Hello, I’m Kexin Shen, currently pursuing a master’s degree in Adaptive Reuse at MSA. I have participated in various research and design projects, gaining extensive experience in …More
software applications and practical operations.

I am passionate about architectural renovation and urban planning projects and am committed to continuous research in these fields. In addition to my studio work, I am also exploring the relationship between smart cities and people. I am proficient in using software such as AutoCAD, Enscape, Adobe Suite, and Photoshop for my work.

12/05/25 | Kicking things off!

Our first day began with an informal welcome session where we all introduced ourselves and outlined the brief, goals and timeline of the weeks ahead. …More
Since zines are a big part of what the Poetry Library is about, we all had a go at making one ourselves. This gave the team a chance to get to know each other and to better understand the process of zine making.

After lunch in the sun, we came back together for ‘Harry’s (not so) Famous Pub Quiz’… which ended in a head to head for first place! Well done to the winning team!

The rest of the afternoon was spent with Martin, the Poetry Library programme manager. He joined us in our workspace to show us some example zines and explain what the library is all about. We then headed down to the library for a short tour. This was a great opportunity to ask questions about the brief and photograph and take measurements of the children’s corner. Martin highlighted the importance of nature, flexibility and child-safe design as priorities for the final outcome.

We are looking forward to seeing what designs everyone comes up with tomorrow!

13/05/25 | Exploring Design Ideas

By the second day the team started to come up with individual design ideas, taking guidance from the tour from Martin in the Poetry Library, and …More
the design brief we laid out for them. The students engaged in the design task from all angles; some kept it sketchy with hand cut models; others designed more conceptually using rhino. Small, informal tutorials from the Masters students happened through the day, allowing the undergraduate students to justify their designs in a friendly manner. Seeing physical models alongside some wonderful sketches was lovely to see.

After a larger group discussion, where we encouraged all the students to chime in, we started to understand the general direction that the designs would follow, and what we plan on showing Martin tomorrow. By the end of the day the students had some lovely concept designs that were almost ready for client consultation.

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 …More
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!

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 …More
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!

16/05/25 | Rounding Up the First Week

As a group we decided upon the final designs to take forward into the following action week. With this the students began working on the detail …More
drawings that would aid in the fabrication and construction of each piece of furniture. By the start of the afternoon, design revisions had come to a halt, and we were all happy with the model outputs we wanted.

Once the design revisions had been fully made, we gave a quick presentation on what we would like to see out of them, and what would be useful for next week. This included clear and readable examples of detail drawings, posters, a kit of parts, and an IKEA-like construction manual.

It was great that the students had told us what they are comfortable with using, and what skill sets they’d like to improve, allowing us to allocate them in groups, according to the outputs we outlined for them.

In the afternoon, several of the students were taken to the workshop to begin fabrication of the context model. Martin had made us aware that he struggled visualising space, so we thought this would be an excellent way of showing him the space with the furniture inside. The students were encouraged to work with as many machines as possible, for many of them this was the first time in the B.15 workshop. The staff in the workshop, and the masters students encouraged the undergraduates to make and craft. In our own experiences the best way to learn is by doing, and these experiences in the workshop really allowed them to give it a go!

Looking back at the hectic, but enjoyable first week, it has been really encouraging to see the students properly designing with a real client in mind. It’s also great to see them trying new things, like working in B.15. These are all things we looked to achieve when creating the Action Plan for these two weeks, so it’s lovely to see that this is paying off!