MSA Live 26

Poster Development

We arrived with various ideas and iterations before gathering for thought exchanges. This collage illustrates the thought process we went through before arriving at the final poster!

Posted 30 Mar 2026 22:58

Site Visit #1

Following our meeting with the collaborator, we visited the site during school lunchtime. Greeted by Mr. Smith and the representatives from the student bodies, we explored the school and its facilities, which included the grass pitch and mud playground.

Suggested by the student body, logs on the front grass should be secured into the ground for safety, and more plantations are needed for biodiversity. The parking area also requires reorientation to improve mobility and multifunctionality. Staff suggested an outdoor reading area and extra spaces for kids to be physically involved, installed roofs on benches for rain coverage, and a proper storage room for tricycles.

Summarising the demands, following the school’s values, we would like to incorporate designs where students take the initiative to explore and discover what is around them. We hope to encourage sustainable development in a manner that fosters pupils’ wellbeing, environmental awareness, and experiential learning across the curriculum.

We took pictures, measurements, and sketches, recording the potentials of the landscape and design ideas catering to users’ needs. Also, we had some great conversations with the students and staff. The day ended with us summarising our findings and sharing our observations in the library. Just cannot wait to see how we bring our final design to life!

Posted 30 Mar 2026 22:38

Day 3 - Design and March Submission Refinements

We started off with research to gather inspirations to develop our design.We also layered our plan and budgets along with safety considerations that had to be considered and well planned before our interaction with the children in the school. Our initial aim was to visit the school and conduct our activities on the following Monday but due to various reasons we decided with our tutor to postpone the action for more preparation. It cleared our minds by highlighting the key stages in our projected timeline. This allows us to track our progress and work efficiently. Our day ends with our continuous exploration of design ideas.

Posted 30 Mar 2026 22:34

Day 2 - Second Meeting

The day focused primarily on refining our project's visual direction and establishing clear next steps for the March outputs (Project timeline, Ethics application, Risk assessment, and Budget). With previous feedback, we opened the session by presenting our latest poster and sharing reflections from our recent site visit with our tutor, which offered us fresh perspectives to refine our design. The key decision was to shift our background palette to a more vibrant orange from pink, followed by minor adjustments to typography and element and graphical illustration placement. This choice was driven by a desire to create stronger visual contrast and balance while conceptually echoing the kids' playfulness and the earthy essence of mud. We also divided responsibilities following the review: Qistina and Anagha on the poster, Sylvia on site research, and the rest continuing conceptual development and organizing existing resources. Most importantly, we maintained a collaborative atmosphere to advance our proposals and get the most out of them.

Posted 30 Mar 2026 22:30

Group 30 / HARTLEY HUTTERS

Day 1 - Meeting the Committees and the Collaborator

We started off the day with some fun icebreakers to get to know each other. It was nice to see everyone sharing their interests and stories. We then moved on to developing our goals with the focus on two core concepts of “biodiversity” and “community”. We decided to name our project the “Growth Maps”.

It was also exciting to meet Mr. Andy Smith, our collaborator, the head of Moor Allerton Preparatory School, for the first time! We discussed and exchanged thoughts and ideas for the design project and assigned roles. What an eventful start!

Posted 30 Mar 2026 22:28

Yiran H

Finalising Design Directions & Preparing for the Site Meeting
17 March 2026

In our fourth group session, we focused on consolidating design ideas and planning for the upcoming site meeting on 31 March. The team engaged in detailed brainstorming on the interior spaces of the Hartley Huts, reviewed initial sketches and material studies, and incorporated structured feedback on our project plan from our tutor Jason.

To prepare for the client presentation, we have outlined the following deliverables and divided tasks accordingly. BA1 and Foundation students will take the lead in developing material studies, ramp proposals, and an indicative site plan that highlights key interventions—including the volunteer hub, heritage display hut, bridge upgrades, accessible ramp, seating areas, and seasonal event features.

The goal is to communicate our design intent clearly and gather valuable feedback, which will help us refine the proposals in the coming weeks leading to the final presentation.

We are all set for an insightful client meeting and look forward to sharing our progress!

Posted 30 Mar 2026 20:47

Group 30 / HARTLEY HUTTERS

Yiran H

Site Visit to Albert Dock, Liverpool
3 March 2026

The site visit offered a rare and valuable opportunity to access the Hartley Huts, a Grade II listed heritage structure, which significantly deepened our understanding of the project. Being able to enter the structures allowed us to experience its spatial and material qualities firsthand, beyond what drawings or photographs could convey.

The visit was highly productive, as it sparked a wide range of new ideas and directions for our design. Observing the existing conditions, structure, and atmosphere helped clarify both the potentials and constraints of working within a heritage context. It also made us more aware of the sensitivity required when intervening in such a historically significant site.

Engaging with our collaborators, particularly Canal & River Trust volunteers and Architect Richard Banks, provided valuable professional insight. Conversations with both the architects and the volunteers enriched our understanding of the site’s history, ongoing use, and community value.

Overall, the experience has been extremely helpful in shaping our design approach. It reinforced the importance of on-site engagement and collaboration, and it will directly inform more grounded, context-sensitive proposals moving forward.

Posted 30 Mar 2026 20:38

Group 02 / SALE THROUGH TIME

Harmonie C

This afternoon, we had a Teams call with our collaborator, Steve. We discussed outputs and had a conversation about the structure of the festival day. It was really useful to stay in touch, not only as a team, but also to ensure that Steve understands the creative direction we’re moving in and remains involved every step of the way.

Posted 30 Mar 2026 17:11

Group 16 / ACTIVE AXIS

Harry B

For our engagement session, once preparation was complete and despite all the hail, the engagement team managed to travel to our site. Our activities surrounded 2 primary questions about the area; the first was a post-it note pin-up board with the question being “what challenges do you [the clientele] face when coming [to the site].” This allowed the public to write their own opinions on the matter, giving us information on what the public thought could improve the area. The engagement for this was good, but contributions were more related towards access, such as car parks and paths, as well as events the leisure centre hosts. However, the second engagement activity was much more successful; we printed out a cartoon map of our selected area alongside various fun models of potential outdoor appliances with the intention being that the participating public could create their own ideal outdoor space. This was placed alongside the question “What would your perfect outdoor space look like?” This activity gave us a range of different responses across all ages; the younger audience preferred a playground area, including slides and climbing frames. Some of the older members agreed with this, including seating areas to watch their kids and to relax after the gym, whereas some just preferred a nice seating area with a lot of greenery which we noticed was absent in the surrounding area, a place to have a picnic for example after the gym. A common theme was not to include outdoor gym equipment, as a lot of the members were content with all the equipment in the gym. Overall, this engagement activity gave us a variety of useful opinions on what the site needs and how we can please all members of the leisure centre.

