MSA Live 25

Group 08 / FRIENDS OF WATERHOUSE

[Day 3] Engaging with the Community @Romiley site

This week, our team headed back to the sites, and we brought along our teammates to dive deeper into the design process. The team split into two groups for a busy day of community engagement – one part at Romiley, the other at Cheadle (more on that in a moment!).

In Romiley, we set up our site model and invited locals to interact with it. With the help of the site model and flags we made, everyone had the chance to leave their thoughts and feedback, offering us valuable insights that will shape our design vision.

A big thank you to Life Leisure for making this session possible, and to the Romiley community for your warm welcome and constructive feedback. Your input is crucial as we move forward with the project!

Posted 16 May 2025 11:52

Ariana MJ

DAY 3

Building on the critical observations of the site from Day 2, Day 3 shifted focus towards understanding the demographics and community. Students explored the social context of the chapels and their surrounding area, aiming to build future design decisions in the lived realities of local people.

The day began with an investigation into the demographics of the area using digital tools such as Digimaps and Snazzy Maps. These tools enabled students to visualise patterns of age, ethnicity, household composition, and socio-economic data, highlighting how spatial decisions can and should respond to the needs of the Ince community. By overlaying this data onto the site, students began to ask: Who lives nearby? Who visits? Who feels welcome here and who doesn’t? As a result, students developed a map integrating all of the data.

To expand this thinking, we looked at two precedent studies. These projects exemplify how temporary and adaptive design interventions can foster community engagement. We analysed how these spaces invited participation, created atmosphere, and responded to their urban or cultural context.

In the afternoon, we introduced iterative AI image generation tools to help students develop speculative design concepts rooted in the earlier demographic findings. This session was not about finalised proposals, but rather about translating insights into early design language. "How might a space reflect the diversity of its users?" "What forms could community participation take?" Using AI as a generative partner, students began to sketch and model initial responses to these questions, visualising architecture as a mediator of community identity and memory.

Overall, Day 3 encouraged students to think beyond the physical attributes of the chapels and begin considering the socio-spatial relationships that underpin meaningful design.

Posted 16 May 2025 11:35

Day 4 - 15.05.25 - Collaborative Design and Creative Exploration

We continue Day 4 with a dynamic series of process development activities, focusing on the core aims and purposes behind the games we’re set to design. Through thoughtful questioning and lively discussion, we clarified our objectives.

Next, we divided into groups, each tasked with bringing one of the five heritage buildings to life through interactive and informative elements. Within these teams, we brainstormed, sketched, and began developing our initial design concepts, drawing inspiration from the unique stories and features of each building and our previous sketches from day 3.

To wrap up the day, each group shared their progress in a short presentation session. This collaborative exchange of ideas and constructive feedback not only sparked fresh inspiration but also strengthened our collective vision for the project moving forward.

Written by Laura-Elena Popa

Posted 16 May 2025 11:30

Action Week1 Timeline:

We have compiled this week's basic timeline and organized it into our group's story. Thank you very much for your hard work this week. We will be even better in the coming week!

Posted 16 May 2025 11:30

Action Week: Day 5

Today is the last day of the first week. Our team summarized and discussed the workload of the plan for the week. First, we reviewed the tasks of this week and pointed out the advantages and disadvantages of each team. Then we continued to improve some of the fragmented work that was not completed in these days. The team members also had their own new insights on the plan, which were shown to us in the relevant design drawings. In general, this week has made great progress and everyone has worked very hard! The efforts of each team member have been noticed, and everyone should keep up the good work!

Posted 16 May 2025 11:21

Action Week: Day 4

In the afternoon, we met with the person in charge of Bolton and presented the plans of our three groups. The person in charge was quite satisfied with our working method and gave detailed answers to the questions we raised. This provided some important design basis for our subsequent design work. We presented our design through model making and floor plan drawing. Today's progress and results are also very good.

Posted 16 May 2025 11:11

[Day 3] Urban Acupuncture Workshop.

We had an urban acupuncture workshop to come together and identify the population of Stockport. Familiarising ourselves with the community and preparing our conversation with the users on-site tomorrow. Stay tuned!!

Posted 16 May 2025 10:53

Group Crit

After extensive discussions with our collaborators, we pinned up all three groups’ work to demonstrate our current position within the design process. This informal crit created a valuable opportunity for reflection and development, with direct feedback from our clients.

Posted 16 May 2025 10:48

Engaging with Collaborators

Once again, we split into three groups focusing on Landscape, Beacon, and Wider Site Connections. There were six collaborators in total, and they rotated around each table in groups of two, ensuring all students were exposed to their different perspectives. We spoke to them about issues within the local area, the needs of the community and then went on to explain our design ideas, developing with them alongside the advice of the collaborators

Posted 16 May 2025 10:44

Teaching LiDAR Scanning

Following discussions with BA1 and BA2 students, we discover that two thirds of the group all owned iPads, however none had used a LiDAR scanning. To address this, a brief tutorial was delivered, introducing the functionality and applications of LiDAR technology. Subsequently, the team successfully employed LiDAR scanning to capture the landscape relevant to our proposal, as well as the internal spaces of the Whatif? project.

