On Monday, 17th February 2025, we had our first virtual meeting in the evening. This meeting was essential to align our thoughts and gain a better understanding of our stakeholder, Mike’s aims for Victoria Baths.

We discussed the site conditions observed during our visit and proposed potential strategies and ideas for Victoria Baths. Additionally, we allocated tasks to each group member and planned another site visit, along with a digital workshop for our new team members. This will ensure that everyone is proficient with the same software, facilitating smoother coordination.

Hey there, I’m Zhi!

Course: MArch 1
Atelier: Some Kind of Nature

I’m from Malaysia and grew up in a multiracial background, so picking up languages comes pretty easily to me, one of my little superpowers!

I graduated from the University of Sheffield and have been working in interior design, focusing on commercial spaces like workspaces, retail, and hospitality. I’m pretty handy when it comes to joinery and technical details, and you’ll usually find me deep in Adobe Creative Cloud, AutoCAD, or SketchUp, bringing designs to life.

I chose Manchester Climate Alliance because I’m interested in eco-strategies and how they can work within local building laws, especially for listed buildings. Plus, renewable energy fascinates me, and I’d love to explore how these ideas can shape future projects, whether in my second year or even further down the line.

When I’m not geeking out over architecture and design, you’ll probably find me hiking up a hill, going for a run, or whipping up some delicious Asian food. My speciality? Chicken Satay is guaranteed to make anyone smile!

Day 3 : Workshop Day – Rhino Time!

Roy’s a total pro at Rhino, so he gave the team a quick intro workshop to help us get to grips with the interface. Some of us aren’t too familiar with the software, so it was a great chance to explore and play around a bit instead of just powering through the assignment.

Not everyone has Rhino, though it’s a bit pricey, but luckily the computer room at MTC has it installed. So when it’s time to whip up diagrams or models in Rhino, a few of us will be heading over there to get stuck in soon.

Day 3 : Workshop Day – Revit & Twinmotion Magic!

Alexia, one of our brilliant team members, is a bit of a pro when it comes to Revit and Twinmotion. She walked us through the basics, just enough so the rest of the team could start getting to grips with the software and use it for coordinating plans and drawings more smoothly.

She also showed off a fun way to use Twinmotion, proper handy stuff! It’s especially useful for the BA1 and BA2 students as they start gearing up for their next design projects in the new academic year.

Day 3 (Half Day) – 2 pm to 6 pm

After a busy morning getting stuck into the workshop for Rhino, Revit, and Twinmotion, we had a well-earned lunch break. Then it was back to business, or rather, into group mode!

We split into two teams to prepare for tomorrow’s big presentation to the client. One group dove headfirst into the design scheme, while the other tackled building regulations and cooked up a proposed heating system for the (very characterful) Grade-listed building.

Plenty of teamwork, a dash of problem-solving, and just the right amount of pre-presentation panic.

Day 4 : Presentation Day to the Client

After a solid brainstorming session and splitting up the work on Wednesday, we managed to pull the whole presentation together for our client. We used Google Slides, which turned out to be a lifesaver! It made things smoother for those working remotely, helped anyone who needed a bit more time, and gave us the flexibility to polish things up nicely.

We presented all our ideas, focusing on Victoria Baths, both the design scheme and the renewable energy systems. Then came the surprise! Our client, Alexander, dropped a bit of a bombshell. We’d always known there was a potential second site still under discussion, but it turned out AG Church Manchester (run by The Dandelion Community) was already fully budgeted and way more open and welcoming to fresh ideas.

After the meeting, we regrouped and decided to focus on both sites. Our new plan? To create a retrofit guide showcasing renewable energy strategies, both active and passive, tailored for listed buildings like Victoria Baths, and more modern but decent spaces like AG Church. This guide would act as a blueprint to demonstrate how CORE (Community Owned Renewable Energy) can be applied across different building types in the UK.

Day 5 : Fully Loaded Friday

Following on from Thursday’s discussions, we kicked off the day by tidying everything up, setting a consistent font style, size, and colour scheme across the whole publication. Got to keep it looking sharp and professional!

We also decided to relocate to the breakout area at Geoffrey Manton. The room we were originally given (also in the same building) just wasn’t cutting it for group work; it was too cramped and didn't have the best vibe for teamwork. So, we made the executive decision to move to the ground floor, which was much more spacious and collaborative.

Once settled, we divided up the tasks and made sure everyone’s contributing at least one page for next week’s submission. Teamwork makes the dream work, after all!

