The Lines Beneath by Lily Thompson reimagines Aldwych Underground Station as a layered public project, combining nightlife, student living, museum space and cafe use within a closed piece of London infrastructure.
The strength of the project is the reuse question. Instead of treating the station as a relic, it asks how light, sound, housing and public access could bring the site back into everyday life.
Project images
What the project proposes
Aldwych Underground Station closed in 1994, but its location, tunnels and memory make it a powerful adaptive reuse site. Lily’s proposal introduces a nightclub and music venue in one tunnel, student accommodation in another, and a public museum and cafe at ground level.
Lily graduated from the University of Westminster’s Interior Architecture programme with First Class Honours in 2025. The project also received the Foster + Partners Prize for Technical Innovation in Design and the VOLA award for Best Portfolio Design.
Why the reuse strategy is interesting
- The proposal gives a closed piece of infrastructure a new public role.
- Nightlife uses the acoustic and atmospheric qualities of the tunnels.
- Student accommodation brings daily life into a site usually associated with movement and transit.
- Museum and cafe space keep the station legible to the wider public.
- Lighting, materiality and sound become active design tools.
Portfolio lesson
A project like this needs careful sequencing. The reader should understand the existing station, the new uses, the public route, the private areas and the atmospheric strategy without having to decode everything from one dramatic image.
Showcase an adaptive reuse project
Architecture Social Showcase is useful for student projects that transform difficult existing sites into clear public, cultural or social proposals.
- Make the existing condition clear.
- Show the new programme and who uses it.
- Explain how atmosphere, access and operation work together.
Architecture Social view
Stephen’s recruiter view is that adaptive reuse work stands out when it balances romance with reality. The concept can be poetic, but the page still needs to show how people use the space.
Connect with Lily
Readers can see more of Lily’s work and profile through her public social links.
If this project has made you rethink your own portfolio or next move, browse current architecture jobs or contact Architecture Social for a recruiter’s view.
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