Rebekah Alex - MA Interiors
Shaped By Hand
This project explores the relationship between the built environment, well-being, and identity. It seeks to understand how lived experience can influence emotional responses to space, and how design can be used to nurture, heal, and restore.
My goals for this project are to create environments where care and healing are central to the design process, to approach each decision with empathy, listening deeply to emotional cues and lived experiences and to value softness, dignity, and safety as essential design qualities.
The design aspires to create a sanctuary where individuals can feel valued, seen, and protected, while also fostering opportunities for social connection and the rebuilding of trust.
I believe that design has the power to change the way we live, and as designers, we have a responsibility to understand what in the built environment works, what doesn’t, and how to improve it by being mindful, thoughtful, empathetic, and attentive to the needs and experiences of users.
Vision for Impact
This project challenges the conventions of traditional shelters and institutional spaces. By placing people and their experiences at the heart of the process, it aims to reimagine transitional housing not just as a place of refuge, but as a space of emotional and social healing.
Tone & Identity
The tone of the project is gentle, empathetic, and intentional. Materials are chosen not just for function, but for the emotions they evoke, warmth, softness, and calm. These qualities are used to shape an environment that feels safe, nurturing, and quietly sup-portive. The aim is to create a space that is emotionally sensitive and non-threatening, especially for those who carry the weight of trauma.
