Hey everyone, I’m Matt!
Atelier: Infrastructure Space

I studied my undergraduate at DMU in Leicester, before working as a Part 1 Architectural Assistant in Manchester.

I am interested in residential design, placemaking and masterplan development! Getting the chance to work on a pocket park in the centre of my home town is an exciting opportunity and I look forward to meeting everyone involved soon!

A collection of sketch plans from yesterday's workshop! These options are investigating the use of temporary structures that can change use depending on the time of day. Ranging from food markets and stalls on the weekends, to accessible seating throughout the week, the temporary team are on it!

The permanent team has been busy too! Take a look at some of the proposals they have come up with! They are proposing drastic changes to the materiality of the site to draw people in and create that link between the Light cinema and Merseyway. The proposal creates an interactive playground for the local community and uses a mixture of materials to really make it stand out!

Time to combine these ideas and start moving forward to meet up with the collaborator!

This morning marked the first in person meeting with the collaborator. After an early start to meet in Stockport for 9:45, an even earlier one with train strikes limiting travel!

The team gained access to the full site and explored the site with the site manager Oggy, giving them the opportunity to ask any questions about site conditions and any constraints placed on the site. After the visit, the team understand more of the complex needs of the site, requiring the majority of the street to be left clear of interventions to allow access for the fire service to the high street!

The site visit was super insightful and we can't thank our collaborators enough for organising it! Time to take what we have learnt and reflect that within our proposals this afternoon!

This afternoon, the team continued to develop their proposals after an intense site visit earlier in the day. The proposals are now starting to take shape with real world implications to each of the changes.

After this morning's site visit, the useable area has shrunk so the teams have had to make smart decisions to alter existing proposals to meet new criteria. These refinements are critical within the design process and lead to a richer and more developed scheme.

To prepare for tomorrow, the teams finished off by preparing materials for the collaborator meeting first thing tomorrow! Another day of hard work for MSA Live boxed off, time to rest and recuperate for another intense day tomorrow!

After the weekend, the team came back with fresh minds and are ready to tackle today's task!

The day started by translating the sketches and concepts from the previous week into AutoCAD and SketchUp. As some of the team were unfamiliar with these tools, an impromptu masterclass was held for both of the programs to improve workflow and increase the understanding of how such tools are used within a practical setting!

The latter part of the session was spent studying the previous landscape architect's proposal for the site in 3D to try to understand the levels of the site, and the solutions proposed. After this analysis, it ensured the team now fully understood how to deal with the levels and ensure that any requirements needed to meet Part M were factored in!

This afternoon, the team will take a deeper dive into the proposals and start to look at completing a drawing pack for the client to review for both solutions!

After this morning, the team sat down and discussed the best way to tackle the tasks at hand. The teams devised a plan of attack for the rest of the afternoon to complete the 3D modelling of the site to ensure that diagrams of program, use and interaction could be produced for the client drawing pack.

The teams carried on the development and modelling of the site using the insights that Kingsley and Chris had given them this morning. It was rewarding seeing the use of new modelling techniques shown earlier in the day! It certainly had an impact on the workflow and the outcomes starting to pop out of the models were astonishing!

We look forward to giving you an update of where both teams are in due course! For now though, we hope you have a lovely evening and we will see you all again tomorrow for another action-packed day!

That's a wrap! MSA Live has been an amazing experience but it obviously had its challenges. Here is a quick flick of all the day's activities throughout the action weeks, it has us reminiscing so we thought we would share it with you guys!

Throughout the two weeks of MSA Live, we discovered the true power of teamwork. Organising the action plan, coordinating collaborators, conducting site visits, and presenting to clients required extensive coordination and communication. Each step and submission depended on our collective effort. Managing a large group of students with their deadlines was challenging, but we relied on those who were present and stepped in where needed. Working with first and second year bachelor students of varying skill levels also required us to teach and explain our thought process, which, although time-consuming, was incredibly rewarding.

This experience allowed us to help students grow, and in turn, we learned from their fresh perspectives. Involving them in the design process and client presentations built their confidence and enhanced their critical thinking skills.

Ultimately, this journey was about mutual growth and learning, fostering a collaborative environment that will benefit all of us in future projects.

Thanks for following us on this journey and we cannot begin to describe how proud we are of our team and everything we have accomplished within these 2 weeks!