Discussion with an Architect from Purcell. He had some constructive feedback on both proposals, what they did successfully and what could have been done to improve them. He liked the interactive presentation and discussed how we used used Sketchup and Enscape. We advised him on how Virtual Realty could be utilised when designing a building.

Visit from one of our collaborators Curated Place, the creative consultants for the Town Hall, during our presentation at the Central Library today. Stephen Nuttall from Curated Place assisted us with the information we got from our Visit to Whalley Range High School. They were very impressed with the outcome of our events weeks and how we incorporated the ideas and views of the high school students into our final proposals.

Peter Norris(Work and Skills Project Manager, Our Town Hall), representative of our collaborator, Manchester Town Hall viewing final proposals of both groups using a Virtual Reality Headset. Impressed with how engaging the virtual experience was, he had very positive comments on the flexibility and vibrancy of Albert Square in both proposals.

Group 2 presented further development of their proposal. They have continued to resolve the atmosphere of the pockets of spaces carved out with the illuminated light rods they proposed for Albert square. They also started to explore the type of activities these spaces will encourage.

Further concept development: Group 1 continued to resolve their provision of flexible spaces on Albert Square. Flexible in regards to the variety of activities these structures will accommodate but also structurally flexible and adaptable depending on the use of the site in hopes to reinvigorate the site making it more appealing to the youth of Manchester.

Students had the opportunity to interact with initial sketchup concept models using an HTC VIVE Standard virtual reality headset. This allowed both groups to visualise what the immersive virtual reality experience of their proposal will look like for the final presentation.

On the second day, we visited Whalley Range high school in order to engage with the youth of Manchester and get their perspectives on what could make the Town Hall more engaging for them. The sketches and information collated from the school visit were pulled together to inform initial concepts for a town hall architecture intervention. We also used this opportunity to provide year 10 art students with careers information about the pathway to studying architecture and beyond.

During the event weeks, software tutorials will give students the opportunity to improve their software and presentation skills. Softwares such as Revit, Sketch-up, Photoshop and In-Design will be vital to model and present our proposal. Prior to the commencement of event weeks, students will be provided with tutorial links in preparation for the tutorial session we will offer.

Last week we presented our poster to the 1st and 2nd year students. We explained the outputs and purpose of our project which is to open the Manchester Town Hall to young people in Manchester. We also highlighted the skills they will be able to learn and collaborators they will be working with.

Timeline of events project.

Atelier: USE
Undergrad: University of Portsmouth
Experience: CHQ Architects