Harry Chan

MArch Year 5 Atelier: CPU & AI

BArch: University of Nottingham

Worked at: DLN Architects

Skills: Revit, AutoCad

Interested In: I like to explore different building design and constructions using computational designs through software like Grasshopper. I am also experienced in residential high rises from participating in a few projects during placement year.

Outside the Studio: Squash, Bouldering

Name: Jemma Baldwin

MArch Year 5 Atelier: Advanced Practice

Worked at: Peter Dickinson Architects

Skills: InDesign, Photoshop

Interested In: I’m interested in the possibility of a circular economy in contrast to our existing linear economy as a means to achieve long-term sustainability, in partnership with technological advances for the reuse of waste materials.

Outside the Studio: I enjoy sports training, photographing landscapes and lots of caramel lattes.

Name: Christian Brown

MArch Year 5 Atelier: &rchitecture

BArch: Sheffield Hallam University

Worked at: Arc3 Architects and PB Architects

Skills: Illustrator, Photoshop

Interested In: I am passionate about architectural research and ideas surrounding green architecture and sustainability. Alongside that, the relationship between people and space has always interested me and how an understanding of context and history can shape a design narrative.

Outside the Studio: I am obsessed about anything sport, music or art related.

Name: Tom Oldham

MArch Year 5 Atelier: INFRA.Space

BArch: UWE, Bristol

Worked at: Arkhi Architects + Planners as an Architectural Assistant and Junior Planner

Skills: SketchUp, Revit

Interested In: Urban design, masterplanning and modular construction. Through my dissertation, I’m currently exploring the ‘neighbourhood’ as a vital block of UK urban planning when designing in resilience for post-COVID-19 cities.

Outside the Studio: You’ll find me dabbling in photography, tending to my houseplants and perfecting cheesecake recipes.

Jamie Talbot 

MArch Year 5 Atelier: INFRA.Space

BArch: Liverpool John Moore’s University 

Worked at: Purcell Architects (Manchester Studio)

Skills: Illustrator, Photoshop

Interested In: An aspiring architect, with experience working on conservation projects whilst working in practice. My interests lie within the Renaissance architecture, urban design, and spatial experiences. I enjoy expressing my ideas through various mediums such as hand drafting and computational design.

Outside the Studio: Football, Golf, food and travelling 

Tasawar Rahim

MArch Year 5 Atelier: Advanced Practice

BArch: University of Kent

Skills: Revit, InDesign

Interested In: I am an aspiring architect with interests in sustainability and modern methods of construction. My passion for the built environment has its origins in user experience. I am always intrigued by the power of the built environment in influencing people's behaviour. As a result, I strive towards producing designs that uplifts an individual’s feelings. I am experienced in residential projects at both small and large scales from private houses to apartment blocks.

Outside the Studio: Music, TV, Movies, Cricket

Come and join the Monday morning meet and greet! As we meet the faces behind Modularch team!

Follow our progress over the next two weeks though our instagram @modulararch_msa
Stay tuned for live updates!

Check out the schedule for day 1 Events!
10:00 - Group Welcome
11:00 - Brief Introduction
11:30 - Online Questionnaire
12:00 - Risk Assessment
12:15 - Overview Presentation on Construction Methods & Group Discussion
14:00 - Precedents Analysis
15:45 - Presentation & Discussion
16:30 - Debrief

We launched MODULARCH this morning with a group introduction, an icebreaker quiz, and details on previous projects, followed by a presentation from Tas and Jemma on how they have integrated modular construction into their PS1 project, and an overall risk assessment.

Great discussions today on what modular housing means to us!

Group research on different types and methods of modular housings presenting using Miro (Flying Factory)

Group research on different types and methods of modular housings presenting using Miro (Prefab)

Group research on different types and methods of modular housings presenting using Miro (Modular)

Day 2! We have invited some special guest in to share their experience on modular housing today!

10:00 - Briefing
10:30 - Guest Talk (Michael Swisszczowski)
11:30 - Group Discussion on Miro
12:00 - Design Concept
12:45 - Lunch
14:00 - Guest Talk (Philip Watson)
15:00 - Presentation & Discussion
16:30 - Debrief

GUEST SPEAKER // SUMMARY

Michael Swiszczowski from Chapman Taylor joined us this morning to talk to us about modular design and construction with specific reference to Umbrellahaus and the design factors we should be considering.

