Mum on a Mission • Author • Speaker • Student Wellbeing Advocate
Bringing together design, science and real-world experience to help young people thrive
Hi, I’m Philippa Charrier
For more than a decade, I’ve been fascinated by one question: how do the environments we create - and the way we live inside them - affect how well we think, feel and perform?
My background is in architecture and urban regeneration, but in 2013 I took those ideas into the real world when I co-founded FAT Properties. Since then, I’ve spent more than a decade creating and operating student homes, giving me a unique window into how young people actually live when they leave home for the first time.
I’ve seen first-hand how much the everyday things matter: whether students sleep well, eat properly, move, connect with other people, get daylight, feel safe and have somewhere they genuinely belong.
That experience led me far beyond property. I began exploring the science of human wellbeing and performance - psychology, neuroscience, sleep, movement, nutrition, stress and the powerful influence of our surroundings.
Today, I bring those worlds together through my writing, speaking and work in student living. I’m the author of Designed for Wellbeing and Student Thrive Mode, and I speak to students, parents, universities and the student-living sector about what young people really need to thrive.
But underneath all of that, I’m also a mum.
And perhaps that’s what drives me most. I keep coming back to one simple question:
Would I want this for my own children?
Whether I’m thinking about a student bedroom, writing a book or standing on a stage, that question keeps me focused on what actually matters.
From buildings to behaviour
My first book, Designed for Wellbeing, explored how the places we create can influence mental health, connection and performance.
But the more time I spent working with students, the more interested I became in the other half of the equation: not just where we live, but how we live.
That thinking led to my second book, Student Thrive Mode a practical guide to the everyday foundations that help young people thrive at university, from sleep, nutrition and movement to stress, connection and their living environment.
Why I do this
I believe every student deserves the opportunity to thrive at university - not simply get through it.
That belief sits behind everything I do: the homes I help create, the books I write and the conversations I start about student wellbeing.
Watch: Why we need to rethink student wellbeing
In this talk, I explore why student wellbeing is about more than mental health support and how sleep, movement, nutrition, connection and the environments we create can help young people thrive.
Want to work together?
Whether you're looking for a keynote speaker, exploring how environments can better support student wellbeing, or want to discover Student Thrive Mode, I'd love to continue the conversation.