Sophie Rowley
Central Saint Martins
Material Futures

Objets trouvés, coral, travertine, wood: oddly shaped pieces are simply presented without signs of possible use or origin. They demand to be looked at and touched. Rowley calls these her 'successes' made from ready-to-hand materials -- denim, foam, polystyrene and CDs -- that have been deconstructed and reconstituted beyond all recognition.

The deviant pieces that result offer a critique on pervasive design morals of efficiency and upcycling. Typifying this unique course, on display is a rigour, delight and dexterity of process and material. KS

Chris Seaman
Nottingham Trent University
Graphic Design

Sitting somewhere between David Shrigley and Modern Toss, Seaman's illustrations veer between the hysterical and the deeply disturbing, without spending very long in the centre ground. After wandering around so many earnest offerings, his work is a real tonic.

'None of my characters are happy unless they're doing something illegal or unchristian; stories make no sense or have no purpose. I wish I could say that there was a deeper meaning to my work. I really do. The truth is that there isn't one.' I, for one, hope he never finds one. JT

Jack Richards
London Metropolitan University
Architecture

For me, CASS is the one faculty in London that feels as though every unit is pulling in the same direction. In AOC's Unit 13, individual voices stand out, especially Richards' Reminiscence Community, set in Harlow.

To alleviate housing supply, geriatrics are encouraged to move into retirement homes, but with a dose of Fifties' nostalgia. This mid-century flavour is a common theme in the unit. Yet the critique of it through incongruous contemporary details and light industrial forms is Richards' own. HM