“This project reminded me of the themes that I was interested in exploring when I was at university studying architecture myself. Dua’s design is so innovative. I like how the integration of different spaces create a sense of community. The visuals are beautiful.” – Hafsa Adan, Open House Festival Curator at Open City

Streets In The Sky : A Spatial Tool Kit

Addressing the declining number of creative practitioners in inner London due to gentrification pressures with a &#39;Creative Placemaking&#39; strategy that incorporates spatial design, emplaced art activities and place-management policies.“Tower Hamlets is an area that’s been undergoing a lot of redevelopments in recent years. I like the fact this project specifically addresses the creative practitioners who are being pushed out by gentrification. The design visuals are colourful, imaginative and surreal, with elements spilling out onto roads and rooftops – really fun.” – Hafsa Adan, Open House Festival Curator at Open City

Re-building Creative Clusters In the City Centre

The urban dreamscape encapsulates the hidden realms of urban spaces, exploring unseen dimensions of city living through innovative architectural structures. “This project is impressive from someone who, as a Foundation year student, I assume is early on in their higher education design journey. I love the model and could see this as a successful urban realm project. I found the collages beautiful and super surreal. Today, we’re used to seeing digital collage but these have a handmade feel.”  – Hafsa Adan, Open House Festival Curator at Open City

Urban Dreamscapes

Inspired by the original ‘Frestonia’ - a group of squatters who in 1977 formed a new independent nation state based on and around Freston Road in West London to explore new ways of communal living. “The starting point for this, an example of radical communal living, struck a chord with me as Oliver Wainwright, who is one of the guest curators for this year’s Open House Festival, is exploring alternative housing in the city. To Dwell(ing) puts forward the idea that there are many ways to live. It’s not just about the singular home, it’s about communal living and community.”    – Hafsa Adan, Open House Festival Curator at Open City

To Dwell(ing)

Residential urban development with joyful illustrations of women holding balloons with the words 'heaven for her' on them

A hybrid community residential project aims to provide a safe, interactive space for migrant women in the year 2060.“I liked the fact that Maggie Yung focuses on a specific community: migrant women. I see from the bio section that Maggie moved to London from Hong Kong, and I think it’s powerful that this project draws on Maggie’s own lived experience of migration to explore ideas around settling in and feeling safe in a new place.”  – Hafsa Adan, Open House Festival Curator at Open City

Heaven/Haven for Her

A picture of a mobile phone with its camera active, scanning a QR code in the middle of a yellow sticker, which includes a picture of a compass needle

An urban navigation tool that recentres personal and community heritage in contemporary cities through oral history soundscapes combined with archival audio footage. “We run lots of tours at the festival and The London Breadcrumb Project feels like such a creative and engaging way to explore the city. By using soundscapes and recordings of oral histories, the compass creates layers as you’re walking through places. I could see this being mass produced – it would be such a cool product.”  – Hafsa Adan, Open House Festival Curator at Open City

The London Breadcrumb Project

An innovative holistic educational initiative inspired by the philosophies of Ivan Illich, Colin Ward, and John Holt, with a nursery, a lifelong learning centre, and an adventure playground.“The incorporation of play into spaces is one of my favourite architectural approaches. And it makes sense when you’re designing a school for because that’s how children and young people learn. I like the way that Sif Nielsen kept the colours and textures playful too. That brought the project to life.”  – Hafsa Adan, Open House Festival Curator at Open City

Bullerybyn: Free School

An illustrated book, a map, and a zine inspired by Maryam Nisa Taqiya&#39;s love of walking, interest in urban spaces, and preference to draw from everyday life. “Every year we publish a series of maps for Open House Festival. Magic of the Mundane caught my eye because I could imagine commissioning this. I like how Maryam explores the idea of looking at ordinary spaces as something more. That is exactly what the festival tries to celebrate. Not just the iconic architecture that everyone knows but everyday buildings that are vibrant by the way that communities use them.”   – Hafsa Adan, Open House Festival Curator at Open City

Magic of the Mundane

The bench consists of a pill shaped structure with yellow skirting, that is modular and can be split apart and placed around a corner 

A research and design project that gets young people engaged in the design of their local built environment, through a series of hands-on workshops.“I’m working with a group of young people who are our ‘City Curators’ and will be curating their own collections and events for the festival. Young people are involved in conversations throughout the charity. Like that project, Around the Corner champions the idea of giving young people as much ownership as possible over the built environment and space. A great project.” – Hafsa Adan, Open House Festival Curator at Open City

Around the Corner

An architectural design for a nature factory with human hands reaching over and images of birds, twigs and natural materials surrounding it.