Posted 16 May 2025 10:39

Group 12 / CHADWICK DAM UNLOCKED

Site Neighbourhood Walk

We took a very long route to the site from Stockport train station. Along the way, we stopped off at Castle Street, which is Edgley’s high street, Hollywood Park, and an industrial neighbourhood off Ford Street (which is set to be demolished for the Stockport 8 development), before enjoying a leisurely walk back along the River Mersey to finally arrive at Whatif?

Posted 16 May 2025 10:37

Jacob H

Day 02 - AM: Consultation Review and Concept Development

The morning began with a deep dive into the consultation feedback gathered on Day 01. Each group shared their insights, and together we started organising recurring themes, challenges, and opportunities that had emerged from our conversations with the public.

With a clearer understanding of the site's needs, we shifted our focus toward design inspiration. We explored precedent projects, looking at how similar spaces have been shaped and used, helping spark ideas and direction for our own interventions.

This exchange of findings and references laid a strong foundation for the design phase : we're starting to see the project take form!

Posted 16 May 2025 10:28

Lucy H

DAY 4

For day four, we carried on working on the outputs decided on the day before. Beginning to generate the necessary drawings and visuals required to effectively communicate the designs suggested. We worked in a variety of medias, some sketching by hand, some physically modelling and some modelling digitally through several softwares. Ensuring each output had the full complement of drawings required, we aim to place ourselves in an effective position for collating all of our materials to begin the document next week.

Posted 16 May 2025 10:25

Day 4 - 15.05.25- Sunshine, Strategy, and Smart Questions

Before diving back into design work, we took a refreshing break in the park to enjoy some sun and clear our minds. While there, each of us took time to reflect and write down five key questions about the Bradford Takeover game. These weren’t just any questions, they were designed to challenge our ideas, identify potential loopholes, and dig deeper into important aspects like rules, accessibility, security, and adaptability.

This exercise helped us think critically about the practical side of our designs. By raising questions early in the process, we’re setting ourselves up to create a game that’s not only creative and engaging but also thoughtful, inclusive, and ready to face real-world challenges. It was a moment of calm and clarity and a crucial step in shaping a better game.

Written by Shreya Tripathi

Posted 16 May 2025 09:04

DAY 4 - 15.05.25 - Kevin Lynch mapping exercise

We began the day with a Kevin Lynch mapping exercise focused on Bradford, aiming to explore how individual perceptions of the city can vary dramatically-especially for first-time visitors. Each participant’s map depicted distances between key locations differently, and elements such as major roads, parks, and train routes appeared or disappeared depending on the mapmaker. These variations highlighted just how unique everyone’s experience of the city can be.

This brief but insightful exercise is proving invaluable as we design the wayfinding route map for the Festival of Culture in Bradford, ensuring our outputs reflect the diverse perspectives of those who will navigate the city.

Witten by- Laura-Elena Popa

Posted 16 May 2025 08:55

Group 26 / THE HULME BLUEPRINT

Day 3 - 14.05.25 - Sketching Ideas

After an inspiring day exploring the People's History Museum and the Science and Technology Museum, our team wrapped up the visit with an energising creative session. Fueled by everything we had seen and experienced from interactive exhibits to powerful storytelling techniques, we gathered to start shaping the Bradford Takeover Game.

Each of us brought our ideas to the table, sketching out early concepts and sharing different visions for how the game could look, feel, and play. It was exciting to see the variety of approaches, some focused on storytelling, others on movement, challenges, or collaboration. There was a real buzz in the room as ideas bounced around and merged into new possibilities.

Our discussion touched on game rules, audience engagement, and how to reflect Bradford’s unique character through play. While nothing is set in stone yet, the energy and creativity in the room made it clear: we’re on track to design something fun, meaningful, and memorable.

Stay tuned—this is just the beginning!

Written by Shreya Tripathi

Posted 16 May 2025 08:50

Group 32 / UPSTAIRS @ 3B

Samah O

Big presentation day for Group 32!
We shared our ideas with the client today and got some really insightful feedback that’s given us a clear direction moving forward. It was the BAs’ first time meeting the client, and they were amazing, confident, creative, and brave in presenting their ideas! After the review, we took time to reflect and started refining our designs, getting into the details like measurements, colour palettes, forms, logistics, and the overall user experience.
It was a fun, busy, and super productive day. We’re excited to get modelling and start putting together our publication soon!

Posted 16 May 2025 01:32

Group 01 / HALF-TIME HUB

Naba Arshad U

Day 4.

Part 2 : ...and the design continues.

With a much encouraging ice-cream break, we were ready to start fresh with the presentations by our team members. The design proposals were followed by a constructive and engaging session of critiques. As designers, it is important for us to be as critical and appreciative of each other's designs as possible so that the end result is an inclusive comprehension of ideas curated for the needs of the clients.

It was an amazing day understanding where we stood as a team and are quite excited for the showing our work to our collaborators!

Posted 16 May 2025 00:08

Group 01 / HALF-TIME HUB

Naba Arshad U

Day 4 - Ice Cream Break!

Architects and designers are often considered very serious and philosophical - which we are!

Buuuut

we can also be easily swayed by ice-cream when the van jingles those tunes, during serious discussions!

