Name: Kelly Lui
Year: MArch 1
Atelier: Some.Kind.Of.Nature
Undergrad: MSA

Skills: Sketchup, Revit, Autocad, Photoshop, Indesign, Model Making

Interest: Cooking, eating, reading and gaming. I also have an obsession with all things dog related.

Name: Alysha Syed
Year: MArch 1
Atelier: Some.Kind.Of.Nature

Skills: digital collage, revit, rhino, sketchup, photoshop, abstract painting, sketching

Interest: Cooking, painting and trying new desserts recipes

Fun Facts : if i'm not taking architecture, I would probably be a doctor.

Name: Chloe Roberts
Year: MArch 1
Atelier: PRAXXIS

Skills: sketchup, autocad, Adobe suite, neuroarchitecture, photography
Hobbies: travelling, poetry and painting/ drawing
Fun fact: I’m a second Dan in karate & have a world title


Interest: Cooking, eating, reading and gaming. I also have an obsession with all things dog related.

Name: Jonathan Burtan
Year: MArch 1
Atelier: MAKING
Undergrad: Newcastle

Skills: Sketchup, Photoshop, indesign, twinmotion, AutoCAD, Vectorworks, Cinema 4D, 3D Printing.

Interests: Sustainability, inclusion and advancing technology incorporated into design and manufacturing.

Name: Norsyazwina Jamal
Year: MArch 1
Atelier: Some.Kind.Of.Nature

Skill: I can memories songs of other languages that I don’t even understand.

Hobbies: Watching movies

Fun facts: I can binge watch 1 or 2 seasons of any series in one day.

Name: Tengku Nurul Nasfakhira
Year: MArch 1
Atelier: Some.Kind.Of.Nature
Undergrad: International Islamic University Malaysia

Skills: Technical drawing, Autodesk Revit, CAD, Sketchup, Lumion, Photoshop, Indesign, Enscape, Vray, Procreate, Naviswork manage, BIM modeler

Hobbies: Travelling , watching movies and drama, listening music, swimming,

Fun facts: i can binge watch kdrama series in a day and repeat the same drama while doing my work

The project takes place in Old Trafford. The site is chosen due to its lack of public space infrastructure. The aim of this group is to work with the local community around the area, to help understand what will help make women feel safe on the streets in Old Trafford.

Our group is to create a precedent for the client, in which the can implement in future proposals and areas around Manchester. The chosen site will be in Hullard Park. The site was chosen due to its prominence, however due to the lack of safe infrastructure for females in the community much of this space is unoccupied. Therefore, to move forward how do we create conditions for women and girls to widen their access and participation on site?

Week 1 & 2 Discussions

Our fist approach to this project was to discuss certain elements in generating a safer street, from the initial meeting three themes were raised: Living an active life; Living a safer life and Living where I belong . The client’s aim is to challenge the status quo and with these three aims postcards were produced to act as a tool to form further discussion on the topic.

1. Living an active life The main question that we asked ourselves is: How are active lives gendered? The answer to this question comes in the form of six postcards. These illustrate the six most important ideas and theories derived from the literature that describe how active lives are gendered: 1) Affordability of being active 2) Infrastructure for being active 3) Fitting in: the triple burden 4) Harassment, gender-based violence and being active 5) Women’s bodies, femininity and being active 6) Boys’ sports/ Girls’ sports

2. Living a safer life The main question that we asked ourselves is: How are safer lives gendered? The answer to this question comes in the form of seven postcards. These illustrate the seven most important ideas and theories derived from the literature that describe how safer lives are gendered: 1) Activity can be healing and empowering 2) Public space design 3) Safety behaviours in public space 4) Harassment and gender-based violence in public space 5) The stories we tell: positioning women as powerless or powerful? 6) The problem with policing 7) Safety means different things to different people

3. Living where I belong The main question that we asked ourselves is: How is a sense of belonging gendered? The answer to this question comes in the form of six postcards. These illustrate the six most important ideas and theories derived from the literature that describe how safer lives are gendered: 1) Belonging is different from fitting in 2) Belonging relates to functionality 3) Representation through public art 4) A representative sector 5) Participation and co-design as belonging-in-action 6) Public space as a location of resistance

Hello everyone! We are looking forward to meeting everyone. To get started we have outlined an action plan for the next two weeks ahead. This will comprise of multiple design interventions and conversations on ways to understand a safer street for females. The task will include designing and constructing, as well as discussions on this topic.