And shout-out to Lisa, our brilliant Budget Controller, who came through with muffins and cookies to keep us fuelled. Working hard and snacking smart.

Day 6: First Day of the Intense Week

Ah, Monday, forever wearing its blue badge of honour. Not always the most productive day, let’s be honest, but as long as we stick together and share out the tasks, we will get things done!

Our client Mike popped in for a quick 3 pm catch-up. It was a bit of an impromptu one, we ended up presenting what was already in motion, especially after Alexander (yep, same CORE client!) filled us in on what went down last Thursday. Mike seemed to get the gist of where we’re at, and there’s a good chance we’ll book in another meeting once the draft’s ready to roll.

We’re aiming to have the draft wrapped up by Wednesday (Day 8), which should give us some breathing room to tweak and tidy everyone’s bits. Fingers crossed it all goes smoothly, no chaos, just good vibes and solid teamwork! 🤞✨

Day 7: Second Day of the Intense Week

The mood's definitely picked up again, everyone’s heads down and cracking on with their tasks. The BA students are mainly focused on developing active and passive systems for their assigned venues. It’s a great experience for them, and they’ll probably fly through it when it comes to next year’s design projects!

Roy (MArch) has been a legend with the 3D modelling, he’s clearly the Rhino wizard of the group. It’s a big help, especially with all the intricate detailing at Victoria Baths, which is a bit more ornate compared to Dandelion.

Zhi (MArch) and I took on the cover page design, going the hand-drawn route, which takes a bit longer, but it should look lovely in the end, fingers crossed!

Alexia (MArch) had work commitments for half the day (trooper!), But she joined us after lunch to carry on with the MSA Live project. Fair play to her, juggling part-time work and this intense week isn’t easy!

Lisa and Yiyo (Adaptive Reuse) were teaming up on some adorable little drawings and a lovely intro for our client and team members, super sweet and really brings a personal touch to the project!

Day 8: First Draft of the Booklet

We’ve (finally!) managed to gather about 80% of the material from our teammates, not bad considering we set ourselves the goal of finishing the first draft today (we’re a very sensible bunch, promise). This means we can spend tomorrow filling in the gaps rather than scrambling last minute, because a Friday rush-job is a big NO NO for our group. Hopefully, we’ll be chill by then… and maybe even have time to celebrate the end of our Live Project!

We also gave some of the 3D visuals a little glow-up, polishing them for the 10 images requirement in our submission, gotta make sure they stand out!

Day 9: Refining the First Draft

We’re so close now! Today was all about refining and tidying things up, making everything feel more consistent, cohesive, and just generally slick. To be fair, the BA students had already done loads earlier on, so most of them took a well-deserved breather today. It’s now the postgrads holding the fort, making sure everything’s polished to perfection for the final push!

We’ve managed to refine about 80% of the booklet, aiming to wrap it all up tomorrow, Day 10, the grand finale of MSA Live! Then it's food, drinks, and a proper celebration. We’ve earned it.

On top of that, we took a bit of time to reflect on the BA students' engagement and contributions, not going to lie, most people have been absolute stars. Some even went above and beyond (you know who you are 👏). Hopefully, the review reflects all that effort with some well-deserved extra marks!

Day 10: Final Touch-Ups and Noodles of Glory (Half Day)

The final day at MSA! We’d pretty much wrapped everything up, so we just rocked up for one last check before presenting to our client, Mike. Sadly, Alexander (also from CORE) couldn’t join us, off celebrating her birthday, the cheeky thing.

Once everything was ready, we headed out for some Chinese beef noodles to refuel, because let’s be honest, no one can deliver a decent presentation on an empty stomach. Starving brains make shaky slides!

Day 10: Presentation & Signing off

After our glorious noodle-fuelled lunch, we headed back to campus for the grand finale, the presentation. Mike, our client, was well chuffed. He couldn’t believe we pulled it all off in under 10 days. (And no, we didn’t touch the weekends, weekends are sacred. That’s sofa and snack time, not spreadsheets and stress time.)

The Dandelion site dropped on us out of nowhere, but we still managed to deliver. We didn’t even step foot on site, but thanks to Alexander (our CORE undercover agent), who visited last Friday and handed over everything like a mission-critical drop, we had all the images and plans we needed.

All in all, these two weeks were intense. Not just the workload, the coordination, the pace, the personalities. Herding cats might have been easier. But we made it, and we’re honestly pretty proud of ourselves for smashing it out on time.

Massive thanks to the MSA Live team and our mighty Team 38 legends. You know who you are, absolute heroes!!