Posted 27 Mar 2026 16:40

Cayden Kai Shen K

Hi, I'm Cayden, a first year architecture student. I grew up in Malaysia and, so far, studying in Manchester has given me an entirely new outlook on architecture on top of my previous perspective.

In this project, I am excited to gain some insight into the experience of working in real-life industry and the dynamic of between collaborating parties, in this case between MSA and The Rossendale Digital CIC.

Posted 26 Mar 2026 16:37

Group 33 / THE MOBEELITY HUBS

Haoyan D

Session 6: Collaborator Meeting and Workshop Planning

This week’s session focused on our meeting with the collaborator and on clarifying how the upcoming workshop should be structured. It was a useful discussion that helped us move from vague ideas towards something more organised and realistic.

A key part of the conversation was about participation. While the ideal number would be around fifteen people, we discussed that the main requirement from the university’s point of view is to have at least eight participants over the age of eighteen. This brought ethics and safeguarding into the discussion, especially around how information will be collected, explained, and stored safely. It was a reminder that community engagement is not only about generating ideas, but also about making sure the process is responsible and well managed.

We also talked through how we want to present our ideas during the workshop. Rather than arriving with a fixed proposal, we agreed that it would be better to keep things open and allow participants to shape the direction of the project. Floor plans, site images and precedent references were suggested as useful tools to help people visualise possibilities and respond more easily. We also discussed print formats and how large the plans should be, thinking about how people could interact with them through stickers, notes or annotations.

One of the most interesting parts of the discussion was around the actual purpose of the space. Although the project is connected to a church setting, the conversation raised the possibility that the final outcome may be more community-focused than strictly religious. This felt important, as it showed that the brief is still developing and that the workshop will play a real role in defining what the project becomes.

By the end of the session, tasks were becoming clearer. Images and screenshots from the meeting were being shared, a written summary was planned, and responsibilities for the blog post and follow-up were assigned. Overall, this meeting helped us feel more prepared and more aligned as a group.

A productive and necessary step forward. Less about final answers, more about setting up the right questions.

Posted 26 Mar 2026 09:44

Natrada Y

Today we had yet another successful meeting. We started as usual looking the research and produce we brought in. As the MAs continue to work through the 3D maps, the MArchs and the BAs discuss the hub’s materiality, furniture, location and innovation sustainable features. This will allow us to scope down the range of our design output later on. After narrowing down the useful ideas, we revised out timeline and confirmed the date April 21st as our engagement day, working to gain public opinion. We tasked ourselves with bringing in materials and completion of the 3D maps. Additional meetings before the date will be informed through our group chat as usual. We got this!

Posted 25 Mar 2026 16:26

Group 24 / THE SECOND ACT

10/02/26
Following Sethika and Aidira’s meeting with Walaa, our group decided to take Walaa’s advice to further educate ourselves about South Sudan by watching „Goodbye Julie”. We then discussed our experiences watching the film in our following meeting.

Posted 25 Mar 2026 16:09

Juwan EG

W5.2: 24/03/2026
Post collaborator meeting: In general, feedback was great! The collaborators were happy with our engagement strategy, and they gave us good advice on what to implement to make it even more engaging, especially for our non-architecture audience, like printing our precedents for them to choose from and potentially including a collage activity.
In terms of our layered section proposals, we started to consider alternative divisions of the theatre's interior space; however, this would be influenced by the outcome of our engagement activity.

Posted 25 Mar 2026 10:12

Group 24 / THE SECOND ACT

Juwan EG

W5.1: 24/03/2026
Attendance doubled! We are back on track after communicating how important it is for us to work collectively. Today marked our 3rd meeting with the collaborators; hence, we met earlier in the day, finalised our engagement along with visuals that we would incorporate into it. The community venue we were in contact with got back to us with the specific dates, and we sketched, then presented our developed ideas to the collaborators. This was our most productive day yet.

Posted 25 Mar 2026 09:56

Group 24 / THE SECOND ACT

Juwan EG

W4: 17/03/2026
Although our group's attendence was low, we managed to finalise our proposed concept that we have been developing from precedents and the meetings with our collaborators. This then led us to start planning on how and where we would engage with the Salford community in order for them to inform how we would execute and design a space that would meet their demand.

Posted 25 Mar 2026 09:47

Group 33 / THE MOBEELITY HUBS

Natrada Y

Like every other Tuesday sessions, we started with a lecture where a few third year masters of Architecture came to talk about their own MSA live project and give us useful insights as we arrive on the mid point of our project time lines. Our afternoon session started with the whole group exploring each other’s design ideas merging our design strengths to finalise a structure for our Mobeelity hub. To locate a point in our site to set the hub up, the team needed a map. This was when the bachelors of architecture received a short but informative, quick guide to making 3D maps from Aleksandra, while the other focus on the other aspects of our new designs. To end the day, we tasked each person to produce, design and create accordingly to their strengths and will touch base again next Wednesday. We are very proud of our pace and our team work that allows our project to bud at this speed. 17/March/2026

Posted 25 Mar 2026 01:53

Group 08 / UNDER ONE ROOF

Angeline Chia Ling O

17 March 2026 @ Sam Alex

/ Fortnightly Progress Meeting
Today’s agenda was to discuss the details of what we are going to do during the engagement session with the Mossley community, and grouping ourselves into small teams to handle different tasks based on our strengths.

Posted 24 Mar 2026 22:22

Group 08 / UNDER ONE ROOF

Angeline Chia Ling O

3 March 2026 @ Sam Alex

/ Fortnightly Progress Meeting
This week, we worked in different groups to complete assigned tasks, then came together to review and finalise the work before submitting it as a final document.

