MSA Live 26

A productive morning spent at the B12 workshop, making a model focused on the interior space of the site.

This model along with floor plans will help both us and the Talkshop attendees visualise their needs and aspirations for the space.
By hosting a workshop, the young people will be able to engage and share their thoughts and ideas.

For our third official meeting we reflected on how we have been working as a group and what we could work on to improve our workflows and outputs over the coming weeks.

The overall consensus from the group that everyone was very happy with how we were working and communicating and dividing up work. Over the past weeks, we have been dividing up into smaller focus groups to complete tasks such as the poster or budget assessment. As a group we reflected that this was an efficient and effective way of developing collaborative work whilst understanding that all of us have very varied schedules, that don’t always correlate.

Moving on from our reflection we aim to communicate more consciously of other people's schedules and lives as well as maintaining how efficiently we have communicated and completed tasks. Furthermore, we are all eager to start designing a space and understanding the site and client better through client engagement activities and a community questionnaire. Over the next few weeks we will work in smaller focus groups to identify and critique site restrictions and conditions to help aid our design development in the near future.

SESSION 03: SITE VISIT
During our session this week, the group discussed initial ideas regarding which materials will be used in our den construction, keeping sustainability and waste reuse at the forefront of our plans. Additionally, we had conversations with our collaborator, The Common Land Collective, on the plans for our community engagement project, examining how we engineer the engagement to best gather information that will be useful to the process of developing our final designs.
Later this week, our group completed an initial visit to our site in Chelford, here, we met with our collaborator and discussed in more detail their expectations from us and our ideas for the space, such as where the dens will be positioned, what their functions might be, and what other features they hope to integrate into the site. Before heading to the site, we established who would collect what information, to establish an efficient system that helped us collect detailed information to analyse and feed our design process. At the site, each group worked to gather the necessary information which we plan to discuss in more detail in future sessions to support our understanding of the location.

For today, we finished off the basement level and ground floor level of our cardboard model.
In our next group meeting, we will discuss any improvements needed for our model and what the model will be used for in the engagement activity.

Like the history of the Baths themselves, we want this project to champion community involvement. This means that before any designing takes place, it is important that we understand what the community wants, so that this can guide us throughout the design process.

To explore this, we devised a survey intended to help us learn what users of the Baths feel is currently missing from the site, as well as what they would like to see more of.

When visiting the Baths last Friday, I gained staff consent before conducting the survey. To include a range of voices and reduce bias, I aimed to interview both users and staff across a variety of ages, genders, and backgrounds.

While the answers provided many useful insights, the conversations that emerged from some of the questions were just as valuable. They helped me understand how people use the Baths in different ways, and how any potential redevelopment could affect them differently.

Stay tuned for more public engagement exercises and updates on how these will inform our future design!

Workshop visit

In today’s group meeting, we reviewed the documents needed for our upcoming submissions. We then visited the B15 workshop to ask about material costs and the best way to create birdhouse templates. This visit helped with our budget proposal and next steps for planning.

03/03/26

This week, we finalised our project timeline and reassessed our budget and risk assessment following further discussions about what our community engagement task with the people of Stockport could involve. After brainstorming ideas as a group, we agreed on a final concept. We then discussed the budget required to carry out the activity and identified the potential risks involved in implementing it.

In addition, we revisited a task set during the previous meeting in which each group member created visualised collages representing their individual interpretations and responses to the site. When considered alongside further research into the history of the area, this discussion began to shape the direction of our project. As the brief allows for flexibility and creativity, this process helped us begin defining a clearer focus for our project.

Hi, my name is Tre-kwan and I am a first year architecture student. Prior to moving to Manchester to study architecture, I lived in North West London my whole life. My interests are how buildings or structures intertwine with the needs of humanity but also their visual beauties and how these buildings make people feel. I enjoy all the creative freedom architecture gives and I would love to be a part of future of the industry.

