Charlie Smith

MArch 1 // Some Kind of Nature [Atelier]

Hi! I’m Charlie, I'm from Preston and completed my undergraduate degree at The University of Edinburgh. During my year out I travelled around Japan and South East Asia, before returning to the UK and settling in Bristol to work for a council-backed, city decarbonisation initiative. I have a strong interest in sustainable building design through adaptive reuse and construction material innovation, and being part of SKN at MSA is allowing me to develop this area of my learning further.

I can't wait to get stuck into the Dens of Discovery project with the Common Garden Collective so that we can immerse the local community within the landscape and provide education on the preservation of non-human environments and use of natural materials.

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!