Posted 24 Mar 2026 22:13

Group 32 / STREET RECLAIM

Catalina GM

Week 4 - 17/03/2026

This week marked a shift from analysis towards direct engagement with the schools. Building upon our understanding of each site, as well as previous meetings with our collaborators regarding community engagement, we began planning how to involve the children and local users in shaping the design of their school streets.

A key focus of this session was balancing how to engage the children in a way that felt both accessible and empowering. We discussed possible activities where the children could feel as though they are actively reclaiming their streets through their design ideas. We also wanted the activity to serve as valuable insight and evidence to support the importance of the project, demonstrating how our design proposals would be directly rooted in the needs and aspirations of the school communities.

Possible ideas we explored for the engagement activities included using playful and temporary methods, such as water-based paint or chalk, allowing the children to directly draw on their ideas onto their streets. We also considered activities that could better fit within the children’s school schedules. One option was to set a simple design task they could do over the Easter holidays where the children could draw and write on a simplified site plan of their street.

Overall, the aim is to keep the task open-ended and easy to understand for the age group, while still generating meaningful insights that can inform our design proposals.

Looking ahead, the next stages of the project will involve organising visits to the schools and implementing these engagements activities. The outcomes of this process will eventually be developed into individual design schemes for each school site.

Posted 24 Mar 2026 21:16

24/03/2026

After a successful meeting last week, we met up to show off ideas and concepts to develop the Dandelion Community. The concepts ranged from a focus on heat and energy, to water, and to accommodating the neurodivergent users of our site, and how areas of the site can be redeveloped to improve the experience of the users of the site. Everyone brought many insightful ideas to the table, and all are to be considered and brought back to the collaborator to meet their needs for our project. As well as this, there was a successful meeting with our collaborator this morning, further refining our ideas and understanding of what Dandelion needs.

Posted 24 Mar 2026 19:03

Group 09 / COMMON GROUND

Joyce Z

The Research Round- 17/03/26

Today our team met up to discuss and review survey questions aiming to gather ideas and interests from students in Wigan for the youth club. We discussed how to design clear and engaging questions that would help us to understand what locals of Wigan would benefit from the space. We also took some time to research our site: St Nathaniel's Church, exploring its location, accessibility, facilities and potential to create a welcoming, safe environment for future youth activities.
With that being said...

Tickets booked...
Everyone on board...
Next stop... Wigan!

Stay tuned for our road trip :)

Posted 23 Mar 2026 19:56

Keeleigh P

Meeting 4

20.03.2026

During this meeting, the team discussed the framework for the engagement activity. All the brainstormed ideas from each member will be brought up in a meeting with Sonja and Mary who has agreed to help us with arranging a stall at the Market hall. We have set out three activities that will be arranged for the groups Sonja has contacted to attend on the day. We are hoping to book the 3rd April as it is a bank holiday and increased footfall could help with collecting information and data that could inform our proposal. The three activities loosely discussed are:

- Question Boards with sticky note ideas/participant contributions
- Paper folding combined with large scale printed floor plan and photography
- Floor plan annotations and illustrations, pin up massing activity

These ideas will be more detailed and tightened up with timing, equipment and members tasks on the day clearly defined following a meeting with the collaborators.

Posted 23 Mar 2026 13:46

Keeleigh P

Updated group timeline/programme

As a team, we grouped the task we need to upkeep as the weeks pass. Each task is to be completed by a certain point to ensure we get the needed feedback to inform the next stage of development. This activity was carried out by the First Year students, working collaboratively to set out a clear, concise and realistic timeline for us all to follow till the end.

Posted 23 Mar 2026 13:33

Group 20 / DENS OF DISCOVERY

Keeleigh P

06.03.2026

Matt, Vishal, Maria and Keeleigh visited Victoria Hall and was guided on a tour of the existing building by Sonja and Mary from Friends of Victoria Hall. On the day, the head of the orchestra group was setting up their equipment for a rehearsal session later that day. Whilst being shown around, we were joined by Steven from Fold Creative and Kate who spoke about the history of the town and the significance of Victoria Hall to the residents in Glossop.

The key takeaways from the visits were that there has been a lot of complications with the council and funding for the regeneration of the first floor hall and the efficiency in use of the ground floor currently. Plans to have additional WCs and a separate entrance to the side to improve circulations have been underway. However, there has been some delays that has left our collaborators FOVH frustrated. It seems to be down to a funding issue as in our conversations that were a lot of ideas for the potential of the ground and lower ground floors of Victoria Hall. The current use of the back rooms are a bar/tea refreshment room for events and storage.

It is essential for us, moving forward, to address not only the flexibility of the large space but also find a solution to the lack of storage space that is accessible yet discreet. During our visit, we also went to the newly opened market hall to see the success in footfall and impact on the community. This is a potential space to hold our engagement activity as its location will allow us to reach members of the public and the specific user groups who Sonja agreed to arrange a meeting with during the engagement day.

Posted 23 Mar 2026 13:22

Charles S

In our fourth MSA LIVE group meeting, we consolidated our approach to initiating the conceptual design phase of the scheme. Framing our outputs as four distinct Dens of Discovery, we structured the discussion around three core strands: form and structure (including the use of natural and recycled materials), function (defining the intended use of each dwelling), and site placement (identifying specific locations informed by key landmarks and areas of interest).

Through early sketch iterations, consideration of how non-human actors might be indirectly embedded within the design, and a review of individual material and spatial preferences across the group, we established a clear and workable direction for the next stage of development.

All will be revealed soon enough!

Posted 19 Mar 2026 22:20

Group 17 / SEEDS TO SEATS

Elvira AJ

Hi, my name is Elvira I am originally from Spain but also grew up in London. I am a BA1 student particularly interested in building community through the use of social spaces in architecture, so I am really excited about how our project in Worthington Park!

Posted 19 Mar 2026 16:08

Group 16 / ACTIVE AXIS

Zoya K

17/03/26 - fourth meeting date
In our fourth annual group meeting, we planned our engagement activities for the upcoming site visit. As part of this, we decided that we will create small maquettes that participants can interact with during the visit. These will allow participants to physically place and arrange elements on the floor plan, encouraging hands-on involvement and helping us better understand their preferences and priorities.
In addition, we agreed to include a QR code on our poster that links to a Google Form. This will act as another engagement tool, enabling us to gather feedback from a wider audience in a quick and accessible way.
We discussed and confirmed potential dates for the site visit, ensuring that everyone is prepared for the next stage of the project. Overall, this meeting was productive in clarifying our design ideas and planning effective ways to engage with the community.

