Events 20

Hello! work with us and build something for Manchester Museum!
Tian (USE)
Alex (Advanced Practice)
Daniel (USE)
Veronica (InfraSpace)
Emily (Advanced Practice)
GeiGa (USE)

Posted 17 Mar 2020 00:18

Emily C

SITE VISIT
We organised a site visit with the collaborator at Manchester Museum on the 21st January to give us a better idea about the project space. The collaborator discussed with us the plan of the new gift store, which is part of a wider project titled “Hello future”. The overall scheme aims to create a new Exhibition Hall, South Asia Gallery, Chinese Culture Gallery, the world’s first Centre for Age Friendly Culture, and a new entrance with visitor facilities that focus on inclusive accessible design.
We focused mainly on the room we will be designing for, looking for ways to re-use many of the existing furniture. For our live project, we are aiming to promote environmental awareness in the community. After the site visit, we decided to schedule another meeting among our group to delegate research on topics such as materiality, finishings and display ideas for a better understanding of the gift store space.
For more information on the overall scheme by Manchester Museum, please visit https://mmhellofuture.wordpress.com/ or follow the hashtag online #MMhellofuture

Posted 17 Mar 2020 20:50

LET'S PLAN [early February]

The team met to plan ahead for the fruitful and interesting events weeks! To meet our agenda (re-use existing furniture for the new gift store design), We decide to put the group into design team and construction team, and take turn to finish the deliverables. (1) a detail SITE MODEL to test fit design and play around with spatial arrangement; students could learn to choose appropriate material for scale models and spend time to make it presentable for future use or display by the museum. (2) testing WOOD ASSEMBLY TECHNIQUE for several design elements, carefully recorded to provide design development process for the museum construction team. (3) a 1:1 MODEL will not be missed in a live project! We will all learn how to disassemble old cabinets and glass blocks; treat and assemble them to build new furniture. They will all be eventually delivered to the museum to test on site!

Posted 18 Mar 2020 03:19

During our meeting, the clients mentioned that the pegboards at the Whitworth Gallery shop were not strong enough to support their displayed items. Therefore, we visited the Whitworth Gallery shop to see what caused the displayed cabinets sag. The newly designed furniture shall take current problems into consideration, improving the durability and usability of the furniture. We noticed there was no support underneath the boxes and that the main back support of the pegboards is a single layered wood. In order to create a stronger pegboard, a double layer wood shall be used for the back support, a gap shall be provided, and the hanging display element should be supported underneath. We also noticed more neutral colors were used at the Whitworth gallery shop -painted greyish blue, and light colored wood would allow the sharp colors of products pop out.

Posted 19 Mar 2020 14:49

The project is a design and build project, where the previous group of students from Research Methods L.O.O.P. developed a conceptual design and we will take in the position of technical design and construction. When preparing the brief, we took in consideration that the designs might actually be built in the museum shop, therefore a step by step pamphlet would be provided for the client for reference in the future if they actually decide to build it in the shop. We would like to encouragement more engagement between the university and the Manchester Museum to gain their confidence in the students to increase the potential of future projects, where the Museum would benefit from our expertise at a certain level and the students would benefit from learning in a live architectural project. Through design, we would like to attract customers into the Museum shop increasing their revenue, so that they would be able to collect more artifacts at the Manchester museum for the community.

Posted 19 Mar 2020 14:49

Here is a selection of joinery types as a reference. We encourage students to explore alternative methods and tools to develop the new and existing models. Students will have to test different joints to find out the optimum performance for the model. All tools will be prepared prior to construction, and adjustments can be made according to the design.

Posted 19 Mar 2020 20:14

LET'S PLAN 2 [mid February]

The team review session plans to make sure the programme meet the objectives agreed by the collaborators and are achievable, we adjusted the schedule and learning outcome for the Year 1 and 2. Also, in view of the need to move old furniture from the museum, we walked route from MSA along Oxford Road to time and survey the route for risk control planning, It takes 10 mins one way, expect 15 mins extra with furniture on trolley. We hope it will be a sunny day on Events day !!

Posted 19 Mar 2020 23:58

LEARN & SHARE [late January]

We team Y5 has split up to do early preparation work, research on wood joinery, choice on wood finish/coating, ironmongery, sourcing peg board and glass box lighting construction! To share with Y1 and Y2 on events! And prepare in advance inventory of these material.

Posted 20 Mar 2020 00:43

VENUE FIXED!

MANMUS team will use the courtyard of Benzie Building for 1 : 1 model construction, and modelling at wood workshop.

Posted 20 Mar 2020 00:57

On March 10th, we had a discussion with Stephen about this activity. The discussion was a great help to us. He gave us many useful suggestions. Stephen is satisfied with the session plan of this activity, but the form of the table is not intuitive enough, so he wants us to show it in the form of a timeline. At the same time, we also discussed the content of the site model. We believe that the site model is only used to deliberate on the form of furniture, but Stephen thinks that they should be displayed as a part of the results, not just as a tool for scheme deliberation. In the end, we also discussed the material and its use.
After this discussion, we gained a lot and then made subtle adjustments to the session plan to enrich and complete the entire activity.

Posted 21 Mar 2020 21:52

SITE SURVEY [April]

A site survey has been arranged to do measurements in the museum. We would have a summary of resources we have currently at the site and cabinets dimension for detailed design, to make clear our design parameters.

Posted 22 Mar 2020 19:26

Recycle and reuse the existing furniture to provide new furnishing and storage facilities for the new Manchester Museum Shop. Upcycling the existing furniture can be a very difficult task to complete. We will discuss how to reuse the existing furniture. Do we replace the ironmongery? Will we sand down the existing furnitue and refinish it? How will we treat the wood?
Veneering the timber will offer a smooth and uniform finish. It can be easily applied and a very cost effective solution. The veneer can be durable but also easily replaced in the event of damage. Alternatively we can apply a lacquer. Applying a wood lacquer brings out the best qualities of the timber and increases it's durability. On the other hand, we can naturally protect the wood by using the ancient Japanese technique of Shou Sugi Ban.
We look forward to making decisions with the Manmus Team!!!

