Dezeen School Shows: a proposal for a religious space to be used by people of multiple faiths is among the projects from HEAD Geneva School of Art and Design.

Also featured is a redesign of public toilets in Hong Kong, China, and a park built from unused on-site materials.

HEAD Geneva School of Art and Design

Institution: HEAD - Geneva School of Art and Design
Course: MAIA – Master of Arts in Interior Architecture
Tutors: Fredrik Hellberg and Lara Lesmes (Space Popular)

School statement:

"The Master of Arts in Interior Architecture (MAIA) is a full-time, two-year graduate programme that explores interior architecture at the intersection of space, ecology and media.

"Space design is approached as multidimensional, articulating the diversity of interiors, environments and multispecies that configure reality along various paths and scales, from material to virtual and from local to global.

"This year's graduate studio theme, architecture and media, explored how the divide between physical and digital spaces is now obsolete. These realms are intricately intertwined, influencing and impacting each other seamlessly.

"Our social lives increasingly occur across media, in transmedia spaces whose design and regulation often lack clear responsibility. As we gather through multiple layers of media, we merge environments, creating possibilities for meaningful exchange between people globally, while also opening further opportunities for manipulation, inequality and concentration of power.

"The internet has enabled social interaction in and around previously disconnected physical spaces and digital assets, transforming the formatting of information into the shaping of unprecedented transmedia realms.

"As architects, we hold a plural understanding of the public realm that is at once experiential, practical and legislative. How can we contribute to shaping emerging transmedia worlds in ways that align with openness, inclusivity, sustainability and fairness?"

Into Drapes by Ana Karina Zepeda Aranda

"Into Drapes explores the auditory dimension of contemporary domestic spaces through social housing in Geneva.

"It examines how rigid partitions limit adaptability and overlook acoustic dynamics. In Switzerland, the Regulation on Noise Protection (RPN) ensures comfort, yet design rarely integrates it architecturally.

"This project proposes replacing interior walls with acoustic curtains, enhancing spatial flexibility and sound control.

"Such adaptable layouts accommodate shifting activities – a bedroom can extend into the living area, or a workspace gain temporary privacy.

"Spaces expand for communal use or contract for intimacy, fostering fluid domestic experiences aligned with daily routines and evolving acoustic needs."

Student: Ana Karina Zepeda Aranda
Course: MAIA – Master of Arts in Interior Architecture
Tutors: Fredrik Hellberg and Lara Lesmes (Space Popular), assisted by David Viladomiu Ceballos (Studio Chaos)
Email: arq.anakarinazepeda[at]gmail.com

Spotlight on Intimacy by Célia Tourette

"Spotlight on Intimacy transforms a former glass flower shop in Geneva's lively square into a florist's home, exploring how we inhabit transparency in an age of exposed privacy.

"Rather than hiding, it choreographs intimacy through mirrored glass, layered textiles and shifting thresholds.

"Living and working merge as surfaces serve multiple roles, water sustains body and plants, and nothing is wasted.

"Pressed against the city, the home navigates being seen and unseen. This glass house reflects constant visibility, where intimacy is an active choice and exposure resists complete control."

Student: Célia Tourette
Course: MAIA – Master of Arts in Interior Architecture
Tutors: Fredrik Hellberg and Lara Lesmes (Space Popular), assisted by David Viladomiu Ceballos (Studio Chaos)

The Social Fabric of Dining by Cloé Eischen

"The Social Fabric of Dining reimagines table linens as tools for connection, not mere decoration. Inspired by research into supper clubs – often exclusive and elitist – it partners with Refettorio Geneva, which serves free meals to those in need.

"A custom bib-placemat hybrid napkin links diners physically to the table, tableware and each other.

"Over five weeks, Refettorio guests used and refined the design, fostering collaboration. The napkin makes visible the hidden labour of cooking and hosting, connecting care work and textile craft.

"By centring participation and shared work, the project reclaims the dining table as a site of inclusivity, exchange and collective care."

