Benedict (Ben) Mullan
MArch 1
After completing completing my Bachelor’s degree at MSA, I worked on a range of Grade I and II listed buildings including Chatworth House and Woburn Abbey. Returning to Continuity Atelier at MSA has allowed me to expand my knowledge of heritage and conservation. I am looking forward to working collaboratively and iteratively with stakeholders to positively impact the future of Thornton Hough and Thornton Manor

Navya Dang
MArch 1
Throughout my academic discourse, I have been deeply interested in history and the narratives within the built environment. Although I have not yet worked directly on heritage projects, conservation and designing within historic contexts remain key interests. I look forward to contributing responsibly and collaboratively to the Thornton Hough and Thornton Manor project, supporting a design approach that strengthens the relationship between past, present, and future.

Emily Zaman
MArch 1
Completed my bachelors at University of Hertfordshire with a study year abroad in New York. I went onto working on residential houses within my local county. I’m now in the infrastructure space atelier and I’m looking forward to working in a historic site which I’ve only observed during practice so far!

Li Che Ong
MArch 1
I completed my bachelor’s degree back in Malaysia before working for a year on hospital and industrial projects, where I gained practical experience in coordination and technical delivery. I am currently part of the CPU Atelier, with an interest in how architecture operates strategically within complex social and urban systems. Through MSA Live, I look forward to collaborating across disciplines, engaging with real communities, and translating design thinking into meaningful social impact.

Zuzanna Wieczor
MA Architecture and Adaptive Reuse
Graduated from Architectural Technology in 2024. During a year break I took from university, I researched more into adaptive reuse and developed a strong interest in that area of architecture. Currently studying Architecture and Adaptive Reuse with main focus on building heritage and reuse of industrial buildings. I am excited to work on MSA 26 project to collaborate with peers from different courses to gain more insight into different areas and learn from each other.

Mingze Yang
MA Architecture and Adaptive Reuse
I am excited to engage in practical operations in the renovation project to explore the limitations of real projects and their solutions. At the same time, I aim to practice and hone my communication skills with the client. My likes include coffee, hiking, travelling and beautiful scents.

JIAYU LIU (Jerry)
MA Architecture and Adaptive Reuse
Through MSA Live, I hope to learn more about heritage conservation and acquire relevant skills; at the same time, I want to improve my communication abilities, which I hope will be beneficial for my future work and life.

Kai Reynolds
BA 1 Architecture
I completed several months of travelling after finishing 4 A Level qualifications and winning multiple subject awards. I am highly interested in the intersection of philosophy in architecture and sustainable reuse of buildings. I am excited to participate in restoring a grade listed building and to learn more about architectural heritage.

Olatokunbo Fayemiwo
BA 1 Architecture
With a design oriented background, I enjoy problem solving and user-centered design. I am particularly interested in bridging the gap between futurism and the preservation of culture and historical significance. I am excited to work people across different professional levels and I believe Thornton Manor will provide insight into ethical and regulatory considerations in design.

Florence Gould
BA 1 Architecture
I am interested in the history of the built environment and how building development changes as a result of technological advances. I look forward to learning new skills off my peers whilst working on a project impacting the real world.

Raheeg Raffay
Foundation in Architecture
I am currently studying Architecture and have a strong interest in heritage, conservation, and the social history embedded within buildings. During my work placement, I worked on a listed building, which further strengthened my interest in historic architecture. I am therefore looking forward to contributing to this project and exploring its heritage in greater depth.

Meet the Collaborators
03/02/2026
The first task was introducing members of the team, assigning roles and establishing team values and expectations. This was closely followed up by a meeting with our collaborators where we discussed the brief and possible outcomes from the brief in greater depth. Meeting with Thornton Manor representatives also gave us further insight into the history of the sight, allowing us consider how its context may be applied in future outputs.

Overall Mood(s): Curious & Excited

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

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

Site Visit
PART 1 : Inside the Manor
After much planning and preparation, we finally visited Thornton Manor! The day started off by meeting with our collaborators and a necessary break after the long drive. We then dived straight into exploring the fire damage within the manor. As we had only ever seen this though media, this helped us contextualize the gravity of the damage and identify features within the manor that we could potentially incorporate in our design process to provide visual links. It was particularly interesting to identify older construction methods used within manor, comparing them with modern methods. Understanding the severity of the fire damage also helped to estimate the amount of housing units that would ultimately fund the manor's refurbishment.

Site Visit
PART 2: Exploring the Grounds
The next phase was touring key parts of the manor's grounds. This experience helped gauge the scale of the manor, particularly in comparison to its surrounding areas and key landmarks around the site that we may consider when during wider planning and when producing outputs. While doing also came across a few pylons on the site which sparked conversations about building regulations, particularly within the green belt and potential conflicts that may arise in doing so. Taking a tour of the grounds also allowed us to collate photographical material which will be essential when working outputs for our project.

Site Visit
PART 3: Reflection
After many conversations, questions and steps, we sat and discussed the brief with our collaborators in further detail. They shared a lot of useful material including information about Burton Manor, a site which may ultimately serve as precedence. This reflective conversation also highlighted potential trade offs between designing spaces that generate revenue and more ethical considerations: how to design high-end properties without marginalizing certain demographics of people. It also emphasized the need to design spaces that meet council criteria and the importance of considering the needs of the local area during planning. We then decided to walk into town to get a sense of the local area, before finally heading back to base.

Overall Emotion(s): Accomplished, Reflective

Summary of our Site Visit