Name: Ruizi Zhang
Hometown: Shandong, China

Course: Master of Architecture
Atelier: Non-standard habitat

Before joining MSA, I completed a five-year undergraduate degree in architecture in China. I also gained six months of internship experience at BIAD, where I acquired practical experience in architecture and urban design.

Interest: In my spare time, I enjoy reading geography magazines and traveling. I also have a passion for Chinese calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting.

Skills: CAD, Adobe, SU, Rhino, D5, Vary, Enscape, Lumion

COLLABORATOR
United Didsbury Methodist Church (Rev. Catharine Hughes and Dr. Dave Armstrong)

Background:
· UDMC is a 1950s church with 4 halls/rooms used for worship and community activities.
· Users: About 60 church members and 14 external user groups (e.g., preschool, choir, adult theatre).a
· Management: Church members (63), a management committee (11), and a church council (23).

Main Goals:
· Eco/Net Zero Transition:
Achieve Eco Church certification by 2030. Upgrade infrastructure, improve energy efficiency, and engage the community. Follow the UK Methodist Church’s “Net Zero” guidelines.
· Increase Community Engagement:
Provide more social activities for elderly and young people. Transform spaces into cafés, art studios, or co-working areas. Strengthen links with the local community.

SITE
On February 17th, we made a general plan and elevation survey of the church.

Location and Surroundings:
The church is situated in a residential area, surrounded by houses with gardens. It has a spacious outdoor area, including a parking lot and green spaces. The church is accessible from nearby streets.

Building Structure:
The main hall is the largest space. Other rooms include kitchen, office, storage, and multiple smaller rooms.

SITE VISIT
These photos capture key views from our initial site visit to the United Didsbury Methodist Church. From the exterior brickwork to interior spaces, the sequence reflects our early spatial observations and design considerations. These visuals not only document the existing condition of the site but also help us identify potential areas for intervention and dialogue with the community.

RISK ASSESSMENT
This highlights the key points from our official Risk Assessment document for the United Didsbury Methodist Church site. As part of the MSA LIVE project preparation, we carefully identified potential hazards—from equipment handling and weather risks to interactions with church staff—and developed appropriate mitigation strategies. These precautions aim to ensure a safe, respectful, and inclusive research environment for all team members during site visits and project activities.

DAY 1 – Kick-off
Our MSA LIVE journey at United Didsbury Methodist Church began with an engaging and collaborative first day.

Breaking the Ice
We started with a warm welcome and a series of icebreaker activities, allowing team members to introduce themselves and share their backgrounds, interests, and aspirations for the project.

Project Overview
Following the introductions, we provided an overview of the ECO CHURCH project. We outlined the objectives, including enhancing community facilities, improving energy efficiency, and exploring sustainable design solutions to help the church achieve its goal of becoming more eco-friendly by 2030.


Software Induction
In the afternoon, we conducted a software induction session aimed at first-year students. The workshop introduced essential tools such as SketchUp, InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop, which will be instrumental in developing our proposals.

DAY 2 – Researching BREEAM
On our second day, we shifted our focus toward understanding BREEAM Infrastructure, one of the world’s leading sustainability assessment methods for the built environment.

What is BREEAM?
We began by breaking down the core principles of BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method). Through personal research, we explored its key categories.

Why BREEAM Matters to Our Project？
As our site – United Didsbury Methodist Church – aims to become more environmentally responsible, BREEAM provides a relevant framework for assessing design proposals and interventions. It helped us reflect on how our design decisions might influence energy use, community well-being, and long-term adaptability.

DAY 3 – On Site
Our third day marked a key moment in the development of the ECO CHURCH project, as we visited the United Didsbury Methodist Church together with our new members.

Client Introduction and Project Briefing
We began the day by returning to site with our full team. Rev. Catharine Hughes and Dr. Dave Armstrong kindly welcomed our new team members, introducing themselves and sharing the background, ambitions, and future vision for the church. This gave everyone a better understanding of the project’s social and environmental context.

