SITE VISIT – JAN ‘24
We had our first group site visit to Stockport on January 29th, where we were shown around the Underbanks area by Peter, our collaborator at Stockport Council.
The group touched base with Peter at St. Petersgate Bridge in the Little Underbanks area, a key local landmark that will feature right at the heart of the project going forward. The tour then took us to our first ‘gap site’, these being vacant plots in the old town centre that have been earmarked for low-cost, low-impact development. Peter explained that the council were looking at different potential uses for the site such as a pocket park or bin storage for the nearby shops/bars. We then moved onto Lower Hillgate where we visited our second gap site. This one, however, has complicated level constraints which will therefore require a careful and considered design to fully maximise what the council aim to get out of the site.
Following the introduction of the two gap sites, Peter led us along the route back towards the Redrock entertainment complex, outlining the key developments that were taking place along the route that we would be producing ideas for. We were kindly invited into the co-works offices ran by Kelsall Architects who discussed their ongoing nearby projects, highlighting completed works on a scale model of Stockport using bright orange pieces - this helped explain the shared vision that the practice has in partnership with the council in developing the town into a new cultural centre for northern independents.
To round off the site visit, Peter introduced us to the Merseyway Shopping Centre and Market Place, giving us a good understanding of where the largest footfalls were in the town centre, shedding light on areas that would need to be linked into our new wayfinding route through the town. Overall, the site visit gave a good introduction to Stockport and our client, helping us understand the need for a project of this kind.

Hi!
I’m Kane, a part-time student from Manchester currently in my 2nd year of the MArch course here at MSA. I completed my undergraduate studies in Sheffield before moving back home to Manchester to find industry experience. Since then, I have been working at Millson Group, a small practice specialising in Architectural Design, Development and Planning Services based in Manchester. Working in a small team taking on a vast array of tasks across numerous projects has given me a great insight into the role of an Architect and has allowed me to stay active in the professional environment whilst studying at MSA.
Aside from Architecture I’m usually running, in the gym or playing football.

I’m really looking forward to getting going on this exciting project!

DAY 1

The group met at MTC for our first introduction session and after a few icebreakers & chit-chat we headed off to Stockport for our group site visit. We began our wayfinding route from its closest point at the first gap site and followed the path along Little Underbanks to our second gap site and then onwards to Redrock, the routes final destination. After introducing the group to the route and gap sites, we ventured around the town centre and had a short tea & coffee break at Stockport Market. To round off the trip, the group conducted a collaborative urban acupuncture workshop back at the MTC to gather everyone’s initial ideas for potential interventions and themes for the project.  Roll on day 2!

Day 6
The team met again at the MTC and began with an informal chat to see how everyone got on with their tasks the previous day. We then got back to work within our designated groups to help push together towards our final outputs.
The students covering Gap Site 1 made great progress with their required plan layout (pictured) as well as making large strides with the 3D virtual model, helping to contribute towards the final GS1 visual.
The group covering Gap Site 2 took a slightly different approach, making use of the B15 workshop to produce a scaled model of a multi-purpose timber panel structure they had designed (pictured), with the idea of utilising numerous of these interventions across the entire wayfinding route.
The final group covering the Wayfinding aspect of the project made progress with the overall plan visually linking the interventions across the scheme, whilst also producing the templates for both the A5 publication and the content for the presentation to be carried out to SMBC on the final day of the project.