The Atterbury Flat and its conversion from bland accommodation to creative showcase

A bland, outdated flat used by visiting dignitaries to Chelsea College of Arts has been transformed by students and graduates.

The two-bedroom Atterbury Flat, in a corner of the college’s courtyard, is now home to more than 100 design elements and artworks, from door handles to furniture. These will remain in situ, for visitors to interact with and use. Meanwhile, during London Design Festival 2026, it’s doubling as an exhibition space.

However, creative director, Zoë Tynan-Campbell says: “we intentionally didn’t do name plates (next to each object), because it’s a domestic space, it’s not red ropes and white gloves.”

According to Tynan-Campbell, the flat’s previous style was ‘Office Depot meets IKEA’, whereas now it’s acting as a showcase for creativity. “Students and graduates need commissions, so this project will be successful if it creates opportunities for them.”

On our tour of the flat, Design Week spotted many stand-out pieces.

In the small kitchen is Geometric Dining Set, by MA Designer Maker graduates, Haonan Yu and Zixi Zhu. The CNC-cut plywood table and chairs with their rounded corners, explore the relationship between geometrical structure and natural materials, according to Yu and Zhu.

Unlike the Geometric Dining Set, the Hollow(core) Bench, by Jacob Walls, embraces asymmetry and imperfection. Walls, an MA Design: Ceramics, Furniture, Jewellery graduate, designed it to encourage interaction, through its heat-sensitive properties. That means the bench changes colour when the temperature changes, for example when it’s sat on. Rather than designing the bench’s shape, Walls used reclaimed factory waste foam, which had its own shape and structure.

In contrast to Walls’ bench, this clothes rail in the second bedroom is about structure and stability, rather than freeform fluidity. For MA Designer Maker graduate student, Songsheng Jiang, it’s not just sentimental items that can offer a sense of belonging, supportive structures can too. For Scaffolding Belonging, Jiang used different sized pale wooden poles, reinforced with metal clasps.

Displayed with Scaffolding Belonging, were Easy Hang hangers by Design for Art Direction student, Shannyce Adamson. These beech-wood hangers are designed to be foldable, to prevent damage to clothes, and are also intended as a sustainable alternative to plastic.

Dotted around the flat were Millbank Handles, designed by Product and Furniture Design student, Norah Marie Hinsch. These eye-catching tactile door handles were crafted from locally sourced London plane wood and strengthened inside with stainless steel. The design of each handle was inspired by Arts and Crafts architecture around the college and the nearby Millbank estate.

The Atterbury Flat will evolve as future pieces are added, says Tynan-Campbell. And this way of showcasing the students’ output will continue, as she is “looking for other spaces around the college” to transform in this way.

The project was conceived and designed by UAL Lecturer Zoë Tynan-Campbell and delivered in close collaboration with UAL graduates Abigail Rigby and Bhairavi Yogasivam.

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