Posted 18 Mar 2026 23:33

Group 11 / GROUNDS OF HEALING

Ho Ching M

During our site visit, precise measurements were conducted. Integrating these with the existing floor plans provided by our collaborator, we have developed digital models in both Rhino and SketchUp to serve as the foundation for subsequent design development. Our next phase of engagement will involve generating drawings and renderings to explore and present design options for our end-users.

Posted 18 Mar 2026 22:07

Diona I

3/3/26

SESSION 3: GROUP PROGRESS AND PLANNING

During this session, we were tasked with completing our risk assessment, budget proposal, and project proposal. As a group, we discussed how our project would develop over time, carefully planning a timeline that would allow us to make the most of the work ahead.

We identified two key groups from the list provided by our collaborator that we would engage with for the upcoming workshops, ensuring that our approach is both relevant and inclusive. Alongside this, we began outlining a budget plan based on the resources and materials we anticipate needing. We also had a discussion with our tutor to better understand the purpose of the risk assessment and how we could minimise potential risks during site visits and throughout the project.

In addition, we started working on our Ethos application, considering how our project aligns with broader values and responsibilities. As a group, we had an open conversation about what is important to us within this project, reflecting on how we are distributing roles, whether any adjustments are needed, and what we each hope to gain from the experience moving forward.

Posted 18 Mar 2026 12:31

Group 11 / GROUNDS OF HEALING

Diona I

17/2/26

SESSION 2: SITE VISIT

Today we had our second meeting as a group, where we visited the site in Altrincham and were hosted by our collaborator Mark. During the morning, we were introduced to what the Counselling and Family Centre stands for and the values they promote. We were given a tour of the building, had the opportunity to meet some of the staff, and gained insight into what makes the space meaningful to those who use it.

Following this, we gathered in the community area, which is the focus of our design project, and discussed the needs of the collaborator and what he hopes to achieve from this redesign. As a group, we began to brainstorm ideas around how the space could be improved, considering aspects such as facilities, potential funding, and how the space could better support its users. We agreed to begin producing renders and plans that could be useful for Mark moving forward, as well as exploring the possibility of running workshops to engage with the community and better understand the different groups using the space.

After the meeting, we carried out initial site measurements to support our next steps. This visit marked an important shift in our project, as it provided us with a clearer direction and a stronger understanding of how to move forward as a team.

Posted 18 Mar 2026 12:22

Daria A

User engagement was a central part of our project to allow us to understand the needs, experiences and aspirations of the young people who use the space. To better understand the youth centre’s environment, we engaged with regular participants who consistently contribute their time to the space at the Talkshop, aged between 11 to 19.

We started to engage through informal discussions, annotated floor plans- where participants could sketch over them and add their ideas-and the use of a model as a visual guide. This helped us gain insight into what the space needs, its value to the people and the challenges they experience on a daily basis. It will help us further develop the youth centre to ensure that we provide an inclusive and engaging environment for the youth.

Posted 18 Mar 2026 10:14

Group 27 / BLOOM WELL

Al-Megdad AH

Workshop prep

Our group met again today, powered by good vibes and even better weather. We discussed our upcoming workshop activity, agreed on a date, and set out clear action points for the next few weeks to help us prepare. We also received feedback on our timeline, budget proposal, and risk assessment. By the end of the meeting, the group split up to refine and finish these documents.

Posted 18 Mar 2026 00:06

Group 05 / WHERE STILLNESS LIVES

Rouba M

Hi! I’m Rouba, a first-year Architecture student at MSA. I’m really excited to take part in MSA Live, as it is a valuable opportunity to connect with architecture students across different year groups and gain insight from their experiences. I’m particularly looking forward to developing my skills and contributing positively to spaces within our communities.

Posted 18 Mar 2026 00:06

Hin L

17/3/26

This session marked a clear shift from discussion to definition. We concentrated on finalising our ethics application and preparing thoroughly for next week’s site visit — organising consent forms, documentation, and structuring potential interviews with members of the public in a respectful and transparent manner. The emphasis was on responsibility: ensuring we actively listen and accurately represent the community’s voice.

Ruiqi then brought our previous conversations into focus through a confident architectural pitch. He synthesised our ideas into a coherent design theory, outlining a spatial direction aligned with both our chosen users and Monton Unitarian Church. As a group, we offered refinements and strengthened key elements, encouraged by how close the proposal feels to realisation.

We now approach the site visit with clarity and momentum. With the core concept established, we are progressing into 3D modelling and visual experimentation, developing the scheme in direct response to Anna’s brief and the wider ethos of the church.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 21:50

Kobe DJ

Hi There! I'm Kobe, an MArch 1 student at the Manchester School of Architecture, currently representing the CPU Ai Atelier. I undertook my BArch at Portsmouth School of Architecture, before working with a renowned London-based architecture practice called ACA Studios.

Looking forward, my ultimate hope is to contribute in the spaces between architecture and art; where skills are transfered to the more experimentative disciplines such as the entertainment arts, film and video games. I am keen to engage with the collaborative contexts of this live project, and anticipate our team's success in the contributions of each of our individual passions and interests.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 21:09

Esta M

Session 5: The Carpet Session (Accountability Hour)

This session, now officially known as the "Carpet Session", was all about reflection, review, and collaboration

We revisited our blog posts, filled in the gaps, and made sure we had shared accountability.

The highlight (and slight reality check) was our review with the tutor. It was a genuinely productive session where we realised that while splitting into mini teams felt efficient, it also left a few gaps in our submissions. We now acknowledge we should all stay in the loop, or we all suffer the consequences. Enhancing our communication is now our main priority.

On the bright side, we’re leaving more organised and aligned. We set future dates to meet with our collaborator and started discussing initial design ideas, this time with everyone on the same page (literally and metaphorically).