Posted 22 Mar 2020 23:58

Recycled materials will be used for any alterations and additional furniture. A wide range of recycled materials would be sourced to create 1:1 models for items such as the small container units to keep smaller products in the shops, pegboards and more.
SMILE recycled plastics are a good example of the recycled materials under consideration. The panels are made from yoghurt pots, plastic bottles, coffee grounds etc. Smile plastics are hard and dense, 100% waterproof and easy to work with. Examples of the versatility of the products are on their website; they have used the Smile plastics for exterior and interior purposes. As described 'Our Smile Plastics panels are a springboard for the creativity and imagination of designers and architects across the world.' Please find the link to their website below.
A selection of samples are on their way and we will select several materials to be available for the team to create further tests during the events period. We look forward to the new look these materials will offer; alongside the newly refurbished furniture with new or refurbished ironmongery.
https://smile-plastics.com/inspiration

Posted 23 Mar 2020 00:03

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is important for everyone's health and safety. Our activities include a live project build for the Manchester Museum Shop. Tasks include moving, refurbishing and building of the shop furniture. The team will abide by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) - Risk at Work. Our list of protective equipment advised include hard hats, googles, masks, ear protectors, high visibility vests and steel toe boots. These equipment would abide to British Standards. You can find more about the guidelines set by the government in the link below.
https://www.hse.gov.uk/toolbox/ppe.htm

Posted 23 Mar 2020 22:15

MUSEUM VISIT - ALL OF US

We are all going to the museum! Representatives from the museum will talk to us about the “Hello Future” project and what they hope to achieve from EVENTS with us, be motivated knowing how our contribution could help to promote environmental awareness in the community, in Manchester! Make sure you go back after EVENTS bring family and friends to check out what we will be building for the museum shop!

Posted 23 Mar 2020 23:14

Posted 24 Mar 2020 00:49

Emily C

For Week 2, we will be building the 1:1 models. The models will be each created in groups and then overseen by the MA students if they need any help. On the 2nd day we will be completing the models and then finishing the wood surfaces. We will then take photos of the models and make sure that they are presentation quality. The 3rd day, we will be improving out InDesign skills as a group by making the publication. The output will be a presentation for the client on the 4th day and a publication. On the 4th day we will prepare the presentation for our client to see all the hard work we have done for the past 2 weeks!

Posted 24 Mar 2020 06:43

[POWER TOOLS AND WOODWORK - DON’T FORGET ABOUT SAFETY!] During the prototype build, we will be using a variety of woodwork tools including bandsaw, electric drill, sand disks, etc. All students must have completed the workshop induction before using any of the equipments! Don’t worry, we will be supervising you guys, but also make sure you pay extra attention at all time, we don’t want any injuries to ruin your time during the event! Most importantly, we want you to enjoy the process, and hopefully learn from it too! Oh, and don’t forget to return the aprons after you finish!

Posted 24 Mar 2020 07:43

Working to produce a 1:20 site model for the Manchester Museum Shop. The model consists of a plywood exterior made prior to the events weeks ahead.
During events, we will separate into group to work on elements of the shop; from the refurbishment of the central cabinet to the build of the pegboards. Each team will produce tests and mock-ups of their selected elements and find the best solution for that specific furniture. We have listed several materials that we intend to use in the sketch models; Can you think of any more to add to the list?
Finally, each team will produce a final high quality model of their specific element at a 1:20 scale to be placed into the site model. We look forward to share the model with everyone.

Posted 30 Mar 2020 15:11

We will be aiming to produce one 1:200 site model, detail models (ideally one to ones), and a pamphlet to present to the clients.
The following outputs will aim to......
1) 1:200 Site Model- To propose on the atmospheric qualities, colour schemes to give the shop an identity and attract more customers. Amount of actual cabinet required for the amount of stock the museum has shall also be resolved.
2) Detail models- To investigate durability and the potentials of re-using existing wood.
3) Pamphlet- To propose design ideas and aid the Museum team during the actual construction of the shop to accelerate the time of the project.
Physical models are the best way to communicate to non-professionals. In having something physical in hand, it is a lot easier perceive and understand space as we naturally perceive information in three dimensions.

Posted 30 Mar 2020 17:37

Precedents
The Manchester Museum clients wanted to create an identity for the shop. We have analysed several precedents to demonstrate how identity is created in the different shops below.
Venice Biennale
Basic wood furniture for display. Items sold were mostly branded for the Biennale which results commercialization. The items designed for the Biennale had really strong colors, therefore it really catches the eye.
Victoria Albert
The use of lighting is very strong in this precedent. The floating cube structure above creates an impression of the shop.
Fred Aldous, Manchester
The art supply shop is organised through the types of products that are sold. The design of the furniture shows the craftsmanship and simplicity. A lot of different types of furniture have been considered for the wide range of art supplies.

Posted 30 Mar 2020 17:38

"Architecture is increasingly conceived as a product divorced from the particularities of place and as transferable as a chair."- Edwin Heathcote, Is Architecture Furniture?
The essay demonstrates of how architecture in the current age is as movable as a chair. There have been trends on designing homes in shipping containers, which creates flexibility for space. We shall understand this project as a smaller scale of a real project, where furniture act as walls and internal rooms as the facade of the 'building'.

Posted 30 Mar 2020 17:40

So, what do you wish to learn here?

Posted 31 Mar 2020 16:55