Meet the Team!

Hi guys I'm Billie!

March 5th Year Atelier: CiA

BArch: University of Nottingham

Hometown: Cheltenham, UK

Part 1 Employment: Ellis Williams Architects

Fun Fact: Marry Berry would be jealous of my skills in the kitchen. Let me know if you ever want to try the world's best macaroni cheese!

DAY ONE… CONCENTRATION FACES!!

Today we have welcomed BA1 and BA2 students to the team.

We have spent the day getting to know each other, the project and the site. Lots of thinking, sketching and discussing followed.

Tomorrow we’re getting stuck into the concept design!

DAY TWO...

Today, all four design groups have developed their site approach and programme.

Team 1 have developed a scheme centred around a community produce garden, with the intention of providing allotment space to the population of Chorlton. The scheme also aims to combat food poverty through a voluntary donation veg market.

Community engagement will be ensured by involving the population in the build process. Recycled materials will provide opportunities for ongoing DIY projects that will instil a sense of ownership.

DAY TWO...

Today, all four design groups have developed their site approach and programme.

Drawing inspiration from the nearby Chorlton water park, Team 2 has combined the idea of a water playground and community market.

Apart from generating organisation fund through the profit of stalls, the aim of the scheme is also to benefit the Chorlton community by providing a leisure and fun environment for the residents and especially children.

DAY TWO...

Today, all four design groups have developed their site approach and programme.

Team 3 have developed site analysis diagrams to show the sun path, wind direction, greenery and the site’s views.

Additionally, students drew diagrams to show the level of privacy on the site as well as all the possibilities such as green roof, views, and entrance.

Initial ideas for the community would be to create a safe environment for students, including studying space to share ideas and integrating the concept of education into a social space.

DAY TWO...

Today, all four design groups have developed their site approach and programme.

Group 4 has focused on programme that caters for families and children during the daytime, and can be transformed into a venue for events during the weekends or in the evenings.

The students have concentrated on creating spaces for improving children's wellbeing and stimulating learning experiences by planning out sensory paths through external space inbetween the shipping containers and different workshop spaces that each focus on a certain sensory experience: space for crafting with clay and arranging puzzles for the sensation of touch, zone with light and shadow for visual stimulation and others.

DAY FOUR...

Today all four groups have made huge progress in the development of their schemes.

Group 1 has focused on their sustainability agenda, refining their programme and material sourcing. For example they have proposed to reuse pallets from material deliveries, to create ergonomic garden furniture.

DAY FOUR...

Today all four groups have made huge progress in the development of their schemes.

Group 2 is ready to wrap up the design presentation with some perspective collages as final touch, and is excited for the exchange of ideas on Friday's presentation. Development of the scheme has been represented by sketch diagrams, layout arrangement, and a sectional view of the whole site

DAY FOUR...

Today all four groups have made huge progress in the development of their schemes.

By considering the idea of creating a community in Chorlton park, group 3 decided to design a well-being centre which includes spaces for yoga, art exhibitions, drawing classes, a library and a small cinema that could used by students and people in the neighbourhood. Additionally, the idea of having an amphitheater on the site, which is proposed to be used as an outside cinema as well, will encourage further community engagement and the possibility of collaborating with local schools and dramatic groups.

DAY FOUR...

Today all four groups have made huge progress in the development of their schemes.

Group 4 drew some inspiration from galleries and art installations to further develop children's activity rooms, integrating different textures and colour projections for varied experiences. Students have also combined a cafe space for parents with the sensory route - allowing the space to become part of tasting and smelling experience. The scheme has also been developed to take advantage of the site's orientation, the roof garden positioned on the south end of the site to receive as much sunlight as possible.

Today, students have also developed several sets of plans and sections, illustrating the site being used by families during the day and as a venue for events during the evening/night to further explain their multi-purpose use of the proposal.

DAY FIVE...

The morning of day five was spent finalising concepts and producing presentation material ahead of an afternoon meeting with our project partner Jane Leach from i-Architect.

Lead by BA1 and BA2 students our team presented 4 convincing concept designs. Jane was really impressed with these schemes, however her feedback has encouraged us to be bolder with our concepts and really clarify how these proposals would work and benefit the population of Chorlton.

Next week our aim is to combine efforts to produce one or two fully developed design proposals.

Keep up the great work guys!

SITE VISIT ...

Today we were able to make our first physical visit to the site - socially distanced of course. We were able to photograph the site and surroundings, whilst developing a greater understanding of the site's scale.

The visit highlighted the quality of Chorlton Park and the lush green foliage on the site. Some overgrown planting will need to be cleared, but established, mature trees and bushes provide ample opportunities.

DAY SIX ...

Today four groups became two. We have merged ideas to create two clearly distinct programme concepts; a community garden and a wellness centre.

The community garden team have spent the day developing a water harvesting system to supply the produce garden. The ingenious parasol system can be positioned dependent on the weather to provide shade or to collect rainwater.

This process has encouraged the team to develop skills in advanced CAD software.

DAY SIX ...

Today four groups became two. We have merged ideas to create two clearly distinct programme concepts; a community garden and a wellness centre.

The wellness centre group have chosen to drive their design with a focus on the senses. This decision has generated some interesting ideas for canopies, a new approach to play and for creating a sensory journey through the site.

The group has explored how creating a number of individual tree-like canopies could achieve the desired protection against Manchester's typically rainy weather but also allow adequate light into the courtyard.

DAY SEVEN ...

Today our two teams have challenged their graphic and CAD skills in the production of material to be presented on Thursday. Skills learnt in workshops have been applied to create illustrator diagrams, photoshop visuals and orthographic drawings in autoCAD.

The community garden team have settled on a programme and site arrangement, allowing them to now develop details such as the main entrance to the site. Here, the plan footprint of the containers has been used to inspire the entrance frame, to which graphics are then applied.

DAY SEVEN ...

Today our two teams have challenged their graphic and CAD skills in the production of material to be presented on Thursday. Skills learnt in workshops have been applied to create illustrator diagrams, photoshop visuals and orthographic drawings in autoCAD.

The wellness centre is progressing and now features a multifunctional hall, club house, cafe and amphitheatre. Producing site analysis and concept diagrams in adobe software has helped solidify the group's approach and can now inform the production of orthographic drawings and visuals.

DAY EIGHT ...

Final preparations are taking place ready to present our final ideas to our project partners tomorrow. The pressure is on to test our new skills and turn concepts into convincing design proposals.

We can't wait to share our progress tomorrow!