Events 2018

FINALISED WEEK 1 ITINERARY//
The programme for the events weeks is finalised! These are the planned activities we will be undertaking over the course of the three weeks. It includes times and locations you need to know about.

Evidence of Neo-Gothic elements will be apparent both internally and externally. Remember to consider some of the more obvious features of the building, as well as the discrete details.

We've already reserved hard hats, safety gloves, safety goggles and high vis vest for you for the coming week on site!

As we are taking on manual labour so please do remember to wear suitable clothing and steel toe cap boots for on-site construction. Please do wear comfortable and warm clothing as you will be working outdoors. For boys and girls with long hair, do remember to bring hair ties to keep your hair out of the way.

We hope you are all excited for the commencement of events tomorrow.
Ahead of this weeks activities, please ensure you are all on time and have the correct equipment with you.
Tomorrow we will be visiting Pozzoni's office in Altringham, so please ensure you are all on time *8:30 at Benzie Cafe*
we look forward to working with you...

Hope everyone had a nice easter break.
Do not forget that we are meeting tomorrow at 10:00 am at Chatham 8th floor.

Look forward to see you all tomorrow!

We have split the team into two to work on two design schemes over the events weeks. Please check out who your groupmates are!
We will meet you guys at Geoffrey Manton room 224 at 10am tomorrow. See you soon!

My name is Mohit Chhajer and 5th year student in CPU atelier. I completed my undergraduate degree at VNIT, India. I have worked on residential, master planning and interior design projects. Apart from Architecture, I am interested in photography and travelling.
I am looking forward to working with you all.

With one day to go until events 2018 begins we have been to collect the materials ready to begin the construction of the Soapbox!

Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow!

Gothic Revival was a conscious movement that began in England to revive Gothic forms, during most of the late 18th to early 19th century. Gothic is the architecture of the pointed arch, the rib vault, the flying buttress, window tracery, pinnacles and spires, rich colours and decoration, vertical emphasis and a variety of materials. Look out for these elements during your Town Hall visit TOMORROW!

My name is Nasra Ali and 5th year student in CIA atelier. I completed my undergraduate degree at Manchester School of Architecture. I spent a year in practice working for a medium sized firm in Tanzania, working predominantly in residential projects and master planning. I was also able to lead as a chief designer in an Architectural international competition of which I came second under the professional category. My fanatical interests are architecture, interior, master planning and model making. Apart from Architecture, I am keen on fashion photography and I love traveling around the world. I’m looking forward to working with you all.

Just 3 days until we meet with 13 of the Northern schools of Architecture for the annual RIBA Northern Soul Charrette!

#reimagingingmcr

Great to have Jackie Haynes, Merz extraordinaire, in yesterday to get us up to speed with the with work of Schwitterz and tell us all about the work she's undertaking as part of her PhD.

Take a look at her work @ https://jackiehaynesartwork.wordpress.com/

or look back at the work she did as part of 2016/17's events week @ https://jackiehaynesartwork.wordpress.com/2017/02/28/legacy-mmu-2017/

Finally, if you'd like to attend her upcoming event in the Righton building this June... https://www.facebook.com/events/988555434634844/?notif_t=plan_user_joined¬if_id=1523910190866899

29//Detroit – Manchester - Zones of Urban Experimentation

The Heidelberg Project: An initiative from a Detroit based community organization with a mission to improve the lives of people and neighborhoods through art, by embracing its diverse cultures and artistic attributes in an outdoor art environment in the heart of an urban area as the essential building blocks for a fulfilling and economically viable way of life.

Perhaps mapping and pinpointing this kind of movement could be a starting point?

Looking forward to our site visit tomorrow in Brierfield.

SCHEDULE OF THE DAY:
07:50 departing from Chorlton Street Bus Station - Bus x43
09:30 Tour of the Northlight Mill by InSitu (our collaborator) and Architect of the redevelopment
11:30 Walking tour of town
12:30 Lunch
13:30 Initial design session at Brierfield Library
17:00 Time off in Brierfield
18:50 Bus back to Manchester - Bus x43

NOTE:
- DO NOT FORGET TO BRING THE PPE (hard hats and hi-vis)
-DO NOT BE LATER AS THERE IS NO OTHER BUS AFTER THE 07:50 ONE

It is going to be a sunny day, so don't forget to bring sunglasses, suncream and water.

The lecture by Jackie Haynes enabled us to think about materials beyond their visual aesthetic, but as 3D object that could embody sound and feeling to the world.

