Graduates pool their skills to design positive community change

A team of Interior Design graduates are helping to transform a disused pub into a community space in St Austell. 

Falmouth graduates Edward Fraser, Megan Coe, Stephen Tozer and Alice Nightingale are currently helping to transform what was formerly the Hop & Vine pub into the Trinity Centre, a creative multi-use space and café. 

The Hop & Vine was purchased by the St Austell Holy Trinity Church after the building closed its doors in 2015. The Church plans to run a variety of activities out of the re-designed building and will use the centre for a variety of community outreach programmes. 

Edward and Megan are part of the design team at local RIBA chartered practice Koha Architects who are the lead architects for the conversion of the building. Koha has strong links to Falmouth University and is based at the Tremough Innovation Centre on the Penryn Campus.   

The project is a continuation of their work on community initiatives in Cornwall. They were the appointed architects for the restoration of Truro Cathedral’s Old Cathedral School building; for which they received a commendation in the Cornish Building Group Awards and a nomination for the LABC Awards 2020 for Best Change of use of an Existing Building and Best Public Service or Educational Building.

The conversion became something of a Falmouth reunion when fellow Interior Design graduates Stephen Tozer and Alice Nightingale were also asked to work on the design of the new building. 

Stephen founded his sustainability-focused interior design studio Boaz Studio following his graduation in 2018 after winning the winning the prestigious SBID prize while studying with Falmouth. 

Stephen took fellow alumni Alice along for the ride, with the sustainable design enthusiast joining his team in 2019. Since then, his business has gone from strength to strength, with Boaz taking on projects ranging from designing contemporary office spaces to creating Falmouth University’s very own creative writing workspace, The Lighthouse.  

Stephen and Alice’s work on the Trinity Centre will be focused on crafting the reception and café’s interior with Koha designing the interiors for the rest of the building. 

Fay Freeman, Course Leader for Interior Design, was thrilled to see her students make such a positive contribution to the local area.

“It’s always a real pleasure to hear about the success of our graduates, but this story makes me particularly proud in the respect that the projects they’re working on are going to enhance the local community. Their work is a fantastic example to our current students”.

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