Jokes apart, its always great to boost the team morale with short breaks and sweet treats!

Posted 15 May 2025 23:54

Group 01 / HALF-TIME HUB

Naba Arshad U

Day 4.

Part 1 : What is adaptive re-use?

The day continued the design iterations with a presentation on Adaptive Re-use, the strategies that we are using for this project. It was quite interesting to see how the team interacted with this and further developed their design ideations. We are confident with the types of work that have come up ahead of the meeting with our collaborators.

The ideations and iterations continued throughout the day with sharpening the concepts. Today, we organised a team lunch in the greens. How can one just not enjoy the sun when working on such a 'gorgeous' project?

P.S. Did anyone notice our colour co-cordinated clothes? An obvious support for the team we love? :)

Posted 15 May 2025 23:48

Group 29 / FOREST SCHOOL

Yan Hei Ashlie H

Day 03: The start of the two proposals!

The group was divided into two, each focusing on a distinct theme to explore different possibilities for the forest school space.

One team is developing a proposal centred around education. This includes looking into activities and equipment that supports sensory development, creativity, practical life skills, and physical development of kids, drawing on the core values of forest school learning.

The second team is focusing on fun & play, aiming to create a stimulating environment that engages all the senses. This proposal shall prioritize imaginative, interactive spaces where kids can explore freely and enjoy rich, sensory-driven play experiences, strongly responding to our observations from the interaction with kids in the forest model making session.

Posted 15 May 2025 23:21

Sophie J

Throughout the day, the Lumion team worked in the CAD lab with the Enscape and V-Ray teams congregating in the Geoffrey Manton building. The day consisted of adding and editing materials for the renders, the teams splitting the various development areas, with each member focusing on developing one zone of the park. The Enscape team managed to extract a high-quality visual of the community centre to be taken into post-production, with a view to finishing the other three tomorrow (Friday) morning. So far, the students have picked up the software well and are creating some exciting visuals.

Posted 15 May 2025 23:11

Group 39 / PLASTIC SHED

Pengcheng Y

May 15th (afternoon)

After lunch, we jumped in to help Caitlin sort through the raw materials. Then, the master’s students lent a hand to the undergrads, helping to refine the physical model of the design and figure out the exact sizes for each part. Finally, with Caitlin guiding us and all the tools and materials in the Plastic Shed studio, we got to build the actual model together. It was a great team effort, and we loved being hands-on in creating something real!

Posted 15 May 2025 22:21

Group 39 / PLASTIC SHED

Pengcheng Y

May 15th (morning)

Today, we headed back to Stockport! In the morning, we helped clean up Caitlin’s awesome bottle cap mural from last year.

Not only did this bring the artwork back to life, but it also caught the attention of more people in the community. One passerby told us he’s lived here for years and said he only just noticed the beautiful mural today! This activity really inspired the local residents to pay more attention to plastic recycling and caring for their neighborhood.

Posted 15 May 2025 22:00

Group 29 / FOREST SCHOOL

Yan Hei Ashlie H

Day 02: Reflecting on the workshop

After lunch, the two groups gathered to discuss findings from the visit to Burnside.

Regarding site context, we noticed that the vegetation cover has become much denser since winter, which prompted a discussion on how we might accommodate and celebrate it.

The workshop with the kids gave us plenty of new ideas to develop upon. We began translating their imaginative crafts and drawings into actual components within the site, bringing their perspective into our design process.

Posted 15 May 2025 21:46

Group 31 / ECHOES OF INCLUSION

Day 3- 14.05.25 - Visit to the People's History Museum and the Museum of Science and Technology

Today we had a great time visiting the People's History Museum and the Science and Technology Museum!
On our first stop, we visited the People's History Museum, where we saw a lot of excellent display techniques, the way exhibits are displayed, the use of audio-visual presentations, and so on, in the various exhibits. This will help us to understand how we can better present the content of our project to the people who come to visit us.
We then walked from the People's History Museum to the Science and Technology Museum. There, we explored the history and development of various areas of science and technology in the UK, particularly the development of the textile industry. In the exciting science experience that followed, we experienced a wealth of interactive ways in which the games and displays worked well to engage people. These were a reminder for us to find inspiration for our games.
At the end of the tour, we briefly discussed how to design the rules of our game, and it was great to see that everyone came up with very interesting sketches of their ideas. It will be very interesting to combine or represent these ideas!

Written by Ziyang Zhou

Posted 15 May 2025 21:42

Nurul Atifah Binti AJ

Day 4 of our action week is all about finalising the big ideas!

Today, our internal and external teams came together to finalise the concept. We made sure everything made sense, from the main idea to acoustic strategies, safety, and technical details in ensuring an inclusive space for the precious students of Delamere to enjoy music.

It was a day of thoughtful, brilliant discussions and helpful feedback from the students, which really helped to shape and improve the design.

With the concept now clear, coherent and aligned, we’re all set to move into the technical drawings tomorrow!

Posted 15 May 2025 21:36

Group 36 / ECOHUB HOUSE

Ozgenur S

Day 4:
Modeling Day.

Today, we continued to work on the physical model and the digital model. We finished the day with an online meeting with our collaborator.