Designing for longevity is key, especially as we move towards a net-zero carbon society. Alongside some current housing market context, Michael used project examples to show how modular apartment housing can create community cohesion through active ground floor frontages and community amenities. These amenities can be modified, along with the façade materiality, allowing the scheme to be adapted for multiple urban contexts.

Modular construction allows us to concentrate on quality as the manufacture is completed within controlled factory style environments. By using a Just-In-Time (JIT) construction process, less materials need to be stored on site and 50-90% of construction waste can be saved compared to traditional methods.

Find out more about Umbrellahaus: https://www.chapmantaylor.com/projects/umbrellahaus

GUEST SPEAKER // SUMMARY

Philip Watson, of HLM Architects, joined us this afternoon to talk about his perspective and experience designing with Modern Methods of Construction in mind.

As a finalist of the 2030 Forever Home competition, HLM have developed a platform design dwelling that can be adapted for multiple sites. Its users can fully customise the dwellings that have been designed around central courtyard for private outdoor space and to increase natural daylight within the floorplans.

A standardised kit of parts has been developed levelling the procurement playing field from SMEs to Tier 1 contractors. Taping into this circular economy, inhabitants are able to purchase and sell back housing parts as the household grows and shrinks over time so they can be refurbished and reused. This allows for customisation of dwellings externally and internally contributing to a strong sense of place within walkable neighbourhood communities.

Read Philip’s article about positive trends that will shape procurement in 2021: https://hlmarchitects.com/positive-trends-that-will-shape-procurement-in-2021/

Day 3! We have invited a guest from the MSA to talk about social housing and 'The Workhouse Project'! We will then Continuing with the site analysis and concept ideas.

10:00 - Briefing
10:15 - Client, Stakeholder and Site analysis
11:30 - Break
11:45 - Guest Talk (Dominic Sagar)
12:45 - Debrief

Our number one consideration for our collaboration with Manchester City Council is affordability, keeping costs low by utilising modular construction. Secondly we want to highlight sustainable materials with an aim to reducing the carbon footprint of the design. Lastly adaptability of spaces and modules will ensure the longevity of the project!

Massing session on chosen site using blocks to explore ways of adaptive modular designs.

Day 4! We will Continuing with concept ideas and building strategies

10:00 - Briefing
10:15 - Presentation & Discussion
11:45 - Concept design
14:00 - Material concideration
15:30 - Structural strategy
16:30 - Debrief

Some great work on plan development for the internal modular living space!

Day 5! We will produce a initial concept design and review with our Guest Michael Swiszczowski in the afternoon.

10:00 - Briefing
10:15 - Presentation & Discussion
11:15 - Break
11:30 - Compile presentation
13:00 - Lunch
14:00 - Review with Michael Swiszczowski
15:30 - Design Development
16:30 - Debrief

We have researched on the framing using Light Gauge Steel. This is a rigid material that could be beneficial when building 6-10 stories high apartments.

Day 6! We will be meeting our collaborators today to discuss about the construction sequence and costing.

10:00 - Briefing
10:15 - Discussion
11:30 - Meeting with Manchester city council collaborators
13:00 - Lunch
14:00 - Introduction to building regulations
14:45 - Group discussion
16:30 - Debrief

Day 7! We will continue developing our scheme and aim to finalize the layout of each module by today.

10:00 - Briefing
10:15 - GA Drawings Development
11:30 - Finalize Drawings
13:00 - Lunch
14:00 - Design Code Catalogue
15:30 - Review Progress
16:30 - Debrief

Today we have made a lot of progress in the housing scheme collaboration with Manchester City Council. We have refined floor plans for both the apartments and the housing whilst considering key elements such as Manchester City Council’s space standards. The massing models you’ve already seen have also been progressed to include a Scandinavian style roof. Both the apartments and housing are being situated on a site at Wadeson road, Manchester to test the prototypes fully.

A presentation was given from our 5th year student - Christian about social housing and the impact on the community which provided brilliant insight to some of the main factors we need to consider to design affordable yet high quality housing for this project!

We have decided to use panelized CLT frame for the houses due to its sustainability and ease of construction. This is different from the lightweight steel structure used the apartments due to the scale of each building. These CLT panels will be sourced sustainably and transported to the site for construction. For the facade we are using brick slips to align with the heritage of the local Manchester area. We then modelled the structure of the panels to explore the connections and building techniques.

Day 8! We will finalise the design for the apartments and houses. Models for the scheme and structure will be modelled.

