Hi everyone,

I'm Damla, a 5th year Masters student in the &Architecture atelier. I completed my undergraduate degree here at MSA too, where I became interested in user-centred design. I'm excited to continue developing my interest and creative thinking through this MSA Live project, working with the Growing Togetherness Community Garden

03/02/2026

Hello! We are Group 15, collaborating with Growing Togetherness CIC to develop a low-tech water harvesting and storage strategy within their allotment space at Seedley Pavilion Café and Gardens.
We began our first session with an introductory icebreaker, which gave us the opportunity to understand each other’s backgrounds, interests and architectural strengths that could contribute to the project. This helped establish how we might distribute roles and responsibilities moving forward.
We then played an interactive round of ‘Would You Rather?’ which allowed us to identify both soft and technical skills within the group. The exercise helped clarify who might take the lead in areas such as communication, graphic production, research and coordination.
Overall, the session set a productive foundation for the weeks ahead. We are looking forward to working collaboratively with Growing Togetherness CIC and exploring practical, low-tech strategies that can meaningfully support the Seedley Pavilion Gardens.

03/02/2026

Following our initial icebreaker session, we had a brief meeting with the Director of Growing Togetherness CIC, Mark Frith. The discussion helped clarify what he is expecting from us, particularly in terms of developing a second entrance to the garden which promotes better circulation to the allotment space. We asked the questions we had prepared about site conditions, outputs and constraints, which helped narrow the scope of the project and gave us clearer direction moving forward. After the meeting, we created a group chat with Mark and our group members to organise communication and ensure we stay coordinated as the project progresses. Although short, the meeting was useful in confirming expectations and setting a focused starting point for the next stage.

08/02/2026

This week we visited the site with Mark to see the space first-hand. We started by looking through a collection of old postcards from throughout the park’s history, which gave us a sense of how the space has changed over time and how it has been used by the community.
Mark then walked us around the gardens, explaining the different planting areas and the types of vegetation being grown. He spoke about their experimental approach to growing in response to the UK climate, and how they are constantly testing what works best in changing conditions.
He also talked about the main entrance and the wider improvements happening around the park. After gaining permission, works have been carried out to improve access and increase footfall, helping make the space more visible and welcoming to the community.
Overall, the visit made the project feel more grounded and helped us better understand the environmental and social context we’re working within.

10/02/2026

This week we had an informal meet-up to brainstorm ideas for our project poster. As a group made up of BA1, MArch1 and MLA1 students, we had to plan around different timetables and studio commitments, so the session was arranged independently to make sure everyone could contribute.
We started with quick, rough sketches to test possible layouts and think about how to clearly communicate our water harvesting strategy without overcomplicating it. During the session, we also agreed on our group name, Seed to Source, which reflects the journey of water through the site, from collection and storage to supporting growth within the gardens. Establishing the name helped give the poster a clearer direction and identity.

17/02/2026

For our second official meeting, we focused on the more practical aspects of the project. We began drafting a risk assessment sheet, identifying potential hazards on site and considering how our proposed interventions could be implemented safely. This helped us think more realistically about working within an active garden environment.
We also developed an initial project timeline and a rough budget proposal to outline key stages and estimate material costs. Breaking the project down into phases made the scope feel more manageable and highlighted where further research is needed.
Alongside this, we finalised the poster design, incorporating feedback from our earlier sketches, and uploaded the completed version. This week felt more structured and task-oriented, allowing us to move from ideas into clearer planning and delivery.

17/03/2026

This week, we sorted through our collected fountain precedents and categorised them into two distinct themes: modern and traditional. Going through the images together on our Miro board and deciding which category each one fell into sparked a lot of discussion about what design language we want to bring to the site, and helped us narrow down the most relevant examples to present to the community.

To collect votes on site, we brought an old shoe box which we will cut into the top so visitors can post their chosen precedent in. Getting the voting materials ready felt like a real step forward, and we now have an efficient method for gathering community feedback that will directly shape the design of our water feature in the coming weeks!

21/03/26

Today we headed back to the site for our second visit, and luckily the sun was out which made the whole experience feel really positive and energetic!

We set up our display board, pinning our precedent images across it, and placed our handmade voting box alongside it with our project poster and site plan to give context to visitors about what we are designing and why.

A few community members stopped to look through the precedents and ask questions about the project, which was encouraging and gave us some useful early impressions of what people are drawn to.

We will be leaving the voting box on site for the next week, giving volunteers and members of the Salford Croquet Club plenty of time to browse the options and cast their vote. We are looking forward to coming back next week to see the results and find out which design direction the community has chosen!

28/03/26

This weekend we went back to the site to collect the voting box and count the results. The turnout was better than what we had expected - 68 votes in total, with 31 Blue, 28 Yellow and 9 Pink, giving a clear majority in favour of the traditional theme.

It was great to see how many people had engaged with the display over the week. The result gives us a solid direction to take into the next phase of the design, and it's useful to know that the community's preference aligns with the existing character of the garden.
As we don't need the display board again just yet, we've left it on site to see if we pick up any extra votes before our next visit. In the meantime, we can start developing design concepts digital models with the traditional theme as our foundation.

14/04/26

With the Easter break underway, we held a hybrid meeting today over Teams to keep momentum going and start delegating tasks now that we have a clear design direction after our engagement activities. It was good to get everyone together to collaborate despite not all being in the same place.

Our main focus was dividing up the workload for the coming weeks. Tasks were split out across the group, with some members beginning to work up the site plan on AutoCAD, while others are starting to model key elements of the proposed design such as the new entrance and water fountain feature. Getting these aspects underway in parallel should mean we can bring everything together more efficiently as the design develops.

21/04/2026

Today we held our last official meeting before our intensive week begins on the 11th of May, and it was a really productive session to round off this phase of the project.

The main focus of the meeting was continuing our design work, with everyone working individually on their own section of the site model. The plan is to combine all of these components together to produce the walk-through video, so it was important to get as much modelling done as possible before the intensive week.

One of the highlights of the session was seeing the Masters students take the lead in teaching the first years how to use SketchUp for the first time. It was a great opportunity for the group to share skills across year groups, and the first years picked it up quickly. Having everyone able to contribute to the 3D model directly will make the process of bringing it all together much smoother.

21/04/26

Alongside the SketchUp modelling session today, one of our first year students took some time to hand sketch a proposal for an outdoor seating area for the existing café at Seedley Pavilion.

The sketches looked at how seating could be arranged to make better use of the outdoor space around the café, complementing the garden environment and encouraging people to linger and connect with the space. It was a nice reminder of how much can be communicated through a simple pencil drawing, and the sketches will serve as a useful reference as we continue to develop the wider masterplan vision for the site. Thanks Tina!