3/2/26

SESSION 1: INTRODUCTION

Today we had our first meeting as a group getting to know each other and where our journeys have taken us so far. Each of us have varied backgrounds and are at different points in life which was useful in seeing what our skills are best adapted to. We made sure to get everyone involved in design ideas for our initial task of producing a poster for our project, which was very successful combining multiple ideas into one.

Before meeting with our collaborator Mark Busby who works in The Counselling and Family Centre, we wanted to have an aim on what we would ask him to get a better understanding of the purpose in redesigning the café is. Having this information going forward will help us move forward with concepts for a poster and later ideas for the design of the café itself.

We hope to plan a site visit within the next week, meeting with Mark again and getting a sense for the building and what could come from this. For later tasks in the project, we hope to join together again to create some amazing work as a team.

Hi, I’m Diona, currently in my first year of the MArch, having graduated from Manchester School of Architecture in 2025. I grew up as an Albanian in North Macedonia before moving to Manchester for my undergraduate studies, which shaped my interest in how architecture carries history, identity, and cultural memory across different places. During my third year, I completed work experience in a conservation practice, which strengthened my focus on adaptive reuse, historic building repair, and conservation-led design.
Outside of architecture, I enjoy travelling, photography, and sketching the places I visit (and eating lots and lots of good food), as these experiences influence how I observe buildings, streets, and everyday urban life. I’m really looking forward to working with the team and developing ideas together through the project.