For this project, I am really excited to work on something that has real impact and could help people, but also to gain major experience and learn from the post graduate students. We will transform a church into a digital tech community hub, I am thrilled to be in this group as I think it is interesting to try and connect two almost incongruous ideas of “old and new” and this in my opinion would be very fun to explore.

W3: 03/03/2026
For this week’s session, instead of all trying to discuss and resolve one decision together, we learnt to split into much smaller groups and trust each other’s abilities and decision-making to complete more tasks simultaneously, like drafting sketches onto site plans, conducting demographic research on our area, and carrying out a site analysis. We were much more productive compared to last week, and time flew by so fast this time!

Today we took a big step forward with our second client meeting, discussing about our sites and further developing our understanding of the brief. We presented what we have so far to the client and note down their likes and requests. It was very useful for us as a group to further consult the client, ensuring we start our actual designs with the right idea. They reminded us that the aim to increase social interactions in the community wasn’t shown as clearly in the poster, suggesting that we add more elements of human interaction. Other than the addition to the poster, the clients were pleased by the direction we were going and left excited for the next meeting. We then continued towards the lecture hall to listen to a valuable lecture on community and importance of inclusive designs. After our lunch break, we gathered to discuss the client meeting further with our tutor and started paving our way towards the first few designs.

Week 3 - 03/03/2026

Today we presented and reviewed the site analysis we have been developing since our last meeting. We have each developed an understanding of our chosen sites in smaller groups and were enthusiastic to hear about each other’s work today.

For each site, we went through analysis of traffic routes, congestion points and important crossing areas. It was pivotal to gain an understanding of the potential weak points in the existing site before moving into the design stage of the project. This is beneficial in our process as safety and travel routes are at the forefront of this project. We also discussed what each of the schools and wider community had access to and, in contrast, what each could be wanting. These included things such as availability to green spaces, playground equipment and communal meeting spaces. Now that we have identified these elements we can confidently move forward in the design process to developing site specific interventions. Each site is unique and poses an exciting opportunity for a community space we look forward to working on.

Before the next session we have arranged for a second meeting with our collaborators to organise community engagement meetings with the schools relevant to this project. This will be an opportunity for us to refine the community opinion of the sites in person, rather than relying solely on our initial desktop studies. We look forward to expanding the depth of this project through these conversations.

Hi I’m Omolade. I did my Bachelor’s in Architecture at Central Saint Martins in London and have decided to pursue my Master’s in Architecture here at MSA.

I’m excited to work on the MSA Live project as it will give me the opportunity to work with real clients more and strengthen my professional practice skills. Adaptive reuse also gives us the challenge of using what is already there, while minimising waste and prioritising use, which are important tools to develop in the current architectural climate.

Shaping the Project Framework & Design Direction
3 March 2026

In our third group session, we continued developing core project documents—including the Budget Proposal, Ethics Application, Project Timeline, and Risk Assessment—followed by collaborative research into relevant case studies. Through analysis and discussion, we began to shape our design approach and clarify the conceptual logic behind our proposal.
It was a focused and insightful meeting, moving us closer to a coherent and well-structured project foundation.

Boting Ren

MArch Architecture | Manchester School of Architecture

I am currently studying MArch Architecture at the Manchester School of Architecture, with a background in architectural design and construction-oriented thinking. My work focuses on translating conceptual ideas into buildable spatial strategies, with particular attention to material logic, structural clarity, and cost feasibility.

I approach design through a practical and technically informed process, prioritising constructability, resource efficiency, and climatic responsiveness. I am especially interested in projects within low-resource contexts, where architectural decisions must be grounded in available materials, labour conditions, and realistic budget frameworks. Rather than treating architecture as a purely conceptual exercise, I value disciplined design development that responds to real-world constraints.

My strengths lie in early-stage feasibility studies, construction logic, and budget-aware design coordination. I enjoy working at the intersection of design and delivery, where architectural intent is tested through technical resolution and material strategy.

