Institute Of Public Luxury: Matriarchs Rise! A City Built For Women, By Women | Masters Design Project On Speculative Architecture

Site Context

Wormwood Scrubs is a vast expanse of green in West London, situated close to East Acton and White City stations. The surrounding neighbourhood is largely residential, with little sign of a bustling high street or central hub, lending the area a quiet, almost tucked-away atmosphere within the city. To the north lies the Grand Union Canal, and historical evidence suggests it may once have passed directly through the Scrubs. This project aims to reconnect the canal to the site and restore a piece of its past while enhancing local biodiversity and enriching its ecological value.

At the heart of the grounds stands HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs, a Category B men’s prison encircled by a 4.6-metre wall. The facility dominates the landscape, both in its physical presence and in how the area is used and perceived. Public access is minimal, with the front Gatehouse serving as the sole entry point. This combination of secluded green space, restricted access, and hidden waterways creates a rare chance for reinvention—one that could integrate heritage, ecology, and community engagement.

In a deliberate twist of history, the proposal envisions transforming this once men-only institution into a public haven for women, a place of shared luxury and empowerment in a post-revolution setting.

Design Process

The DS15 design approach takes an unconventional path, starting not with buildings, but with objects: handcrafted architectural elements made from pigmented plaster. These sculpted forms are reimagined as bricks and integrated across the project, rooting the architecture in material experimentation. In envisioning a new women-led society, the design unfolds like a small city emerging organically.

Rather than imposing masculine, monolithic forms, the site is shaped by a network of light, open, pavilion-like structures at a human scale. Every stage of construction is carried out by women, here imagined as witches, infusing the process with a mix of strength, creativity, and play. Existing Victorian prison wings are adapted and retrofitted, while other buildings are carefully dismantled, their steel and brick repurposed for new uses.

Final Outcome

At the centre of the proposal stands The Matrispital, a radical rethinking of healthcare spaces, directly confronting the persistence of medical misogyny. In a world where women still endure long waits for gynecological care and have their symptoms routinely dismissed, the Matrispital becomes a place of trust, respect, and support. It offers not only medical treatment but also collective healing, empowerment, and connection—a true sanctuary for women’s wellbeing.

The Matrispital redefines healthcare as both a personal and communal experience. It balances private consultation rooms with shared spaces for collective healing, such as therapy suites and retreats focused on menopause and other key life stages. Set within a retrofitted Victorian prison block, the medical programme unfolds in reclaimed prison cells, transforming former sites of confinement into places of care, dignity, and liberation.

Breaking away from the slow, fragmented GP referral system, the Matrispital offers a seamless, holistic model where consultations, diagnostics, and treatment happen in a single visit. Every consultation room integrates a children’s play and waiting area, ensuring mothers can attend appointments without arranging separate childcare. A full nursery, located next door, allows visitors the freedom to explore the site’s wider facilities.

As part of the broader master plan, a food market lines a reintroduced canal that flows through the former prison grounds, reconnecting to the Grand Union Canal. This new waterway not only breathes life into the landscape but also provides a sustainable mode of transport, linking ecology, community, and daily life.

Conclusion: Ultimately, the project transforms Wormwood Scrubs from a place of confinement into a living symbol of renewal, care, and empowerment through the Matrispital and pavilions. The project reclaims prison architecture and ecological restoration, offering a future where care is a right, community is central, and women lead the way.

[This Academic Project has been published with text and images submitted by the student]