Week 1 will focus on discussing ideas and methods and engagement with the clients.

Week 2 will consist of conducting these methods in place by producing sample typologies and physical structures.

For the first day our approach was to discuss the problems within public spaces and infrastructures, what spaces make us feel unsafe and why. By understanding the spaces how can we implement solutions to tackle these issues such as darkness or confined spaces? Are there ways to make are area more active and static?

The task included mind mapping elements that made us feel unsafe and after that we expanded these factors and discussed methodologies and practices that can be implemented to make these spaces feel safer.

Main issues such as darkness, closed space, isolation, smell, and lack of people were recurring themes. In the next session, we began looking at precedents in relation to these topics.

DAY 2
To kick start the day we had a meeting with the clients, to recap them on the discussion we made previously around the idea of safer streets. From speaking with the clients, we gathered ideas and came up with an output for the end of the next two weeks, in which we will compile a methodology booklet comprising of different solutions on making public spaces for women feel safer. After week two we will have a developed design and begin constructing the art piece/installation that will create an impact to the chosen site in Trafford.

Within the conversation, the client also began discussing local projects around the area and how our design can overlap and contribute and help existing locals.

In the afternoon, we began sketching and producing models to convey different architectural solutions to tackle the problem of making a space more inviting, active, and safe.

SKILLS
The project will involve designing and constructing a installation that will be placed in a public area n Trafford. The installation will act as a device to empower women and make the space feel more inviting, active, and safer for them. Everyone will be involved in the design process using techniques such as hand sketching, collage, model making and more, comprising it into a presentation to be delivered to the client before beginning construction. The construction on site will involve work with model making and planting.

The key skills that will be developed are:
Adobe Suite skills
Architectural sketching, collage and modelling
Casting and Metal work
Landscaping and Gardening
Teamwork

Day 3
For today outputs we continued with the methodology booklets. Above is an example of some architecture solutions we have come up with to tackle the issues of safer streets for women. These ideas will form an encyclopaedia for the client to look at in the future if they want further ideas on different interventions.

Some of the design discussed looked at transforming landscape, whilst other addressed lighting and art murals to increase activity on site as well as making it more inclusive for locals.

DAY 4
In response to client, we will be attending an event at Gorse Hill Studios. This will allow us to understand the site more and the community we are designing for. The event will begin between 4pm -6pm.

Whilst our client is Greater Sport, as our design is community focused we decided to attend an event hosted by Gorse Hill Studio, located in Trafford. During this event, we were able to gain an insight of the stance of locals, and how our model/installation can further assist the community in regards of safer street. We learnt that the community requires a platform to express their ideas, therefore using this opportunity are aim is to incorporate this element in the design.

Day 5 Proposed design
From week 1, we begin week 2 by finalising our design. The image above shows our proposed method to tackling safer streets for women. After discussing with clients and members of the community, our team decided to do an art installation in the form of the female goddess Hygieia (the goddess of health). As our manifesto of the project is centered around activity, safety, and inclusion for women, by dedicated the figure to Hygieia amplifies this.

So how does our model tackle the brief?
This sculpture will be used as a prototype and precedent in addressing the safety issue in Trafford. Our aim is that in the future these female figures will be placed around different areas in Manchester that makes women feel unwelcome and safe. The female sculpture will hopefully provide a sense of belonging and security to the space, as well as being a platform in which communities can engage with and address any issues with the community.
As this is a prototype, in the future, using the wired figure as a base, we hope other implementation which we discussed in the methodology booklet will be incorporated into the design. Such as rather than flowers, lights can be installed, or speakers can be added within the model etc. Rather than having CCTV cameras placed around the area, we hope to address this issue in a more subtle and artistic way, in which locals and community can also engage with and take control over.