10:00 - Briefing
10:15 - Design Review
11:30 - Break
11:45 - Refine Proposal
12:45 - Debrief

The site we selected to site our prototype on is on Wadeson Road, Manchester. Surrounding the site is a wide mixture of residential, commercial and community areas dissected by busy roads. The narrow nature of the site made it challenging to site both the apartments and housing - if you want to see how we managed keep an eye out!

Today we have completed the apartment layouts and the facade details. Here we present the 3 types of modular rooms that are going to be used. Each modular would be manufactured offsite and delivered on site to be assembled.

Today we have completed the house layouts and the facade details. Each house unit is assembled through a panelized system using CLT as the structure. The CLT panels would be manufactured offsite with facade details and the house would be assembled on site.

Here we present the different panel parts that are going to be used in this construction.

1 more day until the submission! We will be finalizing all designs and drawings today and start formatting our outputs and publications.

10:00 - Briefing
10:15 - Render Visuals
11:15 - Break
11:30 - Refine Design and Renders
13:00 - Lunch
14:00 - Presentation Outputs
15:15 - Break
15:30 - Combined Documents
16:30 - Debrief

As we put together the final amendments to the housing schemes, we have been detailing the apartment modules to understand how the modular units could be manufactured off-site in factory conditions to ensure high-quality fabrication.

This exploded axonometric view of the details for the modular apartments shows the wall build-up from brick cladding to internal wall finish along with the steel structure system. These steel frame modules will be stacked on top of each other to form a mid-rise apartment building – although the number of floors can be amended depending on the site context.

Every house is 74m2, which using an approximation of £150 per square foot (based on industry specialist advice) results in each CLT house costing around £119,400. The scheme consists of 12 houses costing an approximate total of £1,432,800. This figure is in line with Manchester City Council's approximate budget of £150,000 per housing unit.



The apartment measures 267m2 per floor, with 4 floors providing a total floor area of 1068m2. Using an industry experts' approximation of £180 per square foot. The total cost for the apartments is approximately £2,069,100.

The apartments and the house sefaira analysis was conducted for the 21st March 12pm, overall the spaces are well-lit but require artificial lighting due to the UK climate.

Take a look at a snapshot from our Miro Board that we have populated with useful knowledge, weblinks and readings conducted by the whole team.

Whilst working online, its important to maintain a teamwork space and Miro provided us with a collaborative online whiteboard space. We have used Miro since day 1 for collating useful team reading information, sketch design strategies and as a virtual presentation board in online design reviews with external partners and collaborators.

Over the last few days, we have been bringing work completed by all the groups within modulARCH onto the Miro Board to format and plan out the final outputs for the Live Project.

Submission Day!! Today will be the final stretch to pull everything together for submission. It has been super busy for the last 2 weeks, we went through a lot of research and produced an incredible amount of work as a team. Well done and thank you to everyone who has contributed in this project.

10:00 - Briefing
10:15 - Finalise Output
11:00 - Group Discussion
12:00 - Submission !
12:15 - Debrief and Reflection
12:30 - Enjoy your summer!

Final adjustments to the output of the project!

Great work everyone!! Its has been a busy year and we are ending it by completing the MSA LIVE Project. Much has been learnt about Modern Method Constructions for the past two weeks for everyone.

Check out our publication submission for our affordable housing scheme using the method of Modern Method Construction (MMC).

Final site plans and elevations.

We are using panelized system for the house construction. Here is the blow up details for the layers for each panel.

Here we show the construction sequence of the house. A foundation of 500mm deep is constructed, raft foundation is used during this process as it is a low rise building and does not require a deep foundation. The ground floor slab is then constructed. Prefabricated wall panels are delivered to the site to be assembled using . First floor is installed using prefabricated CLT floor panels. Lastly, the roof is installed.

Here we show the construction sequence of the apartment. Foundation of 2000mm deep is constructed. The prefabricated cores are constructed by stacking on top of the foundation. The volumetric modular flats are then stacked on top of the construction using a crane. After the roofs are constructed, details along the façade such as balcony and circulation walkway are then installed as components.

We have considered the environmental impact of these schemes and here is our attempt on maximizing the sustainability of these dwellings. We have implemented solar panels on the roof and water harvesting system for both the houses and apartments.

Final visual of the exterior view.

Final visual of the exterior view.

It has been an enjoyable project. We have all learnt a lot from this project. Thank you to all who have participated in this project. Special thanks to our collaborators and guests for guiding us to accomplish this!