Posted 15 May 2025 20:52

Group 27 / SENSESCAPE

Yuran W

Day 4 – May 15th: Giving Form to Ideas

Today was dedicated to visualising our design through different media. We split into three groups—Model, 3D, and 2D—to bring the proposal to life in physical and digital form.

The Model Group constructed the base structure of the sensory room. This model was designed as a flexible, adjustable base capable of accommodating multiple layout variations, aligning with our project’s emphasis on adaptability. We also crafted props for a proposed visual game, adding a playful and interactive layer to the design.

Meanwhile, the 3D and 2D Groups completed a set of drawings that included floor plans, isometric views, and perspectives, clearly illustrating how each sensory element would function in space.

We ended the day by preparing slides for tomorrow’s client presentation, bringing together our visuals, concepts, and design narrative into one cohesive story.

Posted 15 May 2025 20:39

Group 08 / FRIENDS OF WATERHOUSE

See EJ

DAY 2

The creative outputs from Day 1 were useful in abstracting initial impressions of the chapels, setting the tone for the next day’s programme. Day 2 focused on understanding the site in relation to its wider context. By exploring the significance and history that make the chapels stand out, such as their design features, historical background, and the work of architect Alfred Waterhouse, students began to develop a more meaningful relationship with the site, equipping them to observe more critically during the on-site visit.

Given the limited availability of building plans and survey information, we conducted an activity using a Miro board to investigate the chapels. Our research drew from photographs from our prior site visit, documents provided by Buttress, basic point cloud scans, and online sources—mirroring typical industry practices. To encourage critical thinking, we posed thought-provoking questions, such as comparing the design features of the chapels with other works by Alfred Waterhouse and identifying differences between the chapels and nearby structures. Each student then selected a detail from the chapels to illustrate in their own style.

In the afternoon, we carried out an exercise to remap the site at a 1:1500 scale, speculating on areas where people gather, green spaces, and points of access, in line with Kevin Lynch’s five urban elements. This proved to be a valuable exercise, enabling students to creatively and visually interpret the site.

Posted 15 May 2025 20:34

Group 06 / PLAYSCAPE

Ellesse L

A Day of Design in Full Flow
15/05/25

Today was a full-on day of intense, quick-fire design sessions. We broke off into focused groups, each tackling different parts of the project — from outdoor space to sensory zones and visual outputs. This approach helped us tick off loads of items from our checklist and gave the BA students a real sense of how an architectural practice runs: not everyone works on the same thing, but all the pieces come together to create a cohesive, well-rounded project.

The BA students brought some amazing ideas to the table, and their input really helped push the project forward. It was a great example of teamwork in action and a massive step in shaping the final outcome.

Posted 15 May 2025 19:51

Group 28 / TEA AND TALES

Xiang L

Day 4
Concepts and plans!!

Today we confirmed the design concepts. We divided into two groups, and each group developed the floor plans based on different concepts.
At the same time, we also started to think about and design some details. We have also begun preparing for the mid-term presentation on Friday.
What a productive day!

Posted 15 May 2025 18:52

Group 18 / THE CANOPY COLLECTIVE

Frances R

Day 4:
Community consultation day! Today we got to meet lots of enthusiastic local community members. Our collaborator kindly hosted us for lunch and, in between sandwiches, we got to talk about some ideas, wants and needs for the covered structure we’re designing in the garden/allotment area. We had a busy few hours enjoying the sunshine and speaking to members of the running club, the ukulele club, those there for a cup of tea and even the BBC! Some of the group got so engrossed in the croquet, I think they might still be there! We look forward to coming back and presenting our ideas in a week’s time.

Posted 15 May 2025 18:33

Group 03 / BRICK BY BRICK

Chia-Yu L

05.15 _ BRINGING THE TEAM TOGETHER

Day 4 has us in a great position we have spent today preparing as many materials as possible ready for our workshop days. We printed out some further prototypes this morning to test some different paper thicknesses to decide what would be best as a balance between being sturdy enough and easy enough to fold. Once we had decided on that, our budget was put to use buying and printing 100 sheets of the paper cutting nets.

With printing under way, every extra hand was being used to cut out the paper folding plans to save some time when we get to the school next week. This is really justifying our choice to cut them out - if we find it tedious the Year 4s definitely will. We really appreciate all the team members that are getting stuck in and cutting out as much as possible for us.

Site plans have also been prepared ready for the children to draw on and build on next week. Today has been the most expensive day but we have also produced a lot to show for it. We’re really filling up our work table but everyone’s still upbeat (despite aching hands from all the cutting) and we’re really looking forward to the workshop next week!

The presentation is also nearing its end so we think we’re in a really good position for the approaching end of week 1.

Posted 15 May 2025 18:12

Group 07 / TYLDESLEY SPARK

Taras M

Day 4 roundup continued

Some facade proposal sketches following our site visit. These will be refined further and presented to the client

Posted 15 May 2025 17:35

Group 07 / TYLDESLEY SPARK

Taras M

Day 4 roundup

Following the site visit yesterday, today we started recording and discussing our ideas for the site.

Tomorrow…

We will continue to develop these ideas, starting to hone in on a proposal to develop next week!

