
Creating successful student spaces


Why design matters on campus
Let’s start by answering why good design matters on campus?
Well-designed student social spaces are crucial for enhancing the student experience. Designed well, they can help foster a stronger sense of community, bolster student wellbeing, and increase academic engagement.
By considering every detail – from the lighting and room acoustics to the practicality of furniture and the natural flow of the space – thoughtful design can significantly improve how students feel and interact within these environments.
Innovative solutions for mixed use spaces: Warwick SU
When Warwick SU first approached us, their challenge was to transform their tired, uninspiring student social spaces into vibrant areas that students would actually use and enjoy.
There was no grand plan or budget to rip everything up and start from scratch. Instead, they relied on our creative thinking and design expertise to achieve maximum impact with a modest budget.
Scroll down to view Warwick SU’s transformative projects and see firsthand the value that good design brings to enhancing the student experience and elevating the university’s external image. Or, jump directly to each case study by clicking below.


How your Student Union can benefit from working with RED
Design for student unions, social spaces and community areas can be so much more than a nice interior. Great design can improve the student experience, and make use of unloved or under utilised space to bring tangible benefits.
Here’s how we can help:
Design that creates change
You don’t have to rip-up your entire building or spend a fortune to make a visible difference to your student experience.
Exactly the help you need
Whether you’re trying to solve a problem with a particular area or you’re organising a major revamp, we can help with ideas, design and final fit-out.
Sustainable design
We’ve proven we can work sustainably and resourcefully, reusing and recycling existing elements to minimise waste and maximise budgets.
Student focused solutions
We understand your unique goals, your constraints and your audience. You can trust us to deliver cost-effective solutions that are firmly focused on students.
Wealth of experience
Because our work spans a variety of sectors, we can bring you fresh perspectives and make sure you’re tapping into the latest commercial interior design thinking.
Discover our transformative designs at Warwick SU
The Atrium, revitalised from an unused space into a dynamic multi-use area; The Terrace Bar, revamped from a tired and neglected social space; and SUHQ, reimagined from an unused foyer into a central hub for student services. Each project showcases our innovative, yet practical, design approach to enhancing the student experience.
The Background
The Atrium is most people’s entry point to the Students’ Union – but like many other visitors, our first impressions weren’t positive. The area felt dark, uninspiring and lacking identity. Staff and students weren’t really using it, except as a cut-through to other outlets in the building.
The Brief
The SU’s brief to us was to transform the Atrium into a practical, usable daytime space for students and staff to work, relax and socialise. It needed to be flexible to accommodate different events and activities across the university calendar. We were working to tight timescales and a modest budget, so we knew that we’d need to be highly creative and resourceful.
The Results
We’ve used our design expertise to turn the Atrium into a vibrant and inviting space that feels firmly focused on students.
Students are spending more time here – it’s now somewhere to catch up with friends and attend events as well as being a popular meeting point for groups going on to other parts of the building.
Flexibility
Part of the strength of our redesign for The Atrium lies in its flexibility. Using modular, mobile furniture and a considered layout, the area can shift from a quiet study space in the morning to a place to host pop-up stalls or special events in the afternoon. There’s always something different happening – and that attracts people in.
Warm and welcoming
We used acoustic treatments to manage sound levels and introduced a mix of lighting to make the area feel more intimate and inviting. These were key factors in making a large, angular space feel warmer and more welcoming.
Vibrant and contemporary
Graphics reflecting the university’s brand help add personality and a sense of ownership whilst our choice of sustainable materials has created a contemporary look that will stand up to repeated use over time.
Free-flowing
Getting the layout right was crucial to giving The Atrium a sense of purpose. We’ve created zones for people to use the space but also thought carefully about signage and wayfinding so that people can easily navigate to other parts of the SU building.
The Background
Impressed with our work on The Atrium, Warwick SU invited us back to help transform the Terrace Bar. With views across the campus and a statement copper ceiling, this was clearly a space with stacks of wasted potential – dingey and uninviting by night and barely used in the daytime.
The Brief
Our brief was to create a destination bar – something with immediate visual appeal that could be used flexibly, both in the daytime and the evening. There was a strong focus on maximising Warwick SU’s budget – we’d need to be resourceful and look to bring out the best in the existing structures.
The Results
We’ve injected bold colours, innovative lighting and new furniture to create a modern, stylish bar. There’s a great atmosphere that beckons you in, whether that’s for evening events or increasingly in the daytime – students often drop in between lectures and staff use the space for meetings over coffee.
Instant impact
Visually, we took our inspiration from Instagram-able//stylish city centre bars and cafes. We’ve introduced distinctive branding, bold colours and contemporary finishes to complement the newly repolished copper ceiling
Restoration and revival
To maximise Warwick’s budget, we focused on enhancing what was already there. We restored the wooden dancefloor, polished the copper ceiling and revitalised the existing bar – adding bold tiles made it pop, visually whilst overhead glass racks, improved storage and a new coffee station have improved its functionality for the team.
Bringing The Outside In
One of the bar’s best features is its terrace overlooking the busy campus. To emphasise the connection between the interior of the bar and its external space, we’ve used lots of biophilic design – for example, adding foliage above the bar and a colour palette that reflects the natural world.
A brilliant backdrop
Since we transformed the bar, we’ve also noticed lots more shots being shared on social media. It’s becoming a recognisable backdrop to students’ social lives, helping to promote Warwick as a vibrant place to be.
Warwick SU
SUHQ
Transforming an underused space

The Background
Our third collaboration with Warwick SU was a project to change the way students used their Students’ Union HQ.
The SUHQ is somewhere students can access a wealth of support services – for example, the Advice Centre, which offers help on everything from academic issues to health and housing, and Student Voice, the Union’s network of elected representatives.
The Brief
The SUHQ was tired and underused – it looked like a drab office so students were often oblivious to the services on offer. Our brief was to turn it into an attractive, engaging space for students and to signpost the various services and functions inside.
The Solution
By making some simple, informed design decisions, we were able to turn the SUHQ into a truly hybrid space – one that’s fresh, practical and inviting. Increasingly, students are engaging with the space and using it to access SU services.
Improved layout
We looked in depth at the layout of the SUHQ – how students interacted with the space and way people flowed through the area. Inspired by our experience of designing for retailers, we created new touchpoints – a Welcome Area and reception – and added clear signage, pointing students through to the different SU services.
Room to relax
The space needed to be more than functional. By adding furniture and mood lighting, we created break-out spaces where students felt comfortable relaxing and studying. Along with improving the acoustics, this made the SUHQ feel more welcoming and encouraged people to come inside.
Connecting through branding
One of our skills as designers is to be able to bring an organisation’s brand to life in three dimensions. You can see this in action in the SU. We’ve created bespoke graphics that communicate the university brand and signal to students that they’re in a public space, not a private office – that they’re meant to be here.
Reinvent your students’ space
We really enjoyed working with Warwick SU and we’re proud of the impact we’ve been able to make on their student experience. This is a field where a little focused design thinking can make a major difference.
So, if you’re a Student Union with a problem to solve, let’s start a conversation.
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