Imane Eloundi - MA Interiors
Backroots
I approach design as a way of reconnecting peoplewi th each other, with culture, and with the histories that shape us. My background and research have taught me that the spaces we create can transform how we share, remember, and belong. Backroots is built on this belief: that design can make heritage tangible and collective, turning everyday encounters into moments of discovery and care.
My MA project, Backroots, reimagines hospitality as exchange rather than consumption. Located in Manchester’s Mackie Mayor, a site rooted in trade and gathering, the project invites people of all ages and backgrounds to share food, stories, and play. It transforms communal tables and playful installations into spaces for cultural memory, where strangers can meet through the rituals of eating and the joy of interaction.
The design is layered, modular, and tactile. Rotating tables become playful devices for selecting dishes and countries, while sound installations inspired by global traditions bring music into the act of gathering. Each encounter is multisensory and participatory, encouraging curiosity, conversation, and cross-cultural understanding.
Through Backroots, I explore how design can be a vessel for shared heritage and future imagination. The project embodies my conviction that hospitality can be playful, inclusive, and regenerative a living archive of roots carried forward. It is not just a place to eat, but a place to connect, exchange, and belong.