A bit humbling, very useful, and definitely necessary. The Carpet Session has spoken.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 17:13

Group 18 / GROUP 18

Yisheng L

17/03/2026. Group brainstorm seesion with Matt. We discussed ideas for potential activities and considered what the final level of completion for the project might look like. Matt also provided feedback on several details, such as the project background and strategies for encouraging public participation in the activity survey.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 16:20

Group 18 / GROUP 18

Yisheng L

The first group of walkers—Noah, Sehar, Yisheng, and Ruth—each completed on-site walking surveys of their selected stages of the GM Ringway. They experienced the current conditions of three different stages firsthand and shared their individual observations, impressions, and identified issues.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 16:15

Group 18 / GROUP 18

Yisheng L

17/02/2026 POSTER SESSION: We discussed several poster drafts, then selected two of them for further refinement, and ultimately decided to choose Jawad’s work as our final poster.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 16:10

Group 07 / HART HAT CAFE

Ai Jia Angelove L

Ethics Said “No” (So We Try Again)

Setting up the project! With the 6 March submission deadline looming, last week was a bit of a ‘get our act together’ moment as we worked through submissions for the project timeline, ethics application, risk assessment, and budget proposal - tedious, but necessary planning bits.

We mapped out a timeline structured through project stages and weekly tasks, from early definition and briefing through concept design, coordination, technical development, and final handover. It became painfully clear what depends on what, especially that engagement has to wait for ethical approval. We received feedback soon after submission and found our ethics application needed more work, so we’re now reworking it properly around being respectful and explicit on consent, inclusion, and representation.

Alongside that, we completed a risk assessment covering things like model-making, site visits, and public engagement, with controls in place to reduce risk. Finally, we submitted a budget proposal capped at £100, balancing practical needs (materials, printing, travel, stakeholder refreshments) with the most important line item: a “submission treat (pizza!)” to keep morale intact.

With the planning in place, we can move forward with a clearer structure, shared expectations, and (hopefully) less chaos.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 16:08

17/03/2026

Today started with the group deciding that we could perhaps live without windows in Crawford House, but the distinct lack of tables in our seminar room was agreed upon to be not okay. Once some tables had been successfully located, a spread of images plans and tracing paper flooded the table with the aim of ‘spewing out’ ideas onto paper. To match our client's needs, we first understood the heat issues of the 1960s building, being too cold in the summer as well as too hot in the winter, leading us to believe thermal alterations are a key part of our project. As well as this, the usage of the site needed to be considered for those with disabilities as well as elderly people, with them being the focus of Dandelion, forcing us to consider their specific needs and the adaption of the site required to meet these needs.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 16:07

Grace M

Today we met with the collaborator to discuss our ideas for the workshop activity and design. We met at the talkshop in Sale and were able to get a sense of the space and its potential. We found it beneficial to see the space in person, as it helped us better visualise the layout and how the workshop might run with the young people. It also allowed us to refine our ideas and feel more confident about the next steps.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 15:53

Group 34 / CYAN+

Liesje Amelie K

As a group we went out on a site exploration, following a suggested route that we developed for our project. Starting by Platt Fields Pond, we walked through the park, chatting and making note of the surrounding environment. We then walked through Rusholme, passing multiple green spaces and noting their clear potential, while also acknowledging drawbacks and how to tackle them. Our walking route ended in Whitworth park, and we then continued to the MTC to consolidate our thoughts and findings. It was a lovely way to both generate ideas from the site, and interact with each other more after our first meeting. This was a very valuable day!

Posted 17 Mar 2026 15:51

11/03/2026

With his experience, Nicholas led a tutorial session for Anne and Iliana, with a later one for Sean (who had other commitments at 256 Wilmslow Road at the time of the main meeting), on elevation drawing and guided the BA1s through drawing elevations from plans and images of the site, whilst using AutoCAD effectively and efficiently. Once completed, a 3D model of the site will be created for the community outreach plan and general use for the project.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 15:33

Group 10 / HYDE COMMUNITY COURTS

10/03/2026

After being taught AutoCAD, Rosie and Tan were able to produce a floor plan of Dandelion community, with help from a tutorial from Callum. The aim for this was to further aid in the production of a future model to help our community outreach scheme, in which we plan to use a 3D model to visualise our concepts, and with the help of the community involved, understand the needs the community require.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 15:32

Cristina BC

Session 3
In this session, we worked together figuring out our plans for workshopping with the children of the Hyde Community, finalising our pre-requisite forms such as the ethics waver, risk assessment, budget proposal, and timeline, finally we started to discuss our site analysis.

We started with finishing off and submitting our pre-requisite forms in order to meet the deadline of 13th March. Then after we moved to brainstorming our plans with the children of Hyde.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 15:18

Tin Yuet W

Session 4: Spreadsheets, Strategy & Serious Business (…Kind Of)

This session was where things got real. The creative chaos took a backseat as we split into mini teams, each tackling a different task: risk assessment, ethics application, budget, and project timeline.

It was less brainstorming and more "who knows how to use excel?". Each group dove into their task, piecing together the behind-the-scenes structure that makes Built to Belong more than just a great idea.

There were moments of intense focus, a few “wait, does this actually make sense?”

By the end, we had a solid foundation in place. Everything mapped out, justified, and ready to support our final submission.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 15:10

10/02/26
During this week our group began to form poster ideas, some of which we discussed over this weeks Teams meeting. We created a poll to get everyone’s ideas over WhatsApp on the posters, provided feedback and finalised the poster!

Posted 17 Mar 2026 15:04

Mariz Mamdouh Raafat L

Session 3: The “Just One More Tweak” Era

This session was all about refining and pulling everything together. Gathered around the screen, we reviewed our latest draft. We worked together to make tweaks, suggestions, and the occasional “wait, move that slightly to the left.”

It felt like everything was finally clicking into place. The ideas we’d been developing started to look like something real, something cohesive and something we were all genuinely proud of.

After much back-and-forth (and a surprising amount of agreement), we locked in our group name: Built to Belong. It just felt right, capturing both our concept and the spirit of our collaboration.

With final touches underway and submission in three days, stress will finish the work!