Team Discussion: Clarifying the Project Vision
Back inside, we held a team discussion to clearly define our project goals. Together, we outlined our collective vision, the client’s expectations, and how we hope to create design strategies that are realistic, inclusive, and sustainable.

Site Walkthrough and Measurements
After the briefing, the new members were led through a site walkthrough. We introduced key interior and exterior spaces. And make more detailed measurements for the key spaces.

Initial Task Distribution
To ensure an efficient and well-coordinated process, we also started to allocate initial responsibilities across the team.

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.

DAY 5 – Research and Publication
As our project moves forward, Day 5 was all about focused teamwork and working in parallel tracks.

Site Analysis and Sustainable Strategy
Some members focused on a deeper investigation of the United Didsbury Methodist Church. Building on earlier site visits and BREEAM research, they began analysing the building’s current condition in detail—looking at how different spaces function, identifying inefficiencies in energy use, spatial organisation, and material performance. This group also started outlining the key sustainability challenges the church faces and exploring context-specific strategies that could realistically be applied within the scope of our project.

Publication Development
Meanwhile, the others continued developing the structure and visual identity of our final publication. Working collaboratively, they began refining the layout, drafting initial pages, and exploring typography, colour palettes, and graphic formats.

DAY 6 – Drawings and Dialogue
Today was a productive and energising day.

Visual Development for Publication
The majority of our team continued working on diagrams for the final publication. The team members began developing model renders to communicate the massing and spatial atmosphere of our proposal. Simultaneously, we started drawing site plans, elevations, and sections to illustrate the architectural intent in greater detail. Axonometric diagrams were created to clearly express spatial relationships and hierarchies, while a series of sustainability diagrams began to take shape.

Engaging with the Community
Meanwhile, the others of the team returned to the United Didsbury Methodist Church to put up our community engagement posters. These included eco-friendly travel maps designed to encourage visitors to reduce their carbon footprints by choosing sustainable transport options. Alongside these, we installed interactive boards that invited people to share how they typically travel to the church, fostering engagement and awareness. We also presented visual prompts that outlined the sustainable strategies being considered in our project.

DAY 7 – From Research to Resolution
As we moved further into the production phase, Day 7 marked a deepening of both vision and detail.

Proposed Drawings
The team continued producing key drawings that represent the changes we’re proposing for the church.

Energy Efficiency Diagrams
These diagrams explored a range of energy-focused strategies, including the use of passive design principles, improvements to insulation and the building’s thermal envelope, enhanced natural ventilation and daylighting techniques, and the potential integration of renewable energy systems.

DAY 8 – Focused and Ongoing
As the submission deadline approaches, Day 8 was all about focus, coordination, and collective momentum.

Ongoing Production
All team members remained actively involved in content creation. While some focused on polishing drawings and diagrams, others worked on finalising spreads for the publication.

Internal Reviews
Throughout the day, we held mini check-ins to review progress and give each other feedback. This helped identify gaps, clarify intentions, and strengthen the overall cohesion of our proposal.

DAY 9 – Final Push
With the submission just around the corner, Day 9 was all about focus, urgency, and teamwork.

Last Refinements and Output
Everyone was fully immersed in finalising their assigned sections. From redrawing diagrams to updating site visuals, adjusting line weights, cleaning up layouts, and refining titles—each small detail was revisited to ensure the final publication is coherent and polished.

DAY 10 – Completion
Our final day marked the culmination of two weeks of collaborative research, design, and production. With the last edits completed and visuals finalised, we submitted our publication.

Submission
The booklet brings together everything we’ve developed. We presented our work as a team, walking through both the process and the outcome with clarity and pride.

Looking Back (and Celebrating)
This project has been a journey of interdisciplinary thinking, communication, and teamwork. We’ve not only engaged with architectural design and sustainability principles, but also with real community needs, translating research into meaningful, site-specific ideas.