Day 5

MODEL MAKING WEEK.
To begin the week we split into two teams, Digital and Model Making. In which the first day consisted of forming the base of the sculpture, whilst the digital team, began photoshopping renders for the publication.

Day 6

Ongoing model making. Day 6 we continue with the model, bringing in the vegetation into the wire frame. We began testing different techniques for the wire structure and started planning the foundation for the model to be placed on.

For the digital team we began to render different iterations of how the sculpture can tackle the different senses, which will later be placed in the publication.

DAY 7

DONE AND READY TO MOVE ON SITE. The base of the model is completed and the next task will be implemented on site, in which will be the planting of the flowers and ivy.

This proposal actively supports the community by providing them with a platform (quite literally) to take ownership of their adversity through sharing their stories, thoughts, and experiences. The platform is brought to life through the Hygieia goddess sculpture which represents the communal trauma that exists in the community and how they can wear their trauma as their Armor, rather than locking it internally and letting it manifest inside of them. The sculpture is to be reflected to allow everyone to see themselves in her, whilst the wings will represent the freedom the community can access through processing their past and freeing themselves from the shackles of their trauma. The sculpture is a reminder to the community of their strength offering a source of inspiration and protection.

COME JOIN US A GORSE HILL IN TRAFFORD.

This Friday to end our project, we have teamed up with the gorgeous gorse hill community to display our design, and get them actively engage with the structure. Our aim is to hope that this model, will be a platform for them to use to speak about their concerns and act as a catalyst to provide further architecture solutions around safer streets and spaces in Trafford.

RECAP ON CONSTRUCTION PROCESS.

After a week of building, we have assembled the main structure of the model. With a plywood foundation, and a silver mannequin, the sculpture is wrapped with metal wires and wears a majestic, wired wing.
Tomorrow we will begin moving the sculpture to site, the model will be dismantled into three parts upon delivering to site, and will be put together on site, including planting in the soil and plants.

Day 8

BOOKBINDING
This morning started off with binding our Methodology booklets, tackling how to create safer streets for females, using architectural solutions. This will be presented to the clients, and hopefully create precedents in understanding safer streets for the Trafford local council.
The day then concluded with finishing the publication document and creating proposed renders to the client.

DAY 9

MOVING DAY!!!!

Setting off from MTC Group 15 decided to head to the Gorgeous Gorse Hill Studios. From working with Greater Sport, we were able to display our sculpture within the community. And great thanks to Anthea, she helped us organise the space and allowed us to present the sculpture of Hygieia in the space. In the future the community, hopes to move this sculpture externally, across parks such as Hullard park and other green parcels across Trafford to activate streets.

EVENT DAY

Poetry Slam, Meaningful conversation, emotional talks and much more.
The event was held at Gorse Hill, with the locals and people on site, we were able to engage with them and express the various concerns around the area and explore different methods how the sculpture Hygieia can give them a starting point to push forward their ideas into creating a safe space for the community.

The sculpture acted as a platform to express individual ideas, and many people began to express their thoughts next to the goddess sculpture. Chloe one of the MArch 1 Students, performed a beautiful poem of hers, expressing her problems with society and how people and communities should take charge of their space. From this project we hope this can catalyse further infrastructures that will allow the communities and people to take charge of their home and feel safer and more powerful, especially for women in Trafford.

THANK YOU!!!

Group 15 would like to say a big thank you to our clients, Kelly and Eve, for giving us this opportunity to design a fun and engaging project. From this project Rights to the Streets, we have gained a stronger insight how female in public spaces have been under looked, and many spaces should consider more about the inclusivity, safety, and activeness of women. We hope that by doing this project we have helped the clients out in creating a precedent to the area in Trafford, and this will catalyst more projects around more suitable spaces and infrastructure for women.

Many thanks to the community and the gorgeous Gorse Hill Studio and Anthea who helped us understand the community and context better and give us a stronger understanding of what the community wanted.
Finally thank you for all the Undergrads and Participants who helped us with the project!!

GROUP 15