YAXUAN ZHANG

Hello everyone, I'm Zhang Yaxuan, a design explorer dedicated to architectural transformation and sustainable regeneration. I am currently pursuing a Master's degree in Architecture at Manchester School of Architecture (MSA), and I graduated from Beijing Forestry University with a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Design. I have always believed that old buildings are the silent narrators of a city's stories. My designs start from "listening to the memories of space" and focus on infusing old buildings with a soul that fits contemporary life. I am passionate about studying low-intervention renovation strategies, such as preserving the traces of the original structure and activating idle spaces through lightweight materials and flexible zoning, allowing history and modern functions to coexist harmoniously.
Recently, I have been focusing on exploring innovative applications of sustainable materials in old buildings, such as reshaping lighting systems with translucent recycled plastic or restoring wall textures with locally recycled bricks. I look forward to joining forces with like-minded partners to redefine the value of "old" through design, enabling every building to age gracefully and be reborn with elegance.

FENG FANG

I was born in China and my name is Feng Fang. I have worked as an architect in Chinese company around 30 years, I have rich experiences in real projects. I am a student of M.arch1 and my atelier is NSH.

YUANHAO LIANG

Hi, I' am Yuanhao Liang, a student study in MA Architecture And Adaptive Reuse. I am from China, and my background is landscape design.
During my undergraduate studies, I focused on landscape design. Through in-depth research on the natural environment and human activities, I developed my sensitivity to space design, sustainable development, and the vitality of public places. However, in the process of practice, I gradually realized that a large number of old buildings, abandoned spaces, and historical heritage in the city have not been adequately protected and reused. These spaces contain rich historical, cultural, and social values. If they can be redesigned and updated through adaptive reuse, they can not only continue the city's memory, but also bring new vitality and value to the city. I really hope to make progress with you in the future learning process.

FIRST GROUP DICUSSION

This was the first meeting of our team members. We sat together to discuss our general understanding of the project and share our initial ideas for the project transformation. This was a very interesting brainstorming session. We gathered all the ideas and wrote them down. Discussions like this help us deepen our understanding of the project and improve our efficiency and quality in the future design process.

SITE VISIT

On February 19, 2025, our team went to the Bolton Mountain Rescue Team in the Bolton area of ​​Manchester for a site visit. The main purpose of this visit was to communicate in depth with the staff of the rescue team, understand the challenges and needs they face when using the existing site, show them our preliminary design ideas for the project, and listen to their feedback.

During the inspection, we first learned about the layout of the entire site, including buildings, parking areas, and surrounding environmental conditions through aerial photography. From this perspective, we have a more intuitive understanding of the spatial organization of the site and its relationship with the surrounding environment. Subsequently, we visited various areas inside and outside the building, and had face-to-face exchanges with the staff of the rescue team to learn in detail about their needs for the functional functions of the building space in their daily work, as well as the problems existing in the site. For example, the rescue team mentioned that the existing garage space is relatively tight and cannot meet the storage needs of all rescue equipment; at the same time, the functional division of the internal space also needs to be reasonably optimized to improve work efficiency.
Through this field visit, we not only enhanced communication with the rescue team, but also deepened our understanding of the current status and usage needs of the site. Next, we will further optimize and improve our design plan based on the information and suggestions obtained from this investigation, in order to create a more efficient, comfortable and work-oriented architectural space for the Bolton Mountain Rescue Team.

RICHARD SALGE

I’m a MArch 1 student at CPU Ai. Having completed my undergraduate studies in in Germany, I spent a year in practice in London working in a global practice. This experience gave me valuable insights into both large-scale and smaller projects, shaping my approach to architecture and design. I’m particularly interested in computational design and incorporating new tools, like Grasshopper. Outside of architecture, I enjoy playing tennis, watching Formula 1 and football, and traveling to discover new cultures and places.

