Group 23
MOTHERSHIPPON: GROW AND PLAY

We aim to design a greenhouse pavilion and upcycled ‘play-structures’ in the courtyard of the MotherShippon Art Studio in rural Ellesmere, using reclaimed materials from art workshops conducted on-site. The project looks to design a sustainable space that promotes awareness about climate change and encourages experimentation with materials. The 'play-structures' will be flexible and temporary, allowing for future alteration and addition as more reclaimed and newly discovered materials are collected over time at the site. We will look to create playful exploration already occurring at the Rural Art Hub, providing shelter, play, and exploration for the community of children. The objectives of this project include catering to a diverse group of users, creating a sustainable energy source, and researching types of plants that can grow in the region to be used as part of the structure. The project’s outputs will include drawings, sketches, experimental models with reclaimed/recycled materials, and research on suitable plant species.

Chin Yiu Y / Ebrahim V / Yuwei Q

NAME: Ebrahim Variava

ATELIER: FLUX

WHERE WE ARE FROM: Leicester, England

THREE SKILLS: Revit, Adobe Suite, Collaging

HOBBY: Films, Coffee and consistently failing in baking

FUN FACT ABOUT ME: I have a pet African grey parrot at home; and three cats who have decided to leave their neighbors for my home, so now it's a part-time cat Airbnb. I have a soft spot for all things Studio Ghibli and Pixar. Grew up with comics and movies and for me, it's DC > Marvel.

A FAVOURITE FOOD: I grew up eating 'Haleem'. Now either it's the nostalgia of my mum making it, or the meat and barley brothy goodness with that hint of ginger and chili that sends you to the next dimension, that makes it unrivaled.

HOLIDAY DREAM: It's the dream of seeing Bruges and a trip through Japan that takes the student pain away.
Posted 13 Mar 2023 14:16
NAME: Yuwei Qiao

ATELIER: Infrastructure Space

WHERE WE ARE FROM: Changchun, China

THREE SKILLS: Photoshop, Chinese painting, Adobe Illustrator

HOBBY: keep pets, travel, photograph

FUN FACT ABOUT ME: I have picked up many stray cats and brought them home. Besides being an architect, my biggest dream is to open a cat cafe to help homeless cats find warm homes.

A FAVOURITE FOOD: I love everything except raw food

HOLIDAY DREAM: I'm very interested in nature
Posted 13 Mar 2023 14:19
NAME: Yulin Jian

ATELIER: Infrastructure Space

WHERE WE ARE FROM: Chongqing, China

THREE SKILLS: Rhino, Cooking, Illustration

HOBBY: Games, Delicacy, Sketches

FUN FACT ABOUT ME: I run a secret board game shop. But because of my chronic neglect of management, the task of running the business has been completely handed over to my friend.

A FAVOURITE FOOD: I like strong flavor and rich spiced food which has intense color and full nose. with a nice splash of paprika. It's hearty, it's healthy!

HOLIDAY DREAM: I want to travel to space or a fantasy world like in animation.
Posted 13 Mar 2023 14:27
NAME: Mohith Kiran Reddy

ATELIER: Making

WHERE WE ARE FROM: Bengaluru, India

THREE SKILLS: Conceptualization, visualization and storytelling

HOBBY: Running, Writing, and Reading

FUN FACT ABOUT ME: I love anime/animated storytelling and video games. I am excited about writing scripts and directing a few in near future.

A FAVOURITE FOOD: All-time favorite- traditional south Indian food. I love trying new food all the time.

HOLIDAY DREAM: A yoga retreat with sports and treasure hunt by the nature.
Posted 13 Mar 2023 14:31
NAME: Chin Yiu Yeung

ATELIER: Some Kind of Nature

WHERE WE ARE FROM: Hong Kong

THREE SKILLS: Model Making, AutoCAD, Rhino

HOBBY: Football (Messi's fan), Scuba Diving, Traveling alone

FUN FACT ABOUT ME: I have 3 dogs in my home; two of them are Bichon Frise and the other one is Maltese. They spend most of their time sleeping, eating, and playing. Sometimes I wish I were a dog too!

A FAVOURITE FOOD: I like all kinds of Japanese food. Shoryu Raman is one of the best places for craving Japanese cuisine in Manchester.

HOLIDAY DREAM: I enjoy traveling to places that have beautiful nature such as mountains, beaches, and water.
Posted 13 Mar 2023 14:33
Our collaborator, Joseph Schneider, is an artist whose practice, though centered on the processes and objects of painting, is multi-disciplinary. As part of his practice, he founded and runs the Rural Art Hub and continues to use the Mother Shippon studio to work alongside and collaboratively with participants of workshops at the hub. He has a BA in Philosophy (University of Sussex) and an MA in Painting (Royal College of Art). He has facilitated interdisciplinary and skill-building workshops across art, play, and social history at a diverse range of organizations including WM College Camden, South London Gallery, PACE, Frieze, Royal College of Art, Goldsmiths University, and Greenwich University.

Rural Art Hub is focusing on climate change and sustainability and intends to use creative solutions to address the lack of creative thinking about sustainability in the community. They believe that this initiative will help them achieve their goals and offer opportunities for local communities and visitors to get involved sustainably, both in theory and practice.
Posted 13 Mar 2023 14:35
Welcome to the MotherShippon:

The site is a sloping terrain with dirt, clay and cobble stones that cover approximately 400 m2. It requires multi-functional structures that can host a variety of activities, including pavilions, installations, and other forms of art. The proposed design aims to create a space that is open to people of all ages and abilities to explore their potential creativity.

Skills that you will learn:

In the two weeks together, you will have the chance to develop an understanding of various core architecture software. Throughout the project, we will be engaging in collaging, perspective illustrations, and orthographic drawings, through which we see an opportunity to teach you the various aspects in the design workflow.

Aside from the digital components, this project will allow you to engage in experimental model-making, sketching and illustrations, as a process to explore and test ideas. The project will provide an opportunity to research and develop an understanding into sustainable design interventions, focusing on growing pavilions and temporary installations.

To top it off, a presentation with our lovely client will be a great chance for pitching and presenting, with the possibility of being involved in on-site construction that may happen separately in the summer.

Social Impact:

The Rural Art Hub has nurtured a community by engaging in art through various experimental and playful means. The development looks to elevate this nurturing and to further provide a platform of growth particularly for the children who visit the Mothershippon. The Rural Art Hub has a focused mission towards sustainable living and finding creative solutions towards a better future, and we look to amplify this mission by focusing on how our interventions can have a lasting influence on sustainability through upcycling and adaptive interventions.
Posted 13 Mar 2023 15:52
During our site visit, we had the wonderful opportunity to take part in a clay plastering activity, organized by Rural Art Hub and Clayworks, alongside a group of children. Together, we mixed clay and water with fibers to create a strong and durable mixture, which we then applied onto blocks of straw with hawks. We all ended up covered in clay after the activity, but it was a fun and unforgettable experience! We finished our site visit, with a game of tag with the local children, (as part of our site research of course...) and explored our own creativity in the Mothershippon.
Posted 13 Mar 2023 19:17