Posted 17 Mar 2026 15:04

10/02/26
We began with a brief discussion about the areas that we had covered in our
research (more to come on this next week!). A common theme that came up
throughout the research was sustainable agriculture and the part that this plays in
the curriculum of South Sudan.
We spoke again about how we could define the brief for the project. Through
communication with Laura, we think that our brief should focus on collecting
information about the future users of the school and their needs to create design
principles for the project. We will then use these principles to create concepts for
aspects of the new school.
We brought together a few different ideas for a name for the project and decided
that ‘Learning with Loreto’ described the key themes of learning, collaboration and
the Loreto schools.
Laura sent us a list of dates on which we could run workshops with the students at
Loreto Manchester and we decided on three that we thought would be at key times
throughout the project.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 15:02

Milia Marnissa Binti M

Task Division & Submission Prep
(03/03/2026)
Last week, we focused on organising our group work ahead of the 9 March deadline. We divided tasks across the ethics application, project timeline, risk assessment, and budget, ensuring each member was responsible for a specific area. We worked collaboratively to discuss our approach and prepare all documents for submission.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 15:00

Group 17 / SEEDS TO SEATS

Niamh H

Session 2: Brainstorms, Bold Ideas & Mild Chaos

Today was where the creativity began. Armed with our own ideas, we dove into brainstorming concepts for the group’s poster and name. Some of us flying solo like lone geniuses, others teaming up to bounce ideas around like a high-stakes game of creative ping-pong.

The room quickly filled with everything from “this could actually work” to “wait… what is that? Somehow, through the chaos, patterns started to emerge. Debates were had, sketches were scribbled, and a few questionable names were (thankfully) left behind.

By the end, we managed to land on a concept that everyone could get behind. It’s still a work in progress, but it’s got potential, personality, and just the right amount of chaos baked in.

Next stop: refining, developing, and turning this spark into something submission-ready. Stay tuned.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 14:59

Iris F

17/2/26 Second meeting

First we discussed the site visit such as the client’s ideas for insect housing and herb planters, levelling the slope and paving desire lines. We will continue correspondence via email about key challenges like the compost odour and fox den.

We also decided our outcome should be a series of adaptable furniture for which we will provide a 1:1 model and an educational time-lapse/ instruction manual to support it. This lead us to explore material sourcing options, including recycled wood from B15 workshop.

Lastly, we finalised the project title and poster design, published blog entries, and created a plan for upcoming deadlines.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 14:57

Sofia S

Name: Sofia Shahzad
Course: BA Architecture with foundation year

Hi! My name is Sofia, I’m from London and I’m a foundation year student at the MSA. I’m really excited to be participating in MSA Live and I’m hoping to learn a lot from my peers and also the project we are working on: creating a vibrant, accessible third space for all ages to celebrate microbiology and encourage learning and interaction.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 14:56

07/02/26 Sethika and Aidira had the pleasure of meeting a friend from North Sudan over coffee to discuss the cultural, political, and historical context of South Sudan. This is what they had to say: Her name is Walaa, she is North Sudanese, grew up in Saudi Arabia, and feels deeply for
the people in South Sudan. We learned about:
The civil war between North and South Sudan and how the latter became independent
How South Sudanese are victims of classism. She told a personal anecdote about a
relative adopting a little girl from South Sudan and how
How South Sudan is agriculturally rich and full of natural resources, but they remain a poor
country
Their dire economic state
How South Sudanese may move to North Sudan for better career prospects and still live in
poor conditions.
How the older generation of South Sudanese may bear resentment towards North Sudan
and how this perpetuates the social divide.
The way children are not encouraged to go to school and to start working from a very young
age.
After the discussion, we supplemented these takeaways with real statistics to support our
research. We also plan to watch the film Goodbye Julia, as per her recommendation, to aid
our understanding of systemic racism against South Sudan and the events leading up to
their independence in 2011. It was interesting to learn about the cultural differences as
well as movements like SPLM and conflicts between two different ethnic groups.
Reflection: We were engaging in more than just research. It felt like a cultural exchange as
we also identified shared struggles with our own cultures (Cambodia and Kazakhstan). This
prompted us to reflect on how we can utilize our education to heal our respective
countries, even throwing out little ideas about how we can do so.
Because our site is in Aweil, Sudan, we’re mostly limited to desktop research which I
anticipate may make us feel somewhat far removed from the project. However, having this
face-to-face interaction helped us feel closer to the project, to really feel for the
beneficiaries of Loreto College.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 14:56

Group 02 / SALE THROUGH TIME

03/02/2026
Following our initial group session, we met with collaborators Laura and Ian to discuss
the project brief and our first steps. Laura is a practising architect and educator, while
Ian is leader of the Sixth form at Loreto College Manchester.
The two gave us a brief description of the history of the Loreto Colleges, which were
founded using the guiding principles of Mary Ward, a Catholic nun and pioneer of
women’s education in the 17th century. Loreto College Hulme was the first of these,
founded in 1851. Today, there are 150 Loreto schools worldwide. This includes one in
Rumbek, South Sudan, which was founded in 2008. The civil war in Sudan meant that
the country’s infrastructure and education system had largely collapsed.
We have been tasked with creating a design concept for a girls’ school located in Aweil,
a town around 200 miles from the existing school in Rumbek. This is to be done in
collaboration with students in Loreto College Hulme’s Architecture Society through a
series of workshops, organised and coordinated by us. We’ve also been put in contact
with James, an architecture student who is working in South Sudan at present.
Questions were raised on whether we’d be able to communicate with students at the
school in Rumbek, as we all agreed that this would be important in informing our design
approach; however, we aren’t yet sure whether this would be possible.
Overall, today was a promising start to this exciting project. We look forward to meeting
the students in the Architecture Society and making our first design moves…

Posted 17 Mar 2026 14:53

Harmonie C

Last week, our team visited Sale for a really insightful day of research and exploration. We spent the morning with our collaborator, Steve, who kindly arranged a visit to Sale Library, where we were given access to the local archives. Being able to look through old maps and historical documents gave us a much deeper understanding of the area and its development over time. This was incredibly valuable in helping us begin to envision our contribution to the upcoming festival.

Later in the day, we visited the church and met with Reverend Becky, who shared the history of the building and explained its importance within the Sale community. Experiencing the space in person was particularly helpful, as it allowed us to start thinking more concretely about how the church could be used as part of the festival.