TIA TIAN

I’m a practical architect based in Beijing and a dedicated researcher on smart architecture at MSA.
With an innovative and passionate approach to design, I explore multiple narratives within projects of varying scales, attributes, and contexts.
Beyond architecture, I find inspiration in the untamed beauty of the mountains, where I love to hike and travel—seeking new perspectives, fresh air, and the quiet wisdom of nature.

Action Week: Day 1

Today we meet all the BA1, BA2, and MLA students. We got to know each other through icebreaker games.
Today we discussed the concept of a rescue center, and the students expressed their ideas through different presentation methods (hand drawing, physical model, etc.). The ideas presented by everyone are great! Everyone also gets to know each other better through icebreaker games.

Action Week: Day 1

It is great that we can see everyone's understanding of architectural thinking in today's icebreaker game. As well as our thinking about the project concept, many effective and important keywords were proposed, and we also integrated them together to form our concept mind map.

Action Week: Day 2

This morning we showed the students the basic status of the site and supplemented the content. After active communication, we encouraged everyone to start drawing basic sketches. Everyone's plans and design ideas are great, and everyone has their own unique ideas. We posted everyone's drawing plans on the wall and discussed them together, and made a lot of interesting and important progress.

Action Week: Day 2

Today's progress was very smooth. In the morning, we reported and shared our previous research and information with the students, and encouraged everyone to gradually think about the direction of the design plan. In the afternoon, we began to deepen the plan and put forward new ideas for the first floor design and the second floor design. We will discuss the plan openly after each plan drawing, which is conducive to the coordination of our design work and constantly learning new knowledge from others. Today, we also successfully completed the basic design direction of the plan.

Action Week: Day 3

On the third day, after reviewing yesterday's content, we put forward some summary content. Then we divided the students into three groups to continue to deepen our plan. Through continuous thinking and collaboration, we successfully came up with three specific plan forms today. This also provides optional plans for our report to the staff of the Bolton rescue team tomorrow. This is a meaningful plan deepening activity, which not only improves work efficiency in teamwork, but also allows us to learn new knowledge in teamwork. We also met the instructor in the classroom, and we also shared our progress plan with him.

Action Week: Day 3

In the afternoon, each of our groups designed relevant cases in detail. Each group reported on their cases, and each of us actively communicated and came up with some feasible solutions. This provides a basic idea for us to make models tomorrow. Each group's plan has its shining points, which we need to continue to design.

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.

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.

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!

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!

Action Week: Day 6

Today is the first day of a new week, and our team members have begun to improve the feasibility of the plan. After communicating with Bolton worker last week, we will continue to improve the detailed design of the building plan and the detailed distribution design of the functional zoning. We also explained some design logic theories in detail to the undergraduate students and applied them to our design. Today's design content was also successfully completed.

Action Week: Day 6

Today, another team of ours also started to draw technical drawings (floor plan, elevation) in the computer room. Through constant running-in and cooperation with the team, everything went smoothly in the final drawing stage. We also told them some drawing specifications and related information, as well as how we should present our plan well to the Bolton staff.

Action Week: Day 7

The team started the facade design work, and we gave some suggestions on the selection of materials and colors. We also discussed the correct facade drawing specifications and exchanged some experiences. As for the design adjustment between the building form and functionality, we made adjustments here according to the needs of the owner. Everything is moving in a good direction.

Action Week: Day 8

The plan has been basically finalized. After drawing the basic technical drawings, we have gone to the B15 model room to make a physical model today. So far, everything is going well, and everyone has worked hard.

Action Week: Day 9

Today we are about to start the final step of the plan deepening. Our first group of renderings are already in the process of refinement. Our other groups are also doing the final physical model in B15. Today we will complete the first draft of the publication book, and then make some revisions. I am looking forward to everyone's final outputs.

Action Week: Day 10

Today is our last meeting. We completed our last task today, shooting and layout the models of each plan we made. We also held a final carnival pizza ceremony to celebrate our hard work in the past two weeks. Every team member has made their own efforts, and I am very grateful to meet you. We have also learned a lot from each other in these two weeks, and I am very grateful to meet you!