Posted 15 May 2025 17:33

Group 07 / TYLDESLEY SPARK

Taras M

Some sketches from our site visit, looking at Victorian facades on Tyldesley Hight Street

Posted 15 May 2025 17:27

Group 09 / WINDOW INTO LINDOW

Muye W

D4-Trial Design

We have collected everyone's intention maps for map, as well as their choices of style and information.

Discuss the design of the trail. Based on everyone's understanding of the site, the trail for the project is finally determined.

Posted 15 May 2025 17:18

Group 35 / UNDER THE POET'S TREE

Kexin S

15/05/25 | Solidifying the Final Design
By the fourth day, following the design team allocations, the students began to work together well. Following the advice from Martin, both teams took a liking to the idea of a modular environment. Modularity and flexibility was something that seemed important to the Poetry Library, which the students really took on board. The idea of emphasising the space also shined through the students designs, creating an exciting piece that would help solidify the Children’s Corner as its own designated space.

The design of the tree stands as a piece that helps define the area that it sits within, modular elements inside of it allow for a somewhat flexible design too. Structural supports within the tree aimed to have multifaceted uses, where kids could use the supports as a place of craft or reading. A tree with branches that could hold and display many things seemed the most likely, producing an exciting form of storage felt like a great way to emphasise the space.

The modular cube design was one that was fully customisable; these boxes can be used as and when they need to be, and swiftly put away when they don’t. The team focused on designing a solid ‘master’ cube, creating subsequent designs from this. This streamlined design process was really encouraging to see! The boxes would be playful in nature, acting as crafting space, storage space, reading space, or a step-up to access the window sill. All things outlined as desirable at the start of the week by Martin.

Some Masters students liaised with Scott in the workshop, informing him of the outputs we would expect to have, and the assistance required when bringing in the Undergraduate students. We wanted him to be informed of the experiences of those who were interested in helping in the workshop.

The student’s willingness to be flexible in their designs and to put the clients needs first really shone through today! It’s really exciting to see the designs beginning to take shape!

Posted 15 May 2025 16:59

Group 35 / UNDER THE POET'S TREE

Kexin S

14/05/25 | Presenting to the Collaborator

We are already halfway through the first week!

This morning the team refined their designs and put together short presentations ready to show the collaborator. We talked about how best to communicate initial concepts, a contextual response and proposed materiality and colour pallets through collaging, sketching and precedents.

After lunch, Martin joined us once again to share his thoughts on everyone’s design ideas. Once everyone had presented, he shared that he was really impressed with what the students had come up with in such a short period of time, and that the designs were thoughtful, innovative and fulfilled the brief really well. The following discussions focused on balancing permanence and flexibility, considering how many people would be using the space at once, and ensuring the design helped to define a dedictaed children’s space, since it is often used for storage at the moment.

Once the collaborator had left, we came up with a list of priorities for the design and agreed it would have two main elements: stackable/modular cubes with various uses, and a flat-pack tree structure that can be used to display zines and enhance the nature inspired theme in the space. Focusing on these two components made it easier to divide the design work among the group, giving us clear elements to refine.

Finally, we asked the group what they would like to spend their time working on over the coming days, whether that be digital or physical modelling, detail drawings or publications. This helped us understand what skills the team were already confident in and what they would like to improve on.

Tomorrow will be spent refining the design ready for producing the final outputs… watch this space!

Posted 15 May 2025 16:57

Group 02 / PORTLAND THINKSPACE

Xueying H

Day 4: Precedent visit and start modelling

We started the day with a short precedent visit to the Manchester Museum. Then, we gathered the photos on the Miro board that each of us found valuable to learn from for a group discussion. After that, Patrick gave a presentation on the essentials of visualisation, explaining how to use online furniture assets to create a scene and highlighting some key points to pay attention to during rendering.

In the afternoon, the focus shifted to a modelling workshop on human scales, where we officially began translating our design ideas into digital models within the existing site model.

Posted 15 May 2025 16:56

Group 09 / WINDOW INTO LINDOW

Jiayu L

Hello! I 'm Jiayu Lu.
-MArch 1
-Non-Standard Habitat

I graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a Bachelor's Degree in Architecture and worked in an architectural office in China to gain practical project experience. I then returned to the UK to pursue a postgraduate degree. My expertise includes architectural illustration and post-processing of renderings, as well as an in-depth understanding of architectural behaviour and residential design research.

Posted 15 May 2025 16:49

Group 09 / WINDOW INTO LINDOW

Luke F

Day 4 - Material Testing

Today the Material Testing team crafted samples to test the QR codes for the plaques, ensuring they would be durable, easy to produce and sustainable.

After many tests (some better than others....) the results were great!

Posted 15 May 2025 16:36

Group 33 / SKATE X ALSAGER

Andreea M

DAY 4:
The students split into three groups, to create different concepts for the presentation with the collaborators on Day 5. The first group's idea related to the railway history of Alsager. The second one created an art interactive installation, while the third came up with the idea of creating a performance space.

Posted 15 May 2025 16:25

Group 17 / MARKET STREET REFRESH

Yakeen A

Day 4!!
Productive day working on concepts — the team made great progress refining ideas and translating them into thoughtful spatial strategies. We spent the day developing site plans, testing different layouts, and thinking through the details of our designs. Lots of discussion, collaboration, and helpful feedback shared around the table. Exciting to see everyone’s concepts taking shape and evolving with each session!