Student: Cloé Eischen
Course: MAIA – Master of Arts in Interior Architecture
Tutors: Fredrik Hellberg & Lara Lesmes (Space Popular), assisted by David Viladomiu Ceballos (Studio Chaos)
Email: eischencl[at]gmail.com

Frozen Memory – Layers of Disappearance by David Röder

"Frozen Memory transforms a modest Swiss mountain hut into a quiet archive of glacier histories. Walls appear as refined marble – bookmatched, veined, luminous – yet each surface embeds data from four glaciers: Moriy, Zmutt, Findelen and Bisgletscher.

"Temperature shifts, ice retreat and topographic change are layered into each panel, merging scientific precision with sensory depth.

"Landscape becomes an active counterpart, urging visitors to feel the vulnerability of natural systems.

"At a time when disappearing environments are framed abstractly, the project rekindles cultural memory, showing that while data informs, only loss that is deeply felt can inspire care and action."

Student: David Röder
Course: MAIA – Master of Arts in Interior Architecture
Tutors: Fredrik Hellberg and Lara Lesmes (Space Popular), assisted by David Viladomiu Ceballos (Studio Chaos)
Email: davidroeder[at]gmx.net

Fragility and Power: The Architecture of Protest by Emma Canton

"Fragility and Power: The Architecture of Protest emerges as an open-source library of spatial tools, maps and protocols for communities reclaiming urban space.

"Treating protest as urban design, it shows how political needs shape temporary infrastructures, responsive to their socio-political context.

"These agile, replicable structures protect bodies, disrupt control and build relationships, embodying fragility not as weakness but as resilient, collective resistance.

"Their impermanence and adaptability make them harder to suppress, sustaining presence through cooperation and trust.

"Here, design becomes choreography, language and process – activating possibilities, enabling persistence and transforming public space into a stage for shared political action."

Student: Emma Canton
Course: MAIA – Master of Arts in Interior Architecture
Tutors: Fredrik Hellberg and Lara Lesmes (Space Popular), assisted by David Viladomiu Ceballos (Studio Chaos)

The Shape of Rituals by Giada Pettenati

"The Shape of Rituals explores how multiple religions can share one space without losing their rituals, forms or identities.

"Responding to the neutrality of contemporary multi-faith rooms, it proposes a new sacred typology for the Gustave Julliard building at Geneva's University Hospitals.

"Six architectural volumes act as thresholds between Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Sikhism, Hinduism and Buddhism, hosting spaces for prayer, waiting and contemplation.

"Materials with symbolic resonance foster tactile engagement, while a 30-minute cycle alternates religious practices without overlap.

"The project envisions shared sacredness – an architecture of co-presence that honours difference, resists erasure, and makes space for both transition and encounter."

Student: Giada Pettenati
Course: MAIA – Master of Arts in Interior Architecture
Tutors: Fredrik Hellberg and Lara Lesmes (Space Popular), assisted by David Viladomiu Ceballos (Studio Chaos)
Email: giada.pettenati2104[at]gmail.com

Habitable Void by Kristina Kambolova

"Habitable Void repositions the 'architectural void' not as absence, but as a generative condition.

"Inspired by Swiss SIA Standard 416 – which deems spaces under 1.5 metres non-habitable – it draws from the low zones of my attic apartment to explore alternative living models.

"These spaces store modular furniture, deployed as needed to support domestic life, then returned to an open, undefined state.

"Adaptable layouts resist fixed programming, while furniture shifts between roles, reinforcing movement and multiplicity.

"Embracing emptiness as completeness, the project challenges conventional function and form, proposing a domestic model defined not by what is filled, but by what remains possible."

Student: Kristina Kambolova
Course: MAIA – Master of Arts in Interior Architecture
Tutors: Fredrik Hellberg and Lara Lesmes (Space Popular), assisted by David Viladomiu Ceballos (Studio Chaos)
Email: kkmblv[at]gmail.com

Choreographies of The In-Between by Navya Balakrishnan

"Set in New Delhi, this project addresses the integration of diverse communities – residents, staff, children and service providers – within high-income housing.

"Inspired by the social cohesion of havelis, mohallas and Raj Rewal's 'theatre of the street' it repositions circulation as a site of social life.

"The proposal reintroduces interconnected blocks and communal pockets within high-rise housing, supporting rest, play, work and celebration while fostering overlaps between groups.

"By embedding permeability and shared spaces into the architectural framework, the project challenges hierarchies of access and proposes an alternative domestic model rooted in empathy, interaction and the everyday coexistence of different social worlds."

Student: Navya Balakrishnan
Course: MAIA – Master of Arts in Interior Architecture
Tutors: Fredrik Hellberg and Lara Lesmes (Space Popular), assisted by David Viladomiu Ceballos (Studio Chaos)

Common -play- ground by Sandy Pitetti

"This project envisions an intergenerational park built from underused on-site materials, reclaiming them as valuable resources.

"Beginning with an abandoned playground, it transforms fences – once separating activities, ages or safety zones – into connectors that foster interaction, especially between children and the elderly.

"Play becomes a dispersed, evolving system embedded in the city's fabric. Underused parking lots are converted into pedestrian-centred play and rest areas, prioritising people over cars. Paths, seating and landscapes integrate playful elements to encourage movement and exchange.

"Flexible and low-impact, the park promotes community ownership and inclusivity, offering a model for adaptive, socially connected urban spaces."

Student: Sandy Pitetti
Course: MAIA – Master of Arts in Interior Architecture
Tutors: Fredrik Hellberg and Lara Lesmes (Space Popular), assisted by David Viladomiu Ceballos (Studio Chaos)

Scoby Stories – A Space for Anima by Sawako Bolch

"This speculative project envisions a space for ANIMA, a half-human, half-scoby being sent from the Microorganism Kingdom to Earth.

"Her mission: to heal gut health through kombucha and share Scoby wisdom to regenerate microbial life.

"Made from symbiotic cultures of bacteria and yeast, Scoby transforms into a translucent, biodegradable membrane that returns to the soil.

"Set in a forest between two rivers, the Anima Teahouse hosts fermentation labs, workshops and tea ceremonies. It is a place where humans, microbes and the natural world converge – a space for all beings."

Student: Sawako Bolch
Course: MAIA – Master of Arts in Interior Architecture
Tutors: Fredrik Hellberg and Lara Lesmes (Space Popular), assisted by David Viladomiu Ceballos (Studio Chaos)

Synecdoche, Swiss Hotel by Sofia Tapia Buchelli

"Synecdoche, Swiss Hotel is a fictional hotel room exploring the collective architectural imaginary surrounding it.

"Drawing from film tropes, online content and guest narratives, it interrogates the hotel's promise to erase traces of previous occupants.

"Using a database of reviews and media portrayals, the room functions as a theatrical stage, with pulleys and steel cables moving elements in and out of view.

"Scenes reveal the choreography between servers and guests, constantly reinventing themselves to reflect evolving perceptions.

"The project examines how shared stories, images, and experiences shape our understanding of space, making the hotel room a dynamic interface between memory, media and architectural imagination."

Student: Sofia Tapia Buchelli
Course: MAIA – Master of Arts in Interior Architecture
Tutors: Fredrik Hellberg and Lara Lesmes (Space Popular), assisted by David Viladomiu Ceballos (Studio Chaos)
Email: sofia.tapiabuc[at]gmail.com

The Mesh Between: Designing Visibility, Redefining Identity by Frida Law Ka Yi

"The Mesh Between: Designing Visibility, Redefining Identity redesigns one of Hong Kong's busiest public toilets, on Hing Fat Street, into a space of care and dignity.

"Though clean and well-maintained, it lacks spaces for cleaning staff, whose presence is essential.

"The redesign uses grating panels as both functional and symbolic elements, allowing tools and maintenance activities to be visible without spectacle.

"A centrally placed cleaner's station and layered openness – shared sinks, outward-facing cubicles, outdoor slop closets – embed care into the public realm.

"Visibility here means acknowledgment, not exposure, reframing the public toilet as a civic space of dignity, interaction and respect for both users and workers."

Student: Frida Law Ka Yi
Course: MAIA – Master of Arts in Interior Architecture
Tutors: Fredrik Hellberg and Lara Lesmes (Space Popular), assisted by David Viladomiu Ceballos (Studio Chaos)
Email: fridalaw1206[at]gmail.com

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and HEAD Geneva School of Art and Design. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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