Yuran Wang, Adaptive Reuse
Brief background: I’m from Beijing, China, where I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Architecture and interned at Tsinghua University's Architectural Design and Research Institute. Eight years ago, I visited the UK as a tourist and was captivated by its historic architecture and rich culture, inspiring me to pursue a Master’s degree here. I’m passionate about designing human-centered buildings and believe every project deserves enthusiasm and creativity. As a museum enthusiast, I believe they have the power to share so much more than just knowledge– I’m excited to collaborate and create fun, engaging spaces for children together. Let’s make something amazing!
Skills: Adobe Suite, Photography, CAD, Rhino, D5
Interests: Travelling, photography, music

Day 1 – May 12th: First Day On Site

What amazing and inspiring first day!

We kicked off our SenseScape journey by introducing ourselves and the project in Geoffrey Manton 3.33. It was a chance to meet one another, share excitement, and begin imagining how we could design a sensory room that is inclusive, engaging, and meaningful. We explored previous examples, reviewed the existing room drawings, and introduced the colour palette that will guide the mood of the space.

Around noon, we walked down to Manchester Museum where our client Hannah welcomed us and guided us to the basement space and the very room we’ll be transforming. Her insights helped us understand the importance of designing a flexible and immersive space.

Then came a playful and collaborative highlight of the day: the sensory icebreaker game. Blindfolded, mute, or listening through headsets, teams attempted to model clay animals through non-verbal and indirect communication. It was a chaotic, hilarious, and surprisingly touching way to reflect on sensory perception, teamwork, and alternative modes of interaction.

After lunch, we reassembled at the museum entrance and followed Hannah through selected galleries for a deeper sensory exploration of the museum’s exhibitions. The phrase “to be museumed” was introduced as a term: what does it mean to be overwhelmed, absorbed, or transformed by a space?

After briefly measuring the dimensions of the room. We wrapped up the day by gathering our first impressions and inspirations, and began noting initial ideas for sensory elements and precedents.

Day 2 – May 13th: From Senses to Spatial Concepts

Today, we transitioned from playful exploration to structured design thinking. We began the morning by splitting into three sensory focused groups: touch, hearing, and sight. Each group tasked with brainstorming ideas tailored to their sensory theme.

Following that, we moved into collaborative space planning. Discussions flowed around how to organise zones within the basement room, and we mapped out potential layouts using diagrams. Practical constraints like ventilation and storage were identified and addressed creatively.

After lunch, each team sketched their own mock-up proposals. The variety of approaches sparked valuable debate, and we began to see our shared vision take shape. We ended the day by selecting a few promising ideas to take forward into tomorrow’s floor plan and section development.

From abstract senses to tangible sketches—Day 2 was a turning point.

Day 3 – May 14th: From Analysis to Action

Today was all about deepening our design logic and giving form to our ideas. We began with a detailed site analysis, considering three different aspects: sensory experience, exhibit links and potential user groups. This helped ground our concepts in spatial reality.

The day continued with digital upskilling—Revit tutorials for 3D modelling and AutoCAD for 2D drawings. Meanwhile, some of us curated mood boards, articulating the vision through textures, colours, and materials that could shape the sensory atmosphere.

Building on the past two days, we moved into early modelling and layout drafting, translating group concepts into floor plans and initial design sketches. We also set the structure for our final booklet, planning how best to communicate our design narrative and decisions to clients.

Step by step, the sensory room is beginning to take shape—visually, spatially, and conceptually.

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.

Day 5 – May 16th: Presenting and Reflecting

Today was a major milestone as we presented our progress from the week to the PINC students and Manchester Museum team. We shared the results of four days of collaboration: concepts, drawings, models and sensory ideas. Highlighting how the design evolved through research, play and teamwork.

The feedback we received was invaluable. The PINC students provided insights from the perspective of young users, while Museum staff encouraged us to refine the design from a practical and safety standpoint.

We rounded off the day (and week!) with a well-deserved pizza lunch with the team! : D

Day 6 – May 19th: Improving Design

After a weekend of rest, everyone returned to work with a new focus. We first reviewed the feedback given by our collaborators last week and refocused on the combination of user experience and spatial practicality.

Then, we continued on the drawings and visuals based on the division of tasks between 2D and 3D groups.

At the same time, the arrangement of the booklet was officially launched! We began to organise the design process, concepts, key visuals, and set about building a complete design narrative.

Today was a busy and fulfilling day! The team collaborated efficiently and took a great step towards the final results.

Day 7 – May 20: Continuing Design Outputs

Today we continued to focus on improving the design output. We worked on the original 2D drawings, 3D models and conceptual diagrams. These images demonstrated the development in the past few days and how to cleverly integrate sensory activities into a restrictive space.

At the same time, a small group were in the B15 model studio working on the physical model.

This space is gradually becoming a reality, it's so exciting to see our progression over the last few days!

Day 8 – May 21: Final Presentation to our Collaborators

Today was a successful conclusion of communicating our SenseScape design journey. All members worked together to complete the final work by unifying the style and color of all outputs, and applying this to our physical model simultaneously as well as the presentation for the clients.

In the afternoon, we showed the final design to Hannah and Wendy (collaborators). Every member participated in it and confidently presented their own parts. The atmosphere on the scene was relaxed and full of a sense of accomplishment. In the end, our results were unanimously recognised and was highly praised by them.

WHO ONLY HAD POSITIVE COMMENTS!

It's high time to finish our booklet : D

Day 9/10 – May 22/23: Booklet Binding

The final days of this project were spent very productively in the completion of the booklet, which the collaborators were extremely excited about. We were so happy to see it!

We were hopefully optimistic and thought we could finish it on Thursday night, this was not the case. However, coming back well rested on Friday morning we had another look at the booklet and finished in a timely manner :P

Just want to say thank you for everyone involved in the project and we couldn’t have asked for a better group. You all did amazing work and we’re so proud of everyone and what you achieved. We created a fun and meaningful design which we hope can one day become a reality!