Through this MSA Live project, I aim to contribute to construction-led thinking, cost and material research, and pragmatic design development, supporting the team in producing context-sensitive and achievable architectural proposals.

Site Visit 1 - We had a walking tour from the Etihad Stadium through Holt Town, ending at New Islington, alongside our collaborator Transport for Greater Manchester and a representative from Manchester City Council.

As we walked through Holt Town, the council representative explained the regeneration plans and their long-term vision for the area. Experiencing the site on foot gave us valuable insight into the opportunities and constraints within Holt Town, as well as a clearer understanding of what future residents may need in terms of connectivity, public space, and infrastructure.

This was a successful site visit, as it provided strong contextual grounding and clarified Holt Town’s relationship to Manchester city centre. The discussions from this meeting informed our first steps towards identifying a new location for the proposal of the Holt Town Travel Hub.

Yesterday the group used our timetabled meeting to get some work done and enjoy the sun! We discussed the online meeting we had with our collaborator, Steve, last week, narrowed down and distributed our roles for the festival output, and planned our trip to Sale today.

3/3/2026

Todays session began on a strategic note. Before jumping into design, we sat down to carefully structure the framework around it — finalising and discussing the Budget, Risk Assessment, Ethics, and our Project Timeline. It was important for us to ground the project in reality, ensuring that our ideas are not only ambitious but responsible, feasible, and aligned with the values of Monton Unitarian Church.

As the conversation developed, it naturally transitioned into early design thinking. With clearer constraints of budgets and risk assessments and a direction in place, we began preparing material to pitch to the client.

Each of us brought forward relevant precedents, which we analysed collectively, asking how they support user wellbeing, encourage gathering, and create moments of retreat. We sharpened our focus on our chosen user group and considered how the proposal could reflect both the client’s ethos and the lived experiences of those we are designing for.

A major milestone for this session was the completion of our 3D site model. Having a digital base to work from allowed us to begin experimenting visually. Testing massing ideas, exploring spatial relationships, and conceptualising how our intervention might sit within the existing context. Moving between conversation, sketching, and modelling made the process feel dynamic and collaborative, marking the first real moment where our research began to translate into form.

Minecraft Soundtrack = Creative Mode

Week 2 was us sharing vibes and brainstorming for the less glamorous but very necessary bit: getting the project properly organised. We split into smaller teams to tackle different tasks (planning, timeline, ethics, engagement, risk, and budget), then kept regrouping to compare notes and make sure we weren’t all quietly building different versions of the same project.

We also pushed the design forward and wrapped up the posters. Working in mini groups helped us move faster, but the best part was coming back together to review them as a whole team; lots of debates, a few ruthless cuts, and a shared agreement that clarity wins (even if we were emotionally attached to certain layouts).

In parallel, we started properly sharing design references and early ideas, building a quick inspiration board, swapping case studies, and throwing around thoughts on temporary/lightweight/movable structures. Nothing too precious yet, but enough to get everyone on the same page and start shaping a shared visual direction.

Day 2 - Pre-project Admin - 17/02/25
During our second meeting, we regrouped to review progress across the different workstreams. The poster team shared updates on their developing visuals, while the blog team presented the current structure and direction of the written content. This check-in helped ensure alignment across the group and highlighted areas that required further development.
Our discussion then shifted towards gathering meaningful insights from the local community. As a team, we explored potential approaches to engagement, including identifying which site to prioritise and considering the value of conducting a visit to Wigan. We discussed how direct interaction with local residents, youth groups, and community stakeholders could help ground our proposals in real needs and lived experiences.
Building on these conversations, we began outlining a clear strategy for moving forward. This included recognising the need to prepare a risk assessment for any site visit or public engagement activities, alongside developing an initial budget plan to account for travel and material costs. We also acknowledged the importance of establishing a realistic time plan to coordinate research, engagement, and design development effectively.
Day 2 marked an important step in shifting from initial understanding towards structured planning, ensuring our next actions are both responsible and well-organised.

