MA Interior Design Innovation

Negar Esmaeili Shirazifard

Illustration of a waterfront park with people walking, cycling, and boating. Trees and a modern building are in the background.

The Watermill - Ring and Entrance

I am an architectural and interior design researcher with over eight years of professional experience and a research-led design approach. I hold a Master’s degree in Architecture and an MA in Interior Design Innovation from Anglia Ruskin University. My work critically examines how spatial design can respond to climate change, urban justice, and social vulnerability through evidence-based and participatory methodologies.

My practice integrates scenario planning, speculative design, environmental analysis, and behavioural mapping to explore how interiors can operate as tools for care, preparedness, and long-term behavioural change. I am particularly interested in climate resilience, heritage rehabilitation, and experiential learning environments that translate complex environmental issues into tangible spatial experiences.

Recent projects focus on flood preparedness in the Fenland region, inclusive urban safety in Cambridge, and heritage-led environmental awareness through adaptive reuse.

I approach design as both a practical and ethical act, aiming to create spaces that are resilient, meaningful, and deeply rooted in their cultural and environmental context. I aim to continue research-driven design practice linking care, climate, and heritage values.

1 - Newnham Watermill: Heritage Rehabilitation and Water Awareness

Major Project: Negar Shirazi

Newnham Watermill adaptively reuses a 1,000-year-old mill in Cambridge as a public centre communicating water’s cultural, ecological, and historical value. Responding to climate change and population pressures on freshwater, the project explores how heritage architecture can foster responsible water awareness. The design transforms the disused mill into a regenerative educational environment tracing water’s value from past to future while preserving its historic identity. Key interventions include a glass stair greenhouse using filtered pond water, a rainwater-harvesting chimney, and a visible red pipe that reveals flow and flood levels, reconnecting visitors with the mill’s living water system through experiential public engagement.

2 - FenCare: Putting Care in Climate Change Preparation
By Negar Shirazi and Hannah Loftus

FenCare is a speculative, care-led climate resilience project for March, a low-lying town vulnerable to sea-level rise and flooding. It addresses environmental risk alongside social unpreparedness, limited facilities, and weak public.

Isometric architectural diagram of a watermill, highlighting terraces, glass stair, collectors, rainwater system, flood detectors, plants, ramps, and pond.
Illustration of a watermill with labeled sections, people pointing towards glass stairs, and a diagram explaining water flow and resilience features.
People enjoy a circular pool near a modern architectural structure. Diagrams and text about water cleansing process are displayed on the right.
A diagram shows a multi-level watermill project with labeled elements like rainwater collectors and green skill learning areas.
Floor plans labeled "The Watermill," showing ground and second floors with rooms, stairs, and orientation details.
People walking on a circular observation deck labeled with various city heights, overlooking a flat landscape with a clear sky.
Collage showing an architectural concept with red-ring game area, educational exhibits on sea level, climate change, and public interaction.
A black and white illustration of a textured room with rounded walls and a cylindrical object. A small color graphic element is on the wall.
The Watermill - Proposed Concept The Watermill - Staircase The Watermill - Pool with rainwater The Watermill - Interior Proposed Concept The Watermill - Plans Fen Care - March to the Ring (Created by Negar Shirazi & Hannah Loftus) Fencare - Games Lamp