MSA Stage 5 School of Architecture
Nwe Oo Khine, Nichole
Hi! I am Nichole Khine. My work explores the intersection of culture, heritage, and storytelling as my design ethos revolves heavily around human-centric design and collective memory.
Crafting spaces to celebrate lived experiences as well as shared cultural identity, my final thesis, Porto de Fado (Harbor of Fado) is a cultural refuge and living archive in Porto. My postgraduate elective, Designing Regenerative Systems, introduced systems thinking into my approach, adding to architecture’s role in cultural stewardship specifically in material memory and collective care. Fragments That Breathe is a living, wall-mounted installation that reclaims the architectural debris of Glasgow city like sandstone, Victorian tiles and iron.
Having lived in four different countries throughout my late teens and adulthood, my background has shaped my understanding of identity, as I navigate life abroad and stay connected to my roots. It is important to me that this personal value is translated and integrated to my design practice to connect people and place through cultural commons.
Alongside my academic work, I lead Pass The Hope (PTH Glasgow), a creative humanitarian campaign supporting Burmese communities recovering from the destructive earthquake that took place on March 28th 2025. Driven by a shared sense of grief and helplessness following the many crisis that my home Myanmar has faced in the last few years, I dedicated myself to not only raise awareness but also invite the public to take action – to Pass The Hope through making art and connecting with our traditional Pyit Taing Htaung craft to stand in solidarity. This is also a platform for collective strenght and meaningful engagement with other Burmese students and diaspora communities alike, while supporting local makers and humanitarian aid groups from home.
Contact
Works
Collaborative Work
Porto de Fado (Harbor of Fado)
My thesis transforms the fragmented hilltop of Serra do Pilar in Gaia into a living archive and cultural refuge, reconnecting abandoned relics and historical fragments through spatial continuity and cultural meaning. Situated across from Porto’s historic center and the Luís I Bridge, the project addresses a landscape shaped by exclusion, commercialized leisure, and the erosion of authentic cultural practices.
Through the lens of Fado music, Porto de Fado frames this uniquely Portuguese heritage as an evolving emotional landscape, shaped by its core sentiment of saudade (longing) and a persistent thread of cultural continuity. Positioned beneath the Monastery of Serra do Pilar, an isolated panoptic landmark, the project looks back at the city of Porto and honors the spirit of fado rooted in memory, displacement, and the ongoing search for belonging. As a 60-metre level-change journey from the riverfront to the hilltop, the spatial sequence naturally reflects the emotional legibility described by Kevin Lynch – where cities are not merely physical, but mapped and oriented through memory, perception, and meaning.
This transformation of a once disjointed terrain into an experiential journey is marked by a series of threshold buildings, each anchoring a specific cultural memory and lived encounter with the city’s past and present. Beginning from the riverfront at the Archive of Saudade, visitors engage with Porto’s material roots through ceramic ruins, a historic kiln, musical artefacts, and archival exhibits. Ascending the Sound Spiral, a five-story courtyard wrapped in azulejo tile murals, visitors can observe the layered history and evolving forms of Fado across time through the circular ceremonial stairs and transparent vertical lift.
Informal performances such as Fado Vadio unfold naturally within the Harmonic Passage, a space shaped for intimacy and spontaneity through a familiar material and soundscape. Leading to the Craft House, Fado is renewed through collaborative creation, musical experimentation, and making through craft and sound workshops. The journey culminates at the Resonance Hall, where storytelling during the day and formal concerts at night celebrate Fado as a living, shared tradition.
The architecture weaves together abandoned and isolated fragments, ultimately reconnecting the Monastery of Serra do Pilar into an active civic and cultural network. Porto de Fado is not simply an act of preservation, it is a cultural reclamation and a harbor for Fado’s past, present, and future. It keeps Porto’s stories and memories in motion, translating the spirit of Fado into architecture that listens, remembers, reimagines, and renews.
Project Links
Fragments That Breathe
My postgraduate elective, Designing Regenerative Systems, introduced systems thinking into my design practice, adding to architecture’s role in cultural stewardship in material memory and collective care. Fragments That Breathe is a living, wall-mounted installation that reclaims the architectural debris of Glasgow city like sandstone, Victorian tiles and iron. The work is in response to The Lighthouse’s transition as a climate tech startup hub, which was viewed by people in the industry as a loss to Scotland’s architectural identity. Set within a corridor of damp shadow and slow decay, the installation becomes a quiet form of activism. I have reimagined and proposed this piece where growth, decay, and environmental rhythms are made sensorially and materially present, creating a regenerative system through ecological design and collective participation.
Grounded in regenerative principles and bioreceptive design, material circularity, and climate data visualisation, the installation draws on the sinuous forms and symbolic motifs of the Glasgow Style, also reflecting that of the metal gate at the Lighthouse, a tribute to Margeret Macdonald. Each spolia fragment is engraved with organic patterns that function as moss catchment grooves and microbial habitats. These surfaces host mosses, fungi, and lichen, organisms that slowly colonise the materials in response to climate conditions such as CO₂ levels, humidity, and urban pollution. Data collected through embedded environmental sensors is visualised through soft LED cues and dashboard, and can also be accessed via QR-coded narrative links. Grooved sandstone channels guide water and life and PLA mesh scaffolds mimic branching growth patterns, allowing the microbial to take over. Real-time air data transforms into visible biofeedback, allowing visitors to witness their breath etched into the living wall of the city. It asks visitors to feel curious, grounded, and implicated, to see architecture not as a monument to the past, but as a breathing medium or a living archive of weathered matter and human presence, to translate stories of relationship and return.
Pass The Hope: Myanmar relief
Pass The Hope: Myanmar Earthquake relief is a student-led art campaign standing in solidarity with Myanmar, following the devastating earthquake on March 28, 2025. Inspired by the traditional Burmese toy Pyit Taing Htaung – the name meaning “the one who rights itself when thrown down“, a bright and beautiful representation of resilience and the inevitable rise in the face of hardship.
Students and creatives are invited to contribute Pyit Taing Htaung inspired art to ‘Pass the Hope’ to millions of people affected, to remind them that the world has not forgotten them in difficult times of recovery. Join in, make your own traditional Burmese toy and pass the hope!
It is a huge honor to have been given the opportunity to be the first non-Burmese artist chosen to support the PTH campaign, lead by Nichole K (she/her) from GSA’s Mackintosh School of Architecture. Working together, we delivered visuals, 3D animations and a visual identity for PTH Glasgow to inspire artists across the world to create their own Pyit Taing Htaung to help the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) reach their fundraising goals. Please check out the campaign and support by creating your own Pyit Taing Htaung or by sharing and/or donating to the DEC’s justgiving page! This is an ongoing effort and all support is appreciated.
