About the Designer
Benita Onuoha is a Year 5 Master of Architecture (MArch) student at Cardiff University with interests in adaptive reuse, community engagement, cultural heritage, and regenerative design.
She previously completed a Bachelor of Science in Architecture, graduating with a GPA of 3.96 and receiving the Dean’s Award as the Best Graduating Student in the Architecture Department. During her undergraduate studies, she served as an executive member of the Architecture Student Association for two years.
Alongside her academic studies, Benita has gained practical experience through her placement with Ty Banc Canal Group, where she worked as a Community and Environmental Projects Assistant. Her responsibilities included community engagement, event coordination, stakeholder communication, proposal writing, fundraising support, branding, and social media management. This experience strengthened her understanding of how design can support communities beyond the physical construction of buildings.
Her current thesis project, Continuum, re-imagines Bristol’s historic Underfall Yard as a regenerative working waterfront that responds to both climate resilience and cultural heritage. Using the five stages of grief as a spatial framework, the project explores how architecture can address historical erasure, environmental change, and collective memory while supporting contemporary community use and traditional boat-building practices.
Benita is currently participating in the POC Architecture Mentorship Programme, where she is receiving professional mentoring focused on portfolio development, career progression, and architectural practice.
She is completing her final year of the Master of Architecture programme at Cardiff University while exploring future opportunities in architecture, community engagement, and service design. Her work is driven by an interest in creating socially responsive and environmentally regenerative spaces that strengthen connections between people, place, and heritage.