Posted 15 May 2025 16:24

Group 30 / POSSIBILITY MACHINE

Action Week: Day 4

This morning, each of our teams continued to design their own plans and began to make physical models. Through the production of physical models, we have a deep understanding of the functionality and traffic inside the building. This has laid a basic foundation for our communication with the staff of Bolton Rescue in the afternoon.

Posted 15 May 2025 16:06

Shivsen P

Day 4 (Afternoon) – Assembling Ideas and the Machine!

After lunch, excitement was in the air—the Possibility Machine was officially assembled! With the structure standing tall, each group presented their design ideas to Joseph, sharing their visions for stability, mark-making surfaces, and shelter.

It was a brilliant moment of collaboration, feedback, and fresh perspective. Spirits were high, and of course, we capped it off with a wholesome group photo—smiles all around!

This afternoon marked a major turning point: the team finally got hands-on with the physical build—the part we’ve all been waiting for.

Wish them luck as they take the next steps in bringing their designs to life!

Posted 15 May 2025 15:55

Group 14 / FLOAT

Eleanor VB

Day 4!

We began the day with group presentations, reflecting on the findings from our site visit and desktop research. The presentations were divided into historic analysis, mapping of key views and access, and site serial visions and collages. It was exciting to see the work come together and build confidence with presenting in front of the group.

In the afternoon, we introduced a new task: storyboarding the potential key actors of the site. We showed different methods to convey this, such as through a comic book style or Sarah Wigglesworth's dining table before use, in-use and after use. We also discussed who these key actors may be, from fish in the docks to students and the key design considerations these each pose. This was a great task to get the creativity and conversation flowing.

Posted 15 May 2025 15:46

Group 30 / POSSIBILITY MACHINE

Shivsen P

Day 4 (Morning) – The Possibility Machine Arrives!

This morning marked an exciting milestone—we welcomed Joseph to Manchester, and with him came the skeleton of the Possibility Machine!

The first challenge? Hauling all the parts up to the third floor of MTC—our makeshift construction zone. No small feat, but the team rose to it with energy and teamwork.

Once everything was safely upstairs, the focus shifted to assembly. Piece by piece, the framework started to take shape, ready to receive each group’s creative interventions. The Possibility Machine is coming to life!

Posted 15 May 2025 15:46

Group 25 / CURIOUS CREEK

Shreya D

14th May - Day 3 – Intensive Week:
We combined our ideas and started developing the project with respect to the site context and building analysis. Using different visual tools like sketches and diagrams, we began to shape our design direction. We also took part in an inter-group review, where we received constructive feedback and gained new insights to refine our approach.

Posted 15 May 2025 15:45

Group 37 / ECO CHURCH

Ruizi Z

DAY 4 – Presentions and Starting Production
Today marked an important transition in our project: from research and preparation to actual production.

BREEAM Presentations
Each team member shared: a concise explanation of a specific BREEAM category; relevant case studies and how sustainability was implemented; reflections on how these principles can be applied to our ECO CHURCH project.

Moving into Production
With our roles divided from the previous day, we officially started working on the components of our final MSA LIVE publication, such as initial layout experiments, site analysis diagrams, title page concepts and so on. Each person began drafting content and testing ideas, while also thinking critically about how to present our work in a clear and engaging format.

Posted 15 May 2025 15:38

Group 30 / POSSIBILITY MACHINE

Shivsen P

Day 3 of the Possibility Machine!

Today was all about bringing ideas to life through model-making and thinking in scale. Each group tackled a different aspect of the machine, pushing boundaries while keeping it grounded in SHEAFS – our school’s design values: Sustainable, Healthy, Ethical, Accessible, Fair, and Safe.

Group 1 explored shelter, creating clever shade solutions using layered fabrics. They got inventive—using balloons to model perforated, dappled shadows and gathering recycled textiles from the School of Fashion. Smart, sustainable, and full of texture!

Group 2 focused on mark-making surfaces, imagining how the client could co-create art with the community. They made the most of the client’s recycled materials, thinking big to maximise creative space and collaboration.

Group 3 tackled stability, designing grounding interventions that ensure the machine is safe and secure wherever it’s used.

Together, the teams balanced practicality with possibility, and function with imagination. The result? A truly thoughtful machine that’s as inspiring as it is responsible.

Posted 15 May 2025 15:38

Group 05 / BOWLS TO BLOOMS

[Day 2] Site Analysis.

While our model team is focusing on the site models, our desk team is busy with site analysis to understand contexts and geography features in Stockport.

Posted 15 May 2025 15:25

Niloufar K

Day 4 of Intensive Week- Ordering materials and design portfolio

We started with an online meeting with Anna to discuss the final decision on choosing suppliers and ordering materials. This wasn't an easy task, as we needed to begin construction on Friday, but at the same time, we didn't want to leave all the materials outdoors on site over the weekend. To solve this, we decided to split order into two deliveries, one for Friday and another one for Monday. Fortunately, we managed to make it work, so we're set to start hands-on part of our project Tomorrow (Friday), and look forward to spending a productive day on site with Anna and BA students. We also made a good progress on our portfolio by compiling and documenting all the work that we've done so far.