Beyond the practical insights, the visit also helped us feel more connected to the place and its people. Spending time in Sale and engaging directly with its history and community gave us a stronger foundation for developing a thoughtful and responsive proposal.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 14:52

Zeynep Y

Zeynep Yucel
Course: BA1

Hello! I’m Zeynep, I’m from Turkey and its my first year participating at MSA Live. I’m honored and excited to contribute to a real-world project while collaborating with peers at different stages of their education. I’m especially looking forward to learning from my peers, gaining new perspectives, and challenging my own way of thinking through collaboration.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 14:43

Group 31 / HOLT TOWN HIVE

23/02/2026

Today we had a site visit to complete a measured survey and meet staff, volunteers and community groups that use the space. Due to the lack of architectural drawings, a large portion of our visit was taking measurements so we could produce our own, to work towards a site model for our project and our clients. We decided to take a focus on redeveloping the space and making it a more sustainable community centre, working closely with the clients to develop a space that best worked for Dandelion community.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 14:38

Emre T

Our third MSA Live session focused on finalising our ethics application and having another site visit. We started by reviewing the ethics documents prepared last week, ensuring all our administrative documents were in line with the requirements. In doing so, we evaluated our planned community engagement activity and realised it required modification to align with our collaborator’s vision for the project. Taking this on board, we held a brainstorming session to develop a new engagement activity and updated our risk assessments to ensure it applies to our modified community engagement activity.

Once the ethics application was complete, we shifted our focus back to the site. The group travelled to Holt Town for another site visit, walking the stretch down to New Islington. This on-the-ground exploration was crucial; it allowed us to gather primary data for our site analysis and begin identifying the most strategic, high-potential locations for the new transportation hub.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 14:14

Junqi L

My name is Iris, and I am currently studying Architecture Adaptive Reuse, with a strong interest in revitalising existing buildings through thoughtful and sustainable design. My current project focuses on the transformation of Christ Church, Bacup, exploring how a historic religious structure can be sensitively adapted to serve contemporary community needs. I am particularly interested in balancing heritage preservation with innovative spatial interventions. With a strong background in drawing, I communicate ideas visually and develop a deeper understanding of space, light, and materiality, aiming to create meaningful and socially responsive architectural solutions. I am truly excited about the opportunity to collaborate with everyone, share ideas, and grow together through this project.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 14:13

Haoxiong L

My name is Li Haoxiong, and I am currently enrolled on the MArch 1 programme at MSA. I completed my undergraduate studies as part of a joint programme between Tianjin Chengjian University in China and the Cracow University of Technology in Poland. During that time, I gained an understanding of the history and current state of Western churches, whilst the diverse cultural contexts enriched my architectural theory. This project requires the preparation of construction drawings for a church (particularly regarding thermal insulation), which aligns with my previous internship experience in Shanghai. I look forward to collaborating with new colleagues on this practical project to develop a feasible solution that meets the client’s requirements.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 12:33

Group 09 / COMMON GROUND

Amanee M

Day 3 - Planning and Project logistics - 03/03/26

Our third meeting focused on organising the practical elements needed to move the project forward. The group split into smaller teams to work on key preparatory tasks, including the ethics documentation, risk assessment, time planning, and an initial project budget. These discussions also highlighted some logistical challenges, such as the cost and coordination of travel to Wigan, which we began working through as a group.
Alongside these tasks, we continued developing our plan for the proposed site visit to Wigan. The aim of the visit is to gather insights directly from the local community and better understand the area we are designing for. As a team, we discussed potential activities for the day, including speaking with local residents and observing the surrounding environment.
To support this, we identified several questions and requests that needed to be confirmed with our client, David from Wigan & Leigh Community Charity. These included whether it would be possible to visit local primary schools, access the proposed building site, and obtain resources that are not publicly available online, such as floor plans of the existing building.
By the end of the session, our spokesperson had prepared to contact David to seek permission and clarify these details, helping ensure our planned visit and engagement activities can move forward smoothly.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 12:07

Group 23 / HOUSING WITH HERITAGE

03/02/26 Today we all met for the first time. We started with some icebreakers, including
‘rose, bud, thorn’, in which we all said one skill we thought we would bring to the
team, one thing about the project that we were excited for and one skill we wanted
to improve through the project.
Next, we discussed how we would work together as a group, including how often we
would meet and who would take on different roles within the project.
We read through the project brief together and each spoke about what we thought
the project outputs could be. We created a list of questions that we had for our
collaborator, Laura, about the project.
Over the next couple of weeks, we have been set the task of creating a poster for our
project. We decided that it would also be useful for us to do some research into the
context of the project in order for us to gain a deeper understanding of the brief. We
created a list of different research topics and assigned one to each member of the group.

Posted 17 Mar 2026 10:24

Olatokunbo F

Brief Review
03/03/2026
With a deeper understanding of the task and its potential outputs, we deemed it crucial to look at plans of the site and its surrounding regions. Our collaborators highlighted regions of the area that might be ideal for development which we further explored. In doing so, we also thought about other considerations such as the regions within the green belt which may either aid or restrict certain developments. This provided clarity of the site, particularly in anticipation of a site visit!!!

Overall Mood(s): Analytical

Posted 17 Mar 2026 00:09

Group 23 / HOUSING WITH HERITAGE

Olatokunbo F

Admin Day
17/02/2026
On this day, we began tackling all the necessary paperwork for the success of the project. By adopting a "divide and conquer" approach, we were able to establish smaller groups within the team to work on different aspects of the paperwork.

Overall Mood(s): Relaxed & Engaged

Posted 16 Mar 2026 23:57

Group 17 / SEEDS TO SEATS

Jiajie W

Hi, my name is Jiajie and I’m currently enrolled with the architecture foundation course. Starting this year with my limited knowledge of architecture I’m excited to see where I end!

I’ve always looked at architecture less about the buildings and more about how it influences people within a space. This directly led me to take part in the Worthington Park project which I am very excited to see how it turns out!

Posted 16 Mar 2026 20:36

Nandi Tlotlanang M

A productive morning spent at the B12 workshop, making a model focused on the interior space of the site.

