Graduate’s winning design to feature on Brabazon Hangar

UWE Bristol has teamed up with YTL Developments to launch a student design competition inviting emerging creatives to design a large-scale artwork for the newly restored Spitfire Community Hangar at Brabazon.

The collaboration forms part of YTL’s 70th anniversary celebrations and marks the transformation of the historic Filton Airfield into Brabazon, a flagship new town on the outskirts of Bristol.

The initiative was designed to strengthen collaboration between education and industry, offering emerging designers a real-world brief that celebrates creativity, place-making, and community identity, inspiring the next generation of designers, enhancing public spaces, and reflecting the heritage at the heart of the Brabazon development.

Led by senior academic Lucy Cox, Associate Director for Interdisciplinary Discourse, a total of 26 students and graduates from the university’s School of Arts applied to take part - representing creative disciplines including Graphic Design, Illustration, Interior Design, and MA Graphic Arts.

The judging panel unanimously selected Emma Farquhar - a recent graduate from UWE Bristol’s BA Illustration programme - as the overall winner, earning her a £2,000 prize. The five runners-up, each receiving a £200 prize, were Helene Shires, Gayatri Dwarapu, Bari Kwok, Martyna Gradzeil, and Samira Pahlavani.

Emma’s winning design was unveiled by Filton and Bradley Stoke MP Claire Hazelgrove during the official opening of the Spitfire Community Hangar on Friday 21 November.

Once home to a Spitfire squadron, the historic hangar has been transformed into a vibrant community hub featuring a coffee shop and bakery, gymnasium, and flexible meeting spaces. These spaces inspired Emma’s celebratory aesthetic.

Emma commented: “Thank you so much UWE Bristol for this amazing opportunity - I still can’t quite believe my work is going to be up at the Hangar. It’s such a privilege to have been able to celebrate the incredible history of both Filton Airfield and the 70-year anniversary of YTL. This is my biggest illustration achievement to date, and my degree definitely equipped me with the skills to tackle this brief, celebrating the innovation, legacy and vision of YTL.”

In addition to Emma’s design being on display during the official launch, her concept was showcased at the YTL Annual Conference in Malaysia this month, offering international recognition for the creative collaboration between YTL and UWE Bristol.