03/03/2026

On a scorching day at the beginning of March in an even more scorching Crawford House seminar room our plan for today was to teach all the BA1s AutoCAD to produce the necessary architectural drawings for our project. Jake showed a great deal of patience during the downloading process of the programme, as well as in his teaching methods, greatly helping the BA1s, who are often heard to miss digital skills sessions due to heavy Tuesday nights out after MSA Live sessions. Once agreeing on who was drawing plans and who was drawing elevations, Mr Hyde (not to do with Dr Jekyll) helped us wrap up our session today.

Hi my name is Milena Ereh,
I'm a First year architecture student at MSA. Previously i studied Art and design, maths and chemistry at A-Level. My current skills revolve around analogy drawing however I’m excited to learn more about digital techniques throughout this project. Outside of architecture i enjoy oil and watercolour painting as well as charcoal drawing. Sine high school I've had a passion for art surrounding nature and landscape that's only grown with my interest for architecture. I hope that working Moor Allerton Preparatory School in this project will help me understand the importance of the relationship between a community and nature better and how both can thrive unanimously.

03/03/2026

Today we brainstormed ideas on how to engage with the community at the garden ahead of our second site visit next weekend. We decided to collate precedents of water features which we will print and show the volunteers and members of the Salford Croquet Club who play on Saturday afternoons. We are planning on giving them coloured paper to vote for which ideas they like or dislike, allowing us to get a holistic idea on what design style is favoured before we start designing the water feature in the coming weeks, as well as allowing the community to have a say in the design process.

During our meeting today, we had a doughnut birthday party! This was to celebrate the birthdays of three of our team members. As we continue our MSA Live journey, these moments of team bonding help to keep our motivated and relaxed meetings.

17/02/2026
Today was our second scheduled meeting. Starting with the poster we discussed the current design and suggested improvements to be made before the submission. We uploaded our project description, completed our first few blog posts and started to talk over our: project timeline, budget, risk assessment and ethics application. Finally we divided up the tasks for the next two weeks.

My name is Haoyan Duan , and I am a Chinese first-year BA Architecture student at the Manchester School of Architecture. I have a strong interest in site- and landscape-led design, and in the relationship between architecture, historical context and user experience. I aim to further develop my spatial thinking and technical skills throughout my studies, and to pursue an environmentally and socially responsible design approach. I am proficient in Photoshop and SketchUp, using them for visual communication, architectural collage and three-dimensional modelling to support design development.

17/2/26 Site visit

We visited the site and met with the Friends of Worthington volunteers to better understand the space we will be designing for. This visit was extremely helpful, as it gave us a clearer understanding of the clients’ needs and expectations for the project. Being on-site also helped us identify practical challenges and environmental considerations that may influence our design decisions. During the visit, we discovered that a fox den is currently located in the area where the seating is planned. As a result, we will need to collaborate closely with the volunteers to ensure that any changes are handled ethically and responsibly, allowing the foxes to safely relocate to a suitable alternative area before construction begins.

17/02/2026

This day was more about coming together after meeting with our collaborators to develop our ideas for the project and also to think about our project timeline and costs. We split up the tasks so that they were equally divided between all the group members for efficiency. We also worked together in brainstorming activities for the year 4 students, which allowed us to find similar precedents for inspiration and to use as a reference when communicating with our collaborators. Our structured approach for the day improved our overall productivity and created a strong sense of teamwork within the group.

Session 2 – Engagement activities and necessary documents!

In our second session, we focused on engagement activities and worked through some key documents. To keep things organised, each MArch1 student was given a task, supported by a BA1 or Foundation student. It worked really well - we were able to learn from each other’s strengths while keeping everything moving at a good pace.

The documentation included a Project Timeline, Ethics Application, Risk Assessment, and Budget Proposal. The budget task especially pushed us to think more creatively about engagement. We started brainstorming how we could make our activities interactive and enjoyable for the users of the site, particularly the kids at HYDE Community Courts.