Maison/0 Green Trail 2024

MullenLowe NOVA Awards 2024

The Nature Factory redefines an existing urban winery and stone factory as a makers&#39; hub where industrial production and artistic workshops are enhanced through shared bio-based resources. “For this year’s Open House Festival, Riya Patel is guest curating a collection about making and manufacturing in the city. One of the places she looks at is Blackhorse Road so this project ties in nicely. I love the idea of using locally sourced natural materials and repurposing waste products. I learned a lot from this project about biomaterials and how they can be used to help the environment. It’s incredible to see this experimentation.”   – Hafsa Adan, Open House Festival Curator at Open City

The Nature Factory : A Bio-Based Workshop

Natural dye process visualisation where people gathered around the table

An innovative initiative that seamlessly integrates the realms of food waste and fast fashion, this initiative hinges on the principles of retrofitting, repurposing, and recycling. “Time Numpituckchaikul considers the architecture and topography of the site, using available natural materials to produce something that works seamlessly with the local community. The project visuals are also stunning, showcasing the idea of a communal space where people are working together to dye textiles using sustainable methods.” – Hafsa Adan, Open House Festival Curator at Open City

Regenerative Bonds between Colours and Nature.

A vibrant digital artwork displays a group of figures interacting with large structures.

A cultural strategy reimagining diasporic amplification in Peckham during redevelopment through three interventions: We Are Landing: Temporary structures facilitating a week-long cultural engagement programme on the high street produced by local schools, charities, foundations and businesses; A Building of reimagining&#39; sitting as a cultural signifier and designed to inhabit diasporic practices, governance and the rethinking of worlds and We are Coming From Somewhere: Small scale enhancements celebrating Peckham’s migrant history.“This project resonated as much of my personal practice as a curator explores the cultural spaces and places of diasporic communities but also my work at Open City is driven by community engagement and making sure that communities who are often underrepresented in the built environment are given opportunities to engage with it. I really love that Sarah uses spaces of familiarity as a tool to engage with the communities in Peckham that she has identified as I find that this is a great way to create a safe and empowering environment.” – Hafsa Adan, Open House Festival Curator at Open City

Let Me Land

A hand holds a smartphone with the words 'GRANARY TRAIL' on the screen. The interior space of Central Saint Martins can be made out in the background.

The Granary Trail is designed to give future Central Saint Martins students a profound understanding of King&#39;s Cross and the Granary Building through rich historical and cultural narratives. This digital treasure hunt application offers an immersive experience, enabling users to explore the site&#39;s historical layers through an interactive map and augmented reality. “This project is so representative of the theme of this collection and this idea of layers in a city or a building. Exploring the historical and cultural narratives of King&#39;s Cross and the granary building I can really see this being a useful tool for many of the students at the university who want to learn more about their surrounding area, whether for personal or university related reasons. I love the use of AR filters to keep it fresh and engaging and to really play on this idea of it being a treasure hunt.” – Hafsa Adan, Open House Festival Curator at Open City

The Granary Trail

Two glossy clay pieces, with cylinders, rectangles and curves, painted in various colours like yellow, purple, blue orange and red. 

A lively landscape within a community in Somers Town, Kings Cross, that promotes loitering and existing outside without repercussions – encouraging community interactions using play.“There is a real lack of &#39;third spaces&#39; [alternatives to home or workplace or schools] for young people in the city. The young people on our programmes tell me they feel that there aren’t places where they can hang out with friends without feeling like they have to spend money or might be demonised or criminalised. I love how The Playful Alternative addresses this through intentional design, creating somewhere playful and inviting where young people are welcome.” – Hafsa Adan, Open House Festival Curator at Open City

A Playful Alternative

A street sticker that allows people to leave their voice on the streets via an inbuilt NFC chip (a micro- chip that reacts to a smartphone).“What a cool project. Between A&amp;BF feels like something I could see us doing at Open House Festival. It would be a really interesting and imaginative way to enhance the tours programme. I like the idea of weaving scannable voice recording almost like a treasure hunt around the city. A cool, innovative project.” – Hafsa Adan, Open House Festival Curator at Open City

Between A&BF [Memory street sticker walk]

Collage of internal glass courtyard with people sitting and laundry drying in the wind.

Designed in Broadwater Farm Estate, Tottenham, London, this project aims to improve intergenerational connections through making laundry fun, collective and sustainable. “For her 2022-3 Design Museum residency, Marianna Janowicz researched how people dry their laundry, whether that’s indoors or hanging outside. That tells you a lot about how a community is designed. This also made me think of my grandmother in Somalia, who still prefers to wash laundry by hand. The Revival of the Soap positions laundry as a communal, social activity through which different generations connect.&quot;   – Hafsa Adan, Open House Festival Curator at Open City

The Revival of the Soap

A photograph of different layers of hanging textiles, including vintage style net curtains with the city just visible beyond.

Artistic installation that investigate how the cities intertwined with individuals&#39; memories, experiences and imagination to become multiple cities that exist within other cities.“An impressive project that considers the layers of the city – not just what’s there physically, the buildings, but also what we can’t see. I love the overlaying of curtains and other images – the fabric stirs up a nostalgic feeling. Cities Within Cities is about the psychic charge of the city, and the memories that buildings and places hold.”  – Hafsa Adan, Open House Festival Curator at Open City

Cities Within Cities

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