Rowen Ford BA (Hons) Interior Design
I work collaboratively and empathically to push the boundaries of interior design. I hope to continue to explore the space where various design disciplines meet throughout my design career. I believe in challenging the expectation of interior design and driving the concept to unexpected places in order to present new and innovative solutions to pressing real world challenges.
Shared Earth, York
Shared Earth was a self-initiated brief and an opportunity to specialise in exhibition and experiential design for the final project of my degree. The proposal is an experiential ceramic exhibition, nestled in the heart of York. Shared Earth showcases ceramic work made at Fired Earth in Manchester, and highlights the harmonious co-existence of the new and the established, promoting the integration and acceptance of changing communities.
The narrative revolves around the integration of Displaced People and the deep-rooted benefits of embracing and accepting diversity into our communities.
Privacy glass exhibition cases enclose the work by ceramicists who have been forcibly displaced from their homes, partially distorting their form and protecting their identity from the viewer. Tinted privacy glass exhibition cases are activated when an adjacent bench is occupied, gradually unveiling the ceramic work held inside, enabling the space to be used as both a transient pedestrian route to the city and an exhibition destination.
Sketching was a vital part of the process; it enabled the quick expression of ideas to push the concept further into becoming fully formed. Understanding the relationship between the existing materiality of the ancient wall and Shared Earth's contrasting form and materiality.
Fired Earth, Manchester
Fired Earth is an authentic creative studio, occupying St Peter's Church in Ancoats, Manchester, to reinstate and strengthen the individual identities of Displaced People through the expressive art of ceramic making. Fired Earth develops nonverbal communication as there is often no common language spoken amongst Displaced People. The skills and practices are taught by movement and muscle memory.
“Working with your hands frees up your mind.”