Some of the materials Jackie utilises include: Concrete, Vinyl, Fabric, Balloons and Sandbags. The unorthodox nature of them emphasise the resourcefulness of Kurt Schiwtter, using unorthodox materials and chance based procedures to re imagine what art could be. This gives us a thinking point for the collages each group will produce for their final designs.

A brief history of 'the football ground' being prepared.

Footbuild Timetable. See you all at 10am in Chatham room 713.

Footbuild Brief, page 2

Footbuild Brief, page 1.

£3 for a stencil and they are all eco-friendly. That stencil (in the picture) is made from banana leaves.

Risograph (RISO) printing induction with the group members this morning.. (looking forward to use it)

Sketching out the brief with Andy Walsh from Wythenshawe Afc

Site Visit planned for Thursday Morning and meeting with Clients.

Great experience to engage with real life clients directly.

Hey guys, as you all know, we will be visiting Centrepoint on the 1st day of EVENTS (18/4). We will be heading there together from uni, but just to give you guys an idea where the office for Centrepoint is (since we might be heading off homee from there). Anyway looking forward to meet you guys soon!

It was a Fantastic start to the Events Program today thanks to Jackie Haynes providing a superb lecture on Kurt Schwitters, and her work, the “Merzwomen & the Daughters of Dada”.

The lecture gave a great insight about how we can create ruptures and confront issues within wider society, it will provide a fantastic base for ideas informing the pavilion designs and to protest and highlight rural concerns

Thanks to all who turned up! We will see you all on Wednesday on the 8th floor of the Chatham at 11:45.

Final details coming together the 2018 RIBA Northern Soul Charrette happening this Friday 20th April, held in Manchester City Centre.

We are looking forward to welcoming over 100 students from 13 northern schools of architecture, including 2 schools of architecture in Belfast!

The day is set to be an exciting one full of designing, network and being inspired- see you there!

#reimaginingmcr #northernsoul

No day is successful without a clear action plan, so our team have put together a timetable for the 2018 RIBA Northern Soul Design Charrette to ensure that all team members involved are aware of what needs to be happening, and when!

#reimaginingmcr #northernsoul

We hope everyone had a good Easter break! We'd like to start the Events programme off by meeting you all in Chatham 514 at 9.45am this Wednesday (18th). The timetable above shows the Events in place for the forthcoming two weeks, please note that some venues and times will change each day.

We look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday!

Hope you've all had a good break and are ready for Events Week! We'd like to kick off by meeting you in Chatham 514 at 9.45am this Wednesday.
Attached is a timetable for the whole two weeks, please note that some venues and times change each day.
See you on Wednesday!

The EVENTS team have been about all over Manchester today, working to get ready for the RIBA Northern Soul Charrette.
We have been busy sending emails, making orders, and liaising with our partners to ensure a great day!

#busybee #reimaginingmcr #northernsoul

We recommend downloading the 'get me there' app for purchasing tickets to and from Altrincham.

This should speed up our journeys to the Pozzoni office!

Wait until the day of travel before you buy your tickets. We will need to buy a return ticket from St Peters Square to Altrincham.

The app is free and available for Apple and Android.

It's optional, so if you want to stick to good old fashioned paper tickets, that's not a problem!

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SQUARES//
This post gives a very brief overview of the squares (we want you to do the analysis!) Familiarise yourselves with the squares. You may have visited some of them before. The order shows the route that we will take on the walking tour.

SQUARES IN MANCHESTER'S CIVIC QUARTER//
This map shows the locations of the key squares which we will be working in during the event. The orange line indicates the Civic Quarter boundary. As illustrated here, the squares are all linked together and are very closely connected. Each square has a different character and is framed by various key buildings, many of which are historically listed. We will visit each square during our walking tour on Thursday 19th April. Your tasks will be to identify any connections or important characteristics within the squares and the civic quarter as a whole. Don't forget your sketchbooks for sketching, notes and diagramming!

*UPDATE*

We have changed the meeting time for Wednesday 18th.
We will now be meeting at 8.30am to ensure we arrive to the Pozzoni office on time.

See you there!

Today we spent the day in the workshop.We are preparing the poster's wooden frame, for our final exhibition!

We are looking forward to our final outputs.

Hello People, we have split the team into two groups for the consultations. Check it!

We are very excited to see you on Wednesday!

