Name: Irina-Elena Popescu

Atelier: Some Kind of Nature

Undergraduate: Manchester School of Architecture

Arch Skills: AutoCAD, SketchUp, Revit, Enscape, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign

Hobbies: Photography, Cooking, Travelling

It was a pleasure to meet Sam Sin on the 6th of December at Manchester Technology Centre to talk more about Gorton and its community.
HMHC operates a community center (Gorton Central) alongside an award-winning community garden in Gorton and Abbey, East Manchester. Their focus lies within the underprivileged neighborhoods, aiming to improve health outcomes for local residents. The team aims to expand participation in well-being activities within the currently fenced community garden, enhancing its accessibility and utilization for a wider audience. Additionally, they plan to adopt a section of the 'Yellow Brick Road' (YBR), transforming it into a safer and more enjoyable space while preserving its historical significance as a former canal. Manchester City Council's scheduled safety improvements for the YBR prompt community involvement in maintenance efforts, with HMHC committing to oversee the nearest section to the community center and seeking innovative ways to develop it further.

On the 5th of February we met Sam Sin and Amanda Aitken at Gorton Central to visit the site. Amanda Aitken is our new contact for the project, and we were excited to meet her for the first time. We took a walk around the garden while talking to our collaborators about their aspirations for the space, its accessibility and how to improve the experience of the community members while using the proposed spaces. It became clear to us that multiple areas need improvement, and we will have to work on multiple sections in this project: a patio, a multi-purpose room, the garden area and the Yellow Brick Road.
The meeting went by very fast while exchanging ideas and we cannot wait to be back in spring with a full team!

Our small team is working hard to organise things for the time we will be joined by the rest of our members from different years here at MSA. We are very excited to have a full team working with us soon! Please follow our blog to see our progress and to the MLA, Adaptive Reuse and Undergraduate students that will join us: we can't wait to meet you!