Showcase 2021 Student Spotlight: Jessica Balm
Student Spotlight featuring BA Interior Architecture and Design student, Jessica Balm, and her project, The Una Centre.
The Una Centre by Jessica Balm
BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design
The Una Centre, aimed to be a hub for the people of Nottingham, will house the city's kayaking club. The sport will be opened to the wider community allowing it to become accessible and tangible for all. For the individuals using the women’s centre located above on the first floor, The Una Centre becomes a place that they can transition through; receiving the help they require at their most vulnerable, but also utilising the element of community and interaction in order to reintegrate. The architecture allows for the women to be in control of this degree of privacy - for this integration to be in their hands.
The services that the centre has also allows them to help themselves by helping others in the wider community and the elements of water in the design catalyses these events - it allows for interaction through the form of play and experience. The water also becomes a method of therapy and much needed relaxation.
Jessica Balm, creator, said: 'The purpose of this project was to ensure that women feel empowered from start to finish. The Women's Centre here in Nottingham provide such crucial support to those who need it, and it was so important to me that everything was designed with a feminist approach, whilst ensuring the space is fun and a place of positivity, one that women want to be a part of.'
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