15/04/18

#TOURTIME

We have secured a private tour of the amazing exhibition, Exchanges, at the Whitworth Art Gallery on the 20th April. Taking us around will be the curator of the exhibition, Dr Leanne Green!

This is an amazing opportunity for you to gain an understanding of curation and ask questions about the work directly to Leanne. This will come in handy for your exhibition at the Paradise Works studios during the symposium day.

Works by Gillian Wearing, William Hogarth and Louise Bourgious and Tracey Emin will be on display. They encourage a dialogue on expectations of female behaviour. Additionally, Rebecca Warren and Hayley Tompkins elevate discarded objects to the status of art and challenge our ideas about what should be shown in museums. While Simon Patterson, Jitish Kallat, Roni Horn and Stephen Willats consider how we make order out of a disordered world.

Merz '18 Groups Announced!

*IMPORTANT*
We hope your all excited about events commencing this week, on Wednesday the 18th. It is very important that you are on time as we shall be kicking off the week at Pozzoni's office in Altringham.
Ensure you meet coordinators, Matt, Hollie and Jamie by 9:15 at the Benzie cafe at MSA, then the group shall be travelling to Altringham via the tram network, (tickets will cost approximately £4.70 return) Please ensure you all wear appropriate clothing and bring your cameras, sketchbooks and drawing equipment.
We look forward to meeting you all

We hope you all had a lovely break. A revised version of our schedule for the two weeks events, Its up now!
Enjoy your weekend and get ready for Monday.
See you all!

INDUCTION//
Don't forget to attend the induction on Wednesday 18th April at 10am. This will be given by the client team at the Town Hall. It's a great start to the events programme and a chance to meet the whole team who you will be working with. We look forward to seeing you all there!

IMPORTANT LECTURE UPDATE

Merz Team

Mondays lecture will now take place in Room 403 in the Benzie

Also the lecture will now start at 11.30am - 1 on Monday.

Merz '18

#Exercises #Update

STAGE 2
Having established the spatial understanding of the spaces at hand, we will then perform a sketching exercise where the children will be asked to represent the spaces they examined differently, using their innovative way of ordering their surroundings.



STAGE 3
We will perform a different sketching exercise where the children will be split into three groups of five. Each group will be given an A1 sheet, with an image of a specific city view (axonometric & street views), they will be asked to trace over the sheets to create what they would perceive as the perfect city for children.

Can't wait to see you all on Wednesday

#Exercises #Update

Our strategy for the workshop with the students comprise of three stages that will familiarise them with simple architectural terms that define space, improve their cognitive understanding of their everyday learning environment, and engage them through simple design tasks in creating a space for themselves by themselves.

STAGE 1
Take the children on a tour of their school campus. As they enter each space, we will perform a set of experiments and have a brief Q&A session to establish an understanding on how they start to perceive the spaces through concepts such as scale, function and materiality.

Check out the next posts for the other two stages!

Merz Team

The Planned Train times are

Out - Monday 23rd April 2018
Manchester - Windermeme 7.44 - 9.31

Return - Monday 24th April 2018
Windermere - Manchester 19.06 - 21.31

So please book them as soon as possible!

5 days to go until Events week starts!

Phil, our fabricator has been busy good progress making the structural frame this week. We're looking forward to seeing it finished!

Also a reminder to keep an eye on your emails as we will be sending the programme over very soon along with some items you will need to bring with you during events.

The countdown has begun! A week today we will be hosting the RIBA Northern Soul Charrette.

In the lead up to our EVENTS week, if you come across any creative pamphlets, leaflets or other hand outs, keep hold of them. They may come in useful when it comes to how you decide to present the activities of next Friday's gathering of 13 Northern Schools of Architecture

Watch this space for more daily updates in the lead up to the big event next week...

Reading-1

Kurt Schwitters was a significant figure in European Dadaism who invented the concept of "Merz" – ‘the combination, for artistic purposes of all conceivable materials'. Whether those materials were string, cotton wool or a pram wheel, Schwitters considered them to be equal with paint. He is best known for his pioneering use of found objects and everyday materials in abstract collage, installation, poetry and performance. Schwitters’s time in Britain was quite extraordinary and continues to reverberate today,

Here in the link below is a reading about Kurt Schwitters have look through it to have a brief understanding of the man and his work.

Link : https://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-galenson/kurt-schwitters-art-of-re_b_3102921.html

This is a reminder for all Group 3 - BA1 & BA2 students...

