Ongl Studio

What if the people who use a space helped shape it?

That’s the question behind Project InsideOut.

We developed it as an approach to designing better learning environments — working with schools and the learners who use them every day.

Because the people who experience a space every day often understand it in ways that aren’t obvious from a plan, a brief or a site visit.

So what happens if we start there?

We look closely at the environment.
We ask what works — and what doesn’t.
We explore possibilities.
We test ideas.
And we turn those ideas into realistic proposals for change.

The engagement isn’t the outcome. It’s part of the design process.

The ideas generated through it can inform the design, while also creating opportunities for learner voice, education, design thinking and better-informed investment decisions.

That’s what Project InsideOut is about.

People • Design • Place

I’m very proud of my courgettes. 🥒

They even got me thinking about context and scale.

How we experience something is shaped by what surrounds it, how big it is, and what we see it alongside.

The same thing can feel completely different depending on its context.

It’s something we think about a lot in design.

A little lesson in context and scale, courtesy of the garden!

A little bit of people-watching. 👀

Paddington Station is a pretty good place for it.

Watching how people move, where they stop, where they sit, who they sit beside, and how they navigate around each other.

There are patterns everywhere if you take the time to look.

And for a designer, there’s a lot to learn from that.

People • Design • Place

A space can be functional and still not feel like it belongs to anyone.

That was the challenge at Gwersyll Urdd Caerdydd.

It didn't feel like a place for young people. It felt more like a confused office.

The brief wasn't simply to make it look better. It was to create somewhere young people could relax, hang out and have fun after busy days exploring the capital.

And to give it an identity that felt like Urdd — celebrating Welsh culture and language as something living, current and full of energy.

We brought Cardiff into the space.
We brought contemporary Welsh music into it.
And, most importantly, we designed around the people who would actually use it.

Because creating a sense of place isn't about putting a dragon on the wall and calling it Welsh.

It's about creating somewhere that feels connected to its people, its culture and its place.

Somewhere people can recognise themselves in.

People. Design. Place.

A space can be beautifully designed and still feel like nowhere.

For us, good design is about more than how a space looks.

It's about how it feels to be there.
How people use it.
What happens between them.
And whether they feel they belong.

Because when design responds to the people, the activity and the character of a place, something changes.

It becomes somewhere.

That's what we're interested in at Ongl Studio.

People. Design. Place.

A place tells you a lot if you spend enough time in it.

For us, designing well starts with understanding.

Spending time in the space.
Listening to the people who use it.
Observing how it works, what happens there and what makes it matter.

At , we're developing the Croeso Room — a space that needs to feel welcoming while also reflecting the people, activities, and sense of community that make the centre what it is.

Creative engagement is one part of that process. It's a way of exploring ideas, uncovering perspectives and finding things that words alone don't always reveal.

Together, these insights help shape the design.

It's about understanding a place well enough to make meaningful design decisions.

People. Design. Place.

40 years of me.
20 years of designing.
12 years of Ongl Studio.

A lot has changed.

But the questions that started it all are still there.

How do people use space?
How do they experience it?
How do they connect?

Over the years, I've become less interested in designing spaces and more fascinated by how those spaces become places — shaped by the people who use them, the things that happen there and the connections they create.

I’ve learned a lot.

And perhaps the most useful thing I’ve learned is that good design doesn’t always start with knowing the answer.

Sometimes it starts with being curious enough to say:

“I don’t know yet.”

Here’s to another chapter of asking questions, looking closely, trusting the process — and seeing where it leads.

People • Design • Place.