This model along with floor plans will help both us and the Talkshop attendees visualise their needs and aspirations for the space.
By hosting a workshop, the young people will be able to engage and share their thoughts and ideas.

Posted 14 Mar 2026 12:31

Group 16 / ACTIVE AXIS

Owen B

For our third official meeting we reflected on how we have been working as a group and what we could work on to improve our workflows and outputs over the coming weeks.

The overall consensus from the group that everyone was very happy with how we were working and communicating and dividing up work. Over the past weeks, we have been dividing up into smaller focus groups to complete tasks such as the poster or budget assessment. As a group we reflected that this was an efficient and effective way of developing collaborative work whilst understanding that all of us have very varied schedules, that don’t always correlate.

Moving on from our reflection we aim to communicate more consciously of other people's schedules and lives as well as maintaining how efficiently we have communicated and completed tasks. Furthermore, we are all eager to start designing a space and understanding the site and client better through client engagement activities and a community questionnaire. Over the next few weeks we will work in smaller focus groups to identify and critique site restrictions and conditions to help aid our design development in the near future.

Posted 14 Mar 2026 11:20

Gagan GR

Hey, I'm Gagan Govindarajan and I'm an M.Arch 1 student at NoSH atelier. I graduated from the university of Visvesvaraya in 2023 and spent two years working at a studio firm in Bangalore ( INDIA ) ,which majorly dealt with private residential housing and some commercial buildings. This gave me an exposure on how to deal with clients directly and design FOR the client as the project becomes very personalized.

I also have 6 months of experience working at an MNC named Colliers International, a Canadian based real-estate firm. This gave me a vast exposure on how commercial buildings and large scale residential apartments are designed and handled.

This project has me excited to work with other MSA students and see how our collaborated ideas would go into the result projectile.

Apart from Architecture, I also have various interests in other fields as well. I'm a concert pianist ( Trinity College of London ) and an Indian classical singer with over 20 years of performing experience. I'm also a former All India national bronze medalist in 100m sprint. I also teach piano and singing. This has accelerated my understanding in architecture as both the fields are deeply interconnected.

Posted 13 Mar 2026 19:13

Miracle O

Hi, my Name is Miracle Osagie, and I’m a BA1 Architecture student at the MSA.

Architecture has always intrigued me, its ability to shape the built world, evolve with society, and leave a lasting impact is what first sparked my interest in the field. One day, I hope to design safe, thoughtful spaces that enhance everyday life, support the wellbeing of their occupants, and balance aesthetics with sustainability.

I’m excited to take part in this group project, and I’m looking forward to exploring the realities of what it means to be an architect.

Posted 13 Mar 2026 18:10

Group 20 / DENS OF DISCOVERY

Darcey B

Hi, I'm Darcey Byers, a foundation student at MSA from the Lake District.

I have really enjoying developing my creative and technical skills so far this year. One part of architecture I am interested in is they way that buildings can shape the community around them. Thoughtful design can influence the way people interact and experience a space.

Being a part of the TalkShop project is such a good opportunity for me to develop my design skills and learn about how building an inclusive environment can help these young people.

Posted 13 Mar 2026 16:46

Mase AM

SESSION 03: SITE VISIT
During our session this week, the group discussed initial ideas regarding which materials will be used in our den construction, keeping sustainability and waste reuse at the forefront of our plans. Additionally, we had conversations with our collaborator, The Common Land Collective, on the plans for our community engagement project, examining how we engineer the engagement to best gather information that will be useful to the process of developing our final designs.
Later this week, our group completed an initial visit to our site in Chelford, here, we met with our collaborator and discussed in more detail their expectations from us and our ideas for the space, such as where the dens will be positioned, what their functions might be, and what other features they hope to integrate into the site. Before heading to the site, we established who would collect what information, to establish an efficient system that helped us collect detailed information to analyse and feed our design process. At the site, each group worked to gather the necessary information which we plan to discuss in more detail in future sessions to support our understanding of the location.

Posted 12 Mar 2026 18:04

Group 13 / WITHINGTON COMMON WATERS

Conrad G

For today, we finished off the ground floor level of our cardboard model:
We traced the floor plan again, but this time adding extra thickness on the exterior so that there is a distinct separation between the two floors. After creating the exterior walls, we came across a problem with the wall where the slits we made to bend the cardboard were too prominent so we first experimented with different styles to cover the gap and choose one that suited the design.
In our next group meeting, we will discuss how our model will be used in the engagement activities.

Posted 12 Mar 2026 16:34

Macie-Ann J

Like the history of the Baths themselves, we want this project to champion community involvement. This means that before any designing takes place, it is important that we understand what the community wants, so that this can guide us throughout the design process.

To explore this, we devised a survey intended to help us learn what users of the Baths feel is currently missing from the site, as well as what they would like to see more of.

When visiting the Baths last Friday, I gained staff consent before conducting the survey. To include a range of voices and reduce bias, I aimed to interview both users and staff across a variety of ages, genders, and backgrounds.

While the answers provided many useful insights, the conversations that emerged from some of the questions were just as valuable. They helped me understand how people use the Baths in different ways, and how any potential redevelopment could affect them differently.

Stay tuned for more public engagement exercises and updates on how these will inform our future design!

Posted 12 Mar 2026 12:36

Conrad G

Today, we went to B15 workshop to start making our scratch model for our engagement activity:
We first used the existing plans that we got from our collaborator and cut out the floor plan onto cardboard, which allowed us to have an easier time when modelling the walls. Next we focused on making the exterior walls of the basement level, where creating windows was the main challenge for us We wanted to maintain some level of accuracy whilst also being time efficient, so we decided to cut shallow slits for the windows rather than making them to resemble Victoria Hall perfectly. We finished with making the interior walls of the basement, which went without issue due to the strong foundation walls we had set in place prior. We finished the day with an accurate looking basement level, and intend to work on the ground floor in the following days.

Posted 10 Mar 2026 22:07

Group 27 / BLOOM WELL

Lucy P

Workshop visit

In today’s group meeting, we reviewed the documents needed for our upcoming submissions. We then visited the B15 workshop to ask about material costs and the best way to create birdhouse templates. This visit helped with our budget proposal and next steps for planning.

Posted 10 Mar 2026 11:58