Following Stephanie's email last week we wanted to remind you that we are meeting at 10am on Wednesday the 18th of April at Manchester Town Hall. This is compulsory! Please meet promptly at the statue shown in the image in Albert Square, we will be there to guide you from then on.

Look forward to meeting you all then and getting started on the EVENTS program we have planned for you!

10/04/18

#LOOKOUT

Events week is approaching, so we thought we would send you some key info before the start date.

Look out for an email from me regarding Programme, the Risk Assessment and Room Locations.

If you have any questions – feel free to message us by email or Facebook.

After meeting with two engineers from Laing O'Rourke, group 12 have now assembled and sent off a design proposal report - in the hope of receiving final approval from the structural engineers. The report features information on the site, ground condition and use of the soapbox. It also includes drawings, a material list and a build strategy.

Yesterday, group 12 met with two structural engineers from Laing O'Rourke as well as our collaborators from the Manchester Histories Festival. We received some structural advice ahead of sending off a final design proposal for the soapbox in order for it to be signed off by the engineers. We also selected a specific location for the soapbox in All Saints Park. The location provides a flat, hard surface for the structure as well as providing an engaging experience for the viewer.

The past couple of weeks, our EVENTS team have been busy at it planning for the 2018 RIBA Northern Soul Charrette, happening in 10 days time on Friday 20th April 2018!

Working with Purcell Architects, Manchester City Council, RIBA and the TH Project Team have meant that organisation has been key to the running of our group and the team have been very busy preparing various documents, attending meetings and regularly liaising with all the above.

Here, one of our team leaders Vikki uses as a non-traditional method of measuring tables which we will be using on the day of our event!

#reimaginingmcr #northernsoulcharrette

A key aspect of the 2018 RIBA Northern Soul Charrette will be getting external visitors in to visit the students on the day, see what designs they have produced and help us judge the final projects!

The team have been very busy talking to people across the industry, with varied knowledge, expertise and backgrounds so that our jury panel can be as rich and diverse as possible.

The opportunity to put together a panel of judges from the industry has proven the benefits of networking with professionals and attending events to meet new people. As a team, we have been able to pull together some great names who will be joining us on the day in our secret city-centre location!

#reimaginingmcr #northernsoulcharrette

Room Booked.

We will at 70 Oxford street for the majority of events week, discussing the collaboration of art and architecture through dada. The final outputs will display some really creative designs in response to the brief.

Final design from one of our collaborators, the artist Tom Brown.

Looking forward to seeing this beautiful manchester cityscape mandala coming to fruition on our emergence shelter.

To see more of Tom's work check out his website and Instagram:
www.tomwbrowndesign.com
www.instagram.com/tom.w.brown

It was nice meeting the people who came to our pre-Events meeting! We are really excited and looking forward to the coming weeks!

This week we are going to test our material palette, moving towards placing an order just in time before the Events programme begins!

As always, watch this space to stay updated!

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter!
Here we have our schedule of the events weeks, detailing the times, activities and locations on each day. The team list will be up soon too.

We can glady announce that Jackie Haynes, a leading expert in Kurt Schwitterz and the Merz movement will be giving a lecture on the on Monday 16th from 1-3pm about her recent work on the Merzwoman & the Daughters of Dada exhibition, we look forward to seeing you all there!

Undergrad students will be divided in groups and allocated to a specific square in the Civic Quarter. This will be made in order for the groups to design a partition referring to the architectural language and characteristics of the allocated public squares. All the partitions will then be presented on a scaled model of Albert Square.

A revisit to the clearing out of the 'garage' in Brierfield.

*GREAT NEWS*

We have arranged for the lead architect of the Mill development to give us a tour on the 18th April!

06/04/18

#FABRIC

#PRECEDENTALERT

We got loads of fabric scraps for our 1:1 interventions at PARDISEWORKS
donated by the amazing textile artist

@stephanie.ross.design !!

Check out her Instagram for Inspiration:

https://www.instagram.com/stephanie.ross.design/

Our material collection is growing..

We have finally got round to introducing ourselves, better late than never guys!

We have had quite the hectic week, organising material chooses and planning some of the early conceptual design workshops you will be taking part in. Keep your eyes peeled for any further updates in the coming days.

With our EVENT based around the RIBA Northern Soul Charrette Day, taking place on the 20th April 2018, the rest of the two week period will be spent marketing and conveying what took place during the day, in the best possible, creative and imaginative way you can think of.