Posted 15 May 2025 15:20

[Day 2] Model Outcome!

Look at our final models of Cheadle and Romiley site! Shoutout to our fantastic model team.❤️

Posted 15 May 2025 15:18

Group 26 / THE HULME BLUEPRINT

Three groups - Landscape - Beacon – wider site connections

In the afternoon we split our team into three groups to come up with initial ideas to show our collaborators on Wednesday.
Beacons take the form of tall way finders — multi-purpose structures that offer seating, shading, play and moments of reflection. Designed using local and recycled materials such as textiles and clothing, they would root the project in Stockport’s identity, fostering a sense of belonging.
For landscaping a rough sketch model (1:200) was created so that we can quickly iterate variations of landscaping throughout the next two weeks.
With wider site connections, a small group went on to iterate their illustrator maps detailing site processes into their drawings

Posted 15 May 2025 14:45

Group 20 / GREEN HAVEN

Hongli Z

Day 03 - Pushing the concept forward

We continued to progress the project within the group based on the ideas from the previous day. The design of the study space and the master plan were tested by testing ideas mainly through drawings and 3D models; while the design of the pergola was attempted to be explored through physical modelling.

During the day's work, we further refined the design concepts and considered in depth a number of details such as the comfort of the space and the choice of materials. Despite the division of labour amongst the teams, frequent communication was maintained amongst the teams as we progressed to ensure overall synergy.

Posted 15 May 2025 14:39

Sakshi Nitin A

Sakshi is leading the SketchUp and Lumion training sessions in the CAD lab. The sessions began by introducing students to material applications, plugin usage, and importing objects from the SketchUp Warehouse.

The following day, they were briefly introduced to Lumion, covering navigation, user interface, material editing, and adding objects and effects to their scenes.

Today, the focus has shifted to rendering views in Lumion. Each one is working on an individual project zone, including the community area, basketball court, and skateboard park.

The sessions aim to equip them with the skills required for visualization, rendering, and post-production workflows.

Posted 15 May 2025 14:37

DAY 4
Final Concept

The two design proposals were compared and assessed collectively, revealing a strong alignment in vision with only minor differences. Both plans aimed to create distinct zones within the site, reinforcing a shared understanding of the project’s core priorities. Building on this consensus, the team collaborated to produce a unified final layout. This masterplan was then divided into three focused areas of study, allowing each zone to be developed in greater detail and subjected to more in-depth analysis in the following stages.

Posted 15 May 2025 14:37

Group 34 / COMMUNITY WAVES

[Day 2] Site models in the making…

Our modelling team foraged the trees and are making each and every one the flags by hand for our models to interact with the communities tomorrow. As they say, "Teamwork makes the dream work!".

Posted 15 May 2025 14:28

Dulcie B

Day 4 (15/5) : Content Feedback & Development

This morning, the Print and Merch Teams continued to develop their designs digitally, using Photoshop and Procreate and exploring fonts to add on InDesign. The Video Team continued to edit the content, creating short, eye-catching videos to post on social media, adding effects, text and music.

We then had a full team meeting to show our work and give feedback on our designs and videos. We decided which design could be used for each merch or print piece and ensured each student knew how to progress.

It was great to see everyone's creativity and originality shine through their work. Following this discussion, everyone continued to work on their designs or videos from home.

Posted 15 May 2025 14:26

[Day 2] Skills Sharing Moments.

We're prepping for the site models. Our teammates are sharing secrets to perfecting tiny details in model making. And BA1s are learning their CAD skills from our MArch students. Look at our little birds fly~

Posted 15 May 2025 14:20

Sketch up 1 on 1’s

Following the success of the Illustrator session, feedback indicated that some students lacked any experience in 3D digital modelling. To address this skills gap 1 on 1 SketchUp sessions were offered ensuring all students got a foundational knowledge in 3D digital modelling to aid in some of the design tasks that would be carried out over the rest of this project.

Posted 15 May 2025 14:20

Illustrator skills tutorial

After speaking with our BA1 and BA2 students, it became clear that they wanted some tutorials on software. Following a democratic vote the day before, Max and Alex led a session on how to export from Digimap and edit the drawings in Illustrator. These skills will be vital, not only for our project but also for helping the BA students develop their employability skills.

Posted 15 May 2025 14:19

DAY 3 - TASK 4 + 5
Precedent Study Analysis + Concept Design

Students were divided into two groups to begin refining and developing their ideas both on paper and directly on site. The goal was to translate initial concepts into more polished, feasible proposals, focusing on layout, spatial relationships, and practical considerations. This stage marks a shift from broad visioning to grounded design thinking, preparing the groundwork for more detailed development in the days to follow.

Posted 15 May 2025 14:13

Transferring Procreate Brush Library

To enhance the skills and resources of BA1 and BA2 students, I shared my extensive Procreate Brush Library, comprising over 1,000 brushes organised into over 50 folders. This initiative was in response to observing that many students use Procreate but were unaware of how to download brushes online or create custom brushes. Instructions for this where given as well as how to share these brush libraries to their future practices when they start on Part 1

Posted 15 May 2025 13:54

Group 14 / FLOAT

Lai Ying L

A closer look at our site at the Salthouse Docks.

