Cardiff students rethink safe housing for abuse survivors

A housing design for victims of domestic violence is finding an audience beyond the studio. It is among Cardiff University student projects selected for a Dezeen School Shows feature published on 18 September 2026.

The proposal is organised around three parts: courtyards, winter gardens and a nursery. Courtyards are sheltered open spaces enclosed by buildings, places where residents can meet or sit apart. Winter gardens are glass-enclosed rooms that trap daylight and warmth, useful for sitting and growing plants through winter Dezeen.

The nursery element places childcare inside the housing setting. That keeps daily routines such as drop-off, pick-up and play close to home. It also means parents do not have to travel far for daytime support.

Dezeen School Shows is the outlet's rolling series presenting student work from architecture and design schools. The Cardiff edition focuses on the Welsh School of Architecture at Cardiff University Dezeen School Shows. Readers need no specialist background to browse it. Just look.

In Cardiff, the same school shows work in person each year. The event is called the WSA Summer Show. Cardiff University describes it as a showcase for the creativity and innovation of its architecture students, with the 2026 edition listed as launching in June Cardiff University.

What makes this stand out is the brief itself. A housing task can be about room counts and street edges. This one begins with safety, privacy and family life after violence.

For readers scrolling at home, the appeal is simple. The work is presented to be browsed rather than studied for an exam. You can linger on the nursery plan or skip straight to the gardens.

For fans of design television and home makeovers, this is the earlier chapter. These are not finished buildings. They are proposals, full of care, made before budgets, clients and committees enter the picture.

If you know Cardiff, you will recognise the school. If you do not, none of that matters. The ideas travel well beyond one city.