Hello, I'm Sourabh!

I am from India. I hold a bachelor's degree in Architecture from the University of Pune. Following my undergraduate studies, I gained valuable experience as an architecture design intern and later as a self-practicing architect, completing several residential projects. I am pursuing an MA in Architecture + Adaptive Reuse as my master's course. This enriching experience has allowed me to investigate strategies for adaptive reuse - strategies that are not applied as a reaction to current conditions but in anticipation of future changes. My interests are exploring and documenting architectural heritage and precedents.
I'm eager to contribute to the Bradford Culture Connection project with my group. We aim to rejuvenate the road, a missing link to the city centre and the university campus site, into a dynamic community asset with a strong emphasis on innovative solutions and engaging the community.

Intro. to MSA LIVE*
6th December 2023,
Our first meeting and introduction of 2 LIVE projects for
Bradford 2025

Introduction to our live project:
Culture Connection: To re-design a main side street of Great Horton Road that links the city centre to the university. This street could be re-imagined as one where the stunning architecture from the city centre mixes with an explosion of culture, colour, and excitement that leads you from the city centre up to Bradford University. The ‘Cultural Connection’ design must reflect Bradford's diverse student population and cultural heritage and support the day/night economy.
Location:
Great Horton Road, Bradford
[From the point of Odeon Cinema to the University of Bradford campus]

TEAM MEET ups!
30 January 2024,
We had our first team meