Student innovation helping shape Swansea’s biophilic future
Students at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) are contributing to a major research project exploring how nature and the built environment can work together to help Swansea respond to climate change.
The students are part of the AHRC-funded REPAIR – Retrofitting for the Future: Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Adaptation project, a four-year collaboration involving academic and societal partners from across a wide range of disciplines.
REPAIR is exploring how existing buildings and public spaces can be reimagined to create more sustainable, liveable places that support both human and ecological wellbeing. The project brings together perspectives from anthropology, psychology, art and design, literature, history, law, ecology, environmental science and architecture, alongside expertise in areas including social housing, local government and the natural environment.
Its flagship case study is The Biome in Swansea, the former Woolworths building being transformed into a retrofitted living building bringing together housing, commercial, community and education spaces with nature at its core.
The project brings together Swansea University, UWTSD and University College London (UCL), alongside public, private and community partners. Within this wider collaboration, UWTSD is contributing research expertise and student engagement through its research centres and academic programmes.
Exploring biophilic design through creative practice
As part of UWTSD’s contribution to REPAIR, students from the University’s Surface Pattern and Textiles programme are exploring how creative practice can strengthen connections between people, place and nature in urban environments.
Drawing on their expertise in pattern, materials and making, the students are investigating how natural forms, textures and processes can be reflected within the built environment.
They have explored examples of biophilic design where pattern and materiality evoke natural processes such as growth, rhythm and repair across buildings, public spaces and domestic settings. Their research is informing speculative design proposals and material experiments linked to The Biome and its surrounding environment.
The work is helping students consider how textiles, surface design and materials can contribute to climate-responsive approaches while also creating sensory and emotional connections with nature.
Yolanda Rendón Guerrero, ATiC Innovation Fellow and REPAIR Research Co-Lead, said:
“Students are very passionate about playing a vital role in research and their incredible skills are coming through at different stages of this project, from ideation to delivery. Through creative and technical inquiry, their contribution is helping to shape a shared vision of how cities can adapt to climate change.
“Working across different disciplines gives students the opportunity to bring their own perspectives and skills to real-world challenges, while learning from researchers and partners working in very different fields. Their contribution is one part of the wider collaboration that is helping us explore new ways of thinking about how we design and care for the places we live in.”
Dr Shelley Doolan, ATiC Project Manager, added: “Working with students on live projects is something we’re keen to champion. It gives them the opportunity to apply their skills in meaningful ways, while bringing fresh perspectives and energy to complex challenges.”
Addressing Wales’s green infrastructure skills gap
A separate strand of UWTSD’s involvement in REPAIR is also giving Construction Management students the opportunity to contribute to research into the skills and knowledge needed to deliver Green Infrastructure (GI) in Wales.
Working with educators, industry partners and practitioners, students are exploring current and emerging approaches to GI and Nature-based Solutions (NbS), including Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), green roofs and walls, urban cooling strategies and biodiversity-led design.
The research is examining how Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) education can better support the delivery of biophilic and climate-resilient projects by identifying skills gaps, training needs and opportunities for closer collaboration between education and industry.
Students are also considering how regional expertise, tradespeople and businesses can help develop the workforce needed to deliver Green Infrastructure and support Wales’s climate adaptation and net-zero ambitions.
Brandon Roberts, CWIC Technical Demonstrator and REPAIR Research Assistant, said:
“Collaborating on a key research project about Green Infrastructure skills in Wales with ATiC and a Construction Management student intern has been a change from the usual style of work I do here at CWIC, where I am workshopping and designing.
“However, the vision is identical; the construction industry requires systemic change if we are to reduce our impact on the natural environment. This includes academia, where we have identified gaps in the teaching of sustainable principles in further and higher education across Wales that are increasingly required in practice.
“Education is a two-way street, and we hope to continue working with students to support their learning as well as our own, demonstrating that collaboration is the key to success in any endeavour.”
Learning through live research
The student activity forms part of UWTSD’s wider contribution to REPAIR and provides students with experience of working on live research alongside academics, industry and other external partners.
By bringing together creative, technical and research perspectives, the project is giving students the opportunity to apply their learning to a real urban case study while contributing ideas and insights to a much broader programme of research into climate adaptation, biophilic design and the future of Swansea’s built environment.
For further information about the REPAIR project, live research studies and student internship opportunities, please contact REPAIR Research Co-Lead Yolanda Rendón Guerrero at y.rendon-guerrero@uwtsd.ac.uk.
Further Information
Rebecca Davies
Executive Press and Media Relations Officer
Corporate Communications and PR
Email: rebecca.davies@uwtsd.ac.uk
Phone: 07384 467071