The Collaborators

Chorlton Bike Deliveries is a non-for-profit cooperative deeply rooted in Chorlton, proudly promoting cycling as a sustainable alternative to vehicles, all whilst serving the local community. The 20 riders that form this cooperative not only deliver bulky groceries to those that are vulnerable but also help locally owned, independent shops and businesses. As if this isn’t enough! Whilst Chorlton Bike Deliveries support the local community and their local economy, the cooperative thrive in protecting the environment. As Chorlton Bike Deliveries successfully expand, they aspire to provide an engaging space that supports the local community but also educates the people of the community the benefits of cycling.

Website: https://www.chorltonbikedeliveries.coop/

Social Impact

Social change is at the heart of Chorlton Bike Deliveries. They see delivering on bikes as a powerful tool, to offer a free community service, fight food poverty, offer paid work, all whilst protecting the environment. In promoting cycling as sustainable alternative to cars, Chorlton Bike Deliveries aims to reduce carbon emissions and instead create a healthy environment in which the people and children of the community can safely walk, cycle and play in. Therefore, Chorlton Bike Deliveries seek to find like-minded individuals who are passionate in making a social change that has positive impact on the community of Chorlton through design.

Skills

Whilst the two weeks will used to produce design responses of the brief, we would also like to use this time to help you develop skills you wish to learn. Whether it is designing, digital or physical modelling, we will use of individual strengths in architecture to help you develop your skills as a way to represent an impactful social project.

Name: Leona Somerville

Dissertation: Examining the changing nature of performance design through the intersection of technology

Skills: 2D & 3D modelling, digital sketching, writing & visualisation

Interested in: Temporary architecture, stage design, set design & visualisation

Name: Jiawei Liu

Atelier: CPU[ai]

Dissertation: Architecture and Technics

Skills: Rhino, Grasshopper, Photoshop & Illustrator

Interested in: Zero carbon, construction technology & computational design.

Name: Karishma Dayalji

Atelier: PRAXXIS

Dissertation: Untold Stories: The Makings of an Indian Migrants Home

Skills: Hand Sketching, Illustrator, Photoshop & Revit

Interested in: Marginal spaces, equitable design & sustainable technology

Name: Daryl Lee Quayle

Atelier: Some Kind of Nature

Dissertation: UK Architectural Pedagogy in the 20th Century

Skills: Model Making , Photoshop , CAD, Revit & Sketchup

Interests: Low-tech design, material re-use & net+ architecture

Our first collaboration with Glynis from Chorlton Bike Deliveries and Dan from Architecture Unknown in February!

It was a great opportunity for Glynis to explain all that Chorlton Bike Deliveries (CBD) do for the community. It was insightful for our team to learn how CBD operate daily – appreciating the logistics involved for CBD to support small local businesses and help the people of the community. This insight aided our understanding of Glynis’ detailed programme of the Bike Hub. Together with Glynis and Dan, we discussed precedents and potential sites that can house this programme that engages with the wider community. This first collaboration was a great opportunity to see how involved Glynis, Dan and our team were, providing the means to ensure the two intensive weeks are a collaborative process for us all.

The Brief

Glynis came to the first meeting with a clear vision for the Bike Hub. As CBD grows across Chorlton and beyond, their existing infrastructure to store their bikes is becoming too small! Therefore, a safe storage place for their delivery bikes and trikes is at the centre of this brief, with a larger vision of a Bike Hub – a place that encompasses a bike library (bike rental), recycling bike project (workshop), refrigeration for food and a social space to promote and support cycling and walking.

Week One: Design

Week Two: Showcase

Sustainability is also core to the brief, therefore this project seeks sites that enable recycling and reuse, raising wider discussions about premise and ownership, which is currently a major challenge in Chorlton.

Through meetings and emails, our team collaborated with Glynis and Dan to search for potential sites around Chorlton that respond to the sustainable aspect of the brief. The following posts present 3 sites that initiate reuse projects. The BA students will work in groups to create a design proposal for each site. During our first meeting on Monday, each group will visit their site with a member of our team and with Glynis or Dan for site discussions before commencing the design process over the 2 intensive weeks.

Site One: Chorlton Precinct

Whilst Chorlton Precinct awaits its redevelopment, many shops remain vacant in the meantime, giving rise to an opportunity for a pop shop! Located in the heart of the Precinct, this vacant shop provides Chorlton Bike Deliveries with a temporary space to host their Bike Hub, offering a wider and more interesting discussion on ownership in a public space. This site challenges you on how to create an engaging space in the community, all whilst using the existing space provided.

Site Two: The Old Police Precinct

Offset from the vibrant road of Barlow Moor Road is the old Police Precinct - another derelict space ideal for Chorlton Bike Deliveries’ Bike Hub. This site also challenges you to design and include the space needed within an existing structure, all whilst integrating with the wider community along Barlow Moor Road.

Site Three: Chorlton Park

The empty shipping containers sit on the edge of Chorlton Park. Rather than removing these containers, how can they be reused for the Bike Hub? Reflecting on precedent studies around Manchester the shipping containers show great potential, however, they raise questions about their functional and structural integrity. Whilst addressing these concerns, this site is also key to integrating with the existing communities that also operate in the Park.

Day Five

End of week one! To round up the first week of MSA Live, each design team presented their design developments over a Teams call. It was a relaxed environment that allowed open discussions between all members of the Cycle-Paths project – it was a space where some confidently offered design suggestions or shared relevant precedents.

Ahead of a busy week, we reminded the design teams of the structure and outputs of week two. Whilst the initial intent for today was to organise groups for next week’s CAD workshops, reflecting on the progress of the design teams we made a group decision to spend the start of next week refining the projects and then conducting the workshops in person – where it will be easier to communicate and work together.

Day Six

Showcase week! Reflecting on the last week’s progress, today the design teams spent refining their projects. Whilst the designs were developing simultaneously, we ensured all members of the team have a role for the busy week ahead. Communicating with all the design teams on our afternoon Teams call, we also acknowledged the requested CAD workshops that need to be arranged for tomorrow’s sessions so the students can produce the outputs effectively.  

Day Eight

Today the design teams were busy producing their final drawings for Friday. Each member continued with their self-assigned roles within their team. Whilst some were busy rendering their plans, others were busy rendering their perspective views. Throughout the day the team leaders provided 1:1 tutorials on Illustrator, Photoshop and Twin Motion – requests made by the students wanting to learn new skills. As the students learned the new programmes, they used these programmes to also test their sketched ideas, further refining their projects.

Day Nine

The final day before the showcase! The design teams were busy finishing their final drawings for tomorrow. While some team members were refining their plans, sections and perspective views, others began populating the A1 presentation sheet – a template designed by our team.