Be it through a film,
Be it through a blog,
Be it through a publication.

Ahead of the fortnight, look into fun and different ways to market the process and results of the Design Charrette, through the various media options above.

We cannot wait to see your ideas!

#SHOESCREEN

Precedent alert!!

This urban intervention in Abrantes, Portugal plays the history of the city to create a new way of shading the public square. The installation by Victor Lledó Garcia, Juan José Pérez Moncho and Mateo Fernández-Muro uses shoes to form a canopy. During 1807, the residents of Abrantes were ordered to donate their shoes to soldiers and the artists resolved to return the shoes to the city.

This precedent shows that all sorts of materials can be used for an urban intervention and researching the history of the site may give you ideas for your own approach.

04/04/18

#LISTENUP

Precedent alert!!

‘The goal of the intervention is to transpose a real situation in public space onto a plane of fictionality. The sound intervention alters the mode of perception of a random passer-by listener. That which a listener sees becomes a fiction and support for that which he or she hears. The result of such alienation is that the listener no longer perceives reality as something that has any immediate effect on his or her own existence but, rather, accepts it as an aesthetic phenomenon; this, however, may present a direct threat to his or her own existence.‘ – Madrid Bierto
http://www.realitysoundtrack.org/

Any intervention which can be experienced through any human sense, will affect the sense of the space itself.

An intervention in the public sphere could literally be anything, even sound.

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter! Our group is doing some research into Part B today to get all the parameters sorted before we start the real design work. More research into fire safety is never too much! Not long left till Events start. :)

[PPE Reminder]

Please make sure you are prepared for the coming Events 18 weeks ahead with all the appropriate clothing for the onsite graft.

You must have all your PPE with you whenever we are scheduled to work onsite, or when we will be undertaking any manual labour during the coming weeks. This will include the following: A hard hat, high visibility vest, protective eye wear, protective gloves and steel toe cap boots (No alternative shoes will be accepted and you will not be allowed to work onsite).

Lastly, the Manchester weather is just worst! So, please make sure you pick clothing that will keep you dry and warm, as well as appropriate for the work, which is comfortable and you aren't afraid to get a bit grubby.

Exhibition Space Confirmed.

We'll be exhibiting your final designs on the 8th floor lobby. Expect to see unconventional collaborations of art & architecture in true Dada style very soon.

Events Meeting: 20th March
The last events meeting before the Easter Break.

13th March: Events Meeting
On 13th of March we met with Tom Jefferies to discuss more details about the brief for the charrette day, the number of participatory universities at the event, the tutors from MSA available to judge the event and the revised promotional poster for circulation to the schools of architecture participating in the 2018 charrette. The meeting proved to be very constructive and fruitful.

03/04/18

#CRAFTCLAY

Precedent alert!!

During Events week, we will be designing interventions aimed to activate the site through community engagement.

Using the clay donated by Plant Noma, you could design an intervention which correlates with elements on the site already. These leaf pots were created by imprinting a texture into the clay. Maybe these could be hung up as a sculptural piece? Or maybe they will have a function as pots in a community garden?

Why not design a piece that explores the site-specific textures? The artists at Paradise Works are keen to see an intervention which encourages engagement with the community, so maybe start thinking of activities that promote this.

03/04/18

#MIXED-MEDIA

The workshop I am running during Events week will be as follows:

I will introduce the students to examples of works which combine architectural forms and meaning through mixed-media collage. Each student will be provided with an architectural photograph and must recreate this image using painting, collage and crafting techniques. A list of words and emotions will be used to prompt the students to epitomize an expression/ meaning in their work. M.Arch will provide some materials; however, the students will be encouraged to bring any materials they would like to use (paints, paper, newspapers, card). The M.Arch will be on hand to discuss the importance of composition, expression of emotion and the layering of materials. The final pieces may be two or three-dimensional pieces. The aim of this workshop is to encourage artistic abstraction and expression through mixed media. These will be on display at the final symposium at Paradise Works

#MATERIALS

One of our workshops will encourage you to start thinking about the materiality and buildability of your installations.

During this workshop we will look at how different materials can be manipulated to create interesting forms and begin planning your construction process.

02/04/18

#CONCERTINA

Precedent alert!!

During Events week, we will be designing interventions aimed to activate the site through community engagement.

Why not design a meeting place?

This concertina bench is made from recycled cardboard, mirroring many of the artist's focus on re-use. Also, it would be easily constructible during Events.