Luqman is a creative practitioner from Karachi, currently based in London with a background in Interior Design from the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture. An adventurer at heart, he often explores lakes, forests and valleys that heightens his sensory experiences and synonymously curates his designs that are often inspired from re-engineering or transcribing notions of the natural environment around him. He often relies greatly on the sensory aspect of a space to make it feel more human which he reflects and observes in his work to exhibit a deeper sense of connection between the space and the user.
At the RCA, Luqman approached an adaptive reuse challenge by keeping students at the forefront of contextual research and the modern habitats of shared living to expose, amend, transcribe and re-imagine them as part of an ecosystem. He explored how 15 Westferry in Canary Wharf is recontextualized as a space envisioned for a younger demographic since London’s universities collectively attract a greater influx of students across higher education institutions every year. Through his work, he weaves spatial narratives that respond to contemporary purpose built student hall problems to improve mental wellbeing, increase affordable variety, increase biodiversity, connect people through common space as well as spaces of transition to holisitically foster a sense of culture, communnity and the feeling of home within a foregin landscape.
His final project, “microSPACE – home grown grace” situates itself within Canary Wharf’s growing mixed-use landscape. This project reimagines shared living through a personal, human-centric lens. Addressing students’ struggles with identity, belonging, and the lack of homeliness in communal spaces; exploring a deeper sense of domesticity within collective living environments. Through a rigorous interrogation of space planning and context, the design envisions a new typology for cohabitation—one in which programmatic elements are not merely adjacent but interwoven. Compact spaces are reimagined within a dynamic, interactive ecosystem, where spatial relationships and communal programs are curated to foster connection, autonomy, and emotional resonance.