This session helped us understand how much thought goes into planning meaningful engagement, and how important it is to design activities that people actually want to take part in when we head to site!

Meeting 02 — 17/02/2026

On our second group meeting, we focused on further improving the poster and its supporting description. We discussed the overall look and its definition of United Didsbury church, including texture, layout decisions, and agreeing on clear titles that communicate the project direction.

Project direction
We then divided into smaller groups to cover the key project strands. This included developing the risk assessment, outlining ethical considerations, setting up the project timeline, and starting a basic budget framework so we can track deliverables and responsibilities more clearly moving forward.

Hello, I’m Yisheng Li, currently studying MArch 1 at the Manchester School of Architecture.

I’m not a professional hiking enthusiast, but I enjoy sports and I’m always happy to take part in a long-distance walk or a casual ramble from time to time. I often focus on large-scale architectural projects, so having the opportunity to explore smaller-scale installations is a refreshing and valuable experience for me.

I’m familiar with most digital design software, and I’m confident that I can contribute more on the computational and visual design side of the project. Spending weekends or holidays close to nature, especially on the outskirts of the city, is always a great choice. Therefore, I’m really looking forward to bringing new energy to the Great Manchester Ringway and attracting more people to engage with and become part of this initiative.

This Monday, Group 5 took the initiative to visit the site in Macclesfield for the first time. After meeting with our collaborator, she guided us on a tour through the museum, walking us through each exhibition space and sharing her perspective on the current challenges the site faces. Seeing the space in person immediately helped us better understand some issues we had previously discussed. One challenge was that the exhibitions felt disconnected from one another in accessibility and theme. The access points between rooms were often unclear, which made navigation confusing and disrupted the overall visitor journey. We also observed that some areas felt cluttered, with displays competing for attention, while others were much more thought-out. The room with the looms and historic flooring, in particular, stood out for its thoughtful layout, demonstrating how impactful the space could be when designed with care. This contrast highlighted the potential for improvement across the rest of the museum. The layout itself was occasionally disorienting. For example, the first exhibition visitors encounter focuses on ancient Egypt, which feels unrelated to the museum’s core theme of silk. This raised questions about how the museum's narrative is introduced and whether the sequence of spaces could be restructured to create a clearer, more cohesive story, for example, by moving the initial access point and the cafe to the other side of the building. During the visit, we documented the space by taking measurements and photographs to support our later analysis and design work. This practical step felt important, as it gave us concrete information to refer back to when developing our design proposal. Overall, the visit was extremely valuable. Experiencing the museum firsthand gave us a much clearer understanding of both its strengths and its problem areas, and it helped ground our ideas for engagement and design in the realities of the space. The trip left us feeling better prepared for the next stage of the project.

Meet the Collaborators
03/02/2026
The first task was introducing members of the team, assigning roles and establishing team values and expectations. This was closely followed up by a meeting with our collaborators where we discussed the brief and possible outcomes from the brief in greater depth. Meeting with Thornton Manor representatives also gave us further insight into the history of the sight, allowing us consider how its context may be applied in future outputs.

Overall Mood(s): Curious & Excited

18 Feb 2026 @ Mossley Community Centre

/ Site Visit
MArch 1 students visited Mossley Community Centre to spend time with the community and hear their thoughts, stories, and hopes for the space. Through conversations and careful observation, we began to understand how the centre is used and what truly matters to its users. We also took measurements and documented the existing conditions to support the next stage of our design development.

Course: MArch 1
Atelier: CPU(AI)

Hi, I’m Milia from Malaysia. I completed my undergraduate degree there before coming to MSA. Having studied and lived in different places, I’m interested in how context shapes the way people use and experience spaces. I’m drawn to architecture that focuses on everyday use, and this project is a chance for me to explore how design can make knowledge more open and engaging.