Hello, Alya here ~

Atelier: SKN

I completed my undergraduate at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor and worked in practice for almost 2 years at a medium-sized architecture firm in my hometown (Kuching, Sarawak).

I was initially interested in this LIVE project as I had experience teaching music to young children before I started my architectural journey. I guess I can say a hint of nostalgia pulled me into choosing this project, as well as an interest to personally observe how space and music can influence the minds of children with complex needs. Overall, I am beyond excited to explore how my current knowledge in architecture can be used to enhance the musical experience for the precious children of Delamere School.

1st MSA Live meetup!

Date: 4th December 2024

This was our initial meeting with the whole team as well as our collaborator Sally, who is the Head Teacher of Delemere School.

Sally briefly explained the school's background and enthusiastically encouraged us to visit the school so that we could observe the learning environment for ourselves.

Sally also mentioned that her vision for this project is to definitely make it a reality in the near future so that the precious children of Delamere School can experience high-quality music education.

We all found that Sally's enthusiasm and energy were infectious, and we are all super excited to work on this project together!

First Site Visit!

Date: 29th January 2025

Delamere School is located in Urmston, a town in Trafford with a residential feel. We visited on a Wednesday so that we could observe how the school's musician, Beth, uses the music studio for her classes.

Upon reaching the site, Sally welcomed us and gave a tour of the school. Honestly, it is quite an impressive school! We were very fascinated by the various facilities this school offered (They had climbing walls, a sensory room and even a swimming pool!).

Sally also explained her ideas for the proposed upgraded music studio. Overall, the proposal should ⁠include considerations for students with mobility and sensory impairment. The space should be accessible and not overstimulating. Beth also suggested for creative ideas to store and take out the musical instruments more efficiently.

This site visit was definitely an eye-opener as we got to observe how children with various special needs are cared for, and how space plays a crucial role in their wellbeing and education. After the site visit, the team was even more motivated to do a good job for this project~

Getting to know our collaborator: Sally!

Sally is the Head teacher of Delemere School. Based on our conversations and meetings with her, we can affirm that she is immensely passionate about providing the highest quality of education to all of the school's children regardless of needs or ability.

"Our mission statement is “Together, we Make a Difference …” and we achieve this by creating a personalised curriculum and unique learning journey for every child"

Getting to know our collaborator: Beth!

Beth is the school's own professional musician who, in our eyes, totally excels in providing the children quality AND fun musical experience. She leads a variety of musical sessions for the children, such as group jamming sessions, one-to-one music therapy sessions and even leads the school's choir and rock band!

2nd Meeting!

Date: 12th February 2025

This meeting was organized to discuss some design ideas we had for the project with our collaborators. We decided to compile some design references and precedent ideas to show the collaborators, as well as draft a visual of our proposed design.

Overall Sally and Beth were excited and quite satisfied with our ideas, only sharing some minor comments about them.

Fancy joining us?

During our 2 action weeks, we will be producing design responses to our collaborator's vision, but we would also like to use this time to help you develop skills you wish to learn. We plan to help you explore skillsets such as producing architecture drawings, visualizations and model-making.

We will use our individual strengths to help you develop your skills, and hopefully in group working, we will learn some skills from you as well!

If anything here sparks your interest, or you have any questions, please do get in touch!