The existing pontoon structure is right off the shore and accessible via a retractable ramp. Before getting damaged, the structure housed a mix of creative programmes, including school visits, interactive marine studies, cultural performances, and water sports.

The current structure consists of chained concrete and foam-filled plastic by InterMarine that is adaptable with temporary canopies and furniture.

Posted 15 May 2025 13:53

Group 08 / FRIENDS OF WATERHOUSE

DAY 2 - TASK 3
Site Survey

Involved dividing our team into smaller groups to carry out a detailed site analysis. We measured key areas, identified existing tree species, mapped access points, and located utilities such as electricity. By cross-checking our findings with the existing site plans, we discovered discrepancies in dimensions and took the initiative to record more accurate measurements. This hands-on process provided us with a clearer, more reliable foundation for our design development.

Posted 15 May 2025 12:58

Emanuil Petrovich S

DAY 1

On the first day, we organised a series of activities to help students get to know each other, starting with a bingo game where they could introduce themselves, ask questions, and find common interests.

After these icebreakers, we presented our project, outlining its aims, structure, and the activities planned over the following two weeks.

We then moved on to the first creative task, in which students were asked to design an abstract space using three words—each selected from separate categories: emotion, colour, and character. They were encouraged to interpret these words freely, relating their ideas to the Ince Chapels.

The outcomes reflected each student’s unique perspective and interpretation of emotional connections to space, explored through the use of colour. This process also highlighted their individual approaches to spatial relationships.

To conclude the session, each student created a personal colour palette they felt should be represented in the project. The group then voted to select the colours and emotions that would define the collective palette moving forward.

Posted 15 May 2025 12:31

DAY 2
Site Visit

On the second day, we returned to the site to present our collages and share our initial visions for the herbal memorial garden. Each group brought unique interpretations to life through visuals and concepts, sparking enthusiasm from the clients. Their positive response and inability to choose a favourite was a testament to the creativity and thoughtfulness behind each proposal.

Posted 15 May 2025 12:24

Group 31 / ECHOES OF INCLUSION

Lucy H

DAY 3

For the third day of the first action week, we compiled all the observations noted down by the students from the site visit to form a plan of action for collecting and distributing water across the site. Collating all the information onto a diagrammatic site plan, we formed groups, and each began work on the individual roof systems across the site that would be best suited to collecting the water deposited. Beginning to diagram suitable outputs that could best communicate the strategies proposed to our collaborators and any future users.

Posted 15 May 2025 12:23

Michael N

Together we make a difference.

For the children at Delamere, the music programme is a fun opportunity to move and dance their bodies to the rhythm and music. Regardless of their learning ability and mobility, music is a great way to engage ALL of us. Thank you to Sally for showing us around the school!

Posted 15 May 2025 12:21

Group 33 / SKATE X ALSAGER

Peiqing L

DAY 3 - Site Model
We went to B15 to laser cut layered MDF boards to represent the depth of the skate pool. Combined with hand-cut grey board models, we successfully completed the site model. We’re excited to move on to the next stage of the design!

Posted 15 May 2025 12:04

Group 22 / URBAN EDEN

Bingqing X

Action week-day 3
Today the team members started to work on the design of the project. In the morning, all the members got together to discuss the previous day's design results, and had an in-depth study and discussion on the building's dimensions, structure, floor plan, materials and so on, giving feedback to each other. In the afternoon, the group members continued to divide up the design work based on the morning's discussion, and consolidated the complete programme.

Posted 15 May 2025 11:57

Group 33 / SKATE X ALSAGER

Peiqing L

DAY 3:
We completed the site model today, and everyone enthusiastically moved on to concept sketching and designing the installation on-site. Both the BA and MLA students began refining the ideas they developed on Day 2, and everyone made excellent progress!

Posted 15 May 2025 11:57

Xiangyong H

DAY 2 –Volunteering

Composting

Whilst on our site visit, Lina – one of our collaborators from Local Food First – guided us through a composting discussion, explaining the five ‘ingredients’ required to create a good compost; Nitrogen, Carbon, Water, Oxygen and Heat. Following the talk, Lina formed a smaller group to take on a Practical Composting Tutorial, creating large cubes of compostable materials constructed from pallets and any food waste or organic materials sourced from the local community and the surrounding area. Getting to be really hands on and jumping on the cubes to compress them as tightly as possible to ensure good compost production.

Planting Seedlings

Another task whilst on the visit was to assist in planting seedlings. The seedlings had been ordered so that they could be grown and cared for onsite and then sold to the local community. Planting the seedlings of many types of flowers, a team was assigned to fill the plant pots with soil, grinding down the larger lumps first. Then sectioning and potting the seedlings into groups or individually into the pots, making sure they are secure within their new homes.

Watering

The final task assigned whilst on our visit was to water all the planting inside of the polytunnels. Observing the challenges of transporting the water across the length of the polytunnels. Due to the dry, hot weather, a high volume of water was needed and so we used hoses and watering cans to ensure that all the plants were thoroughly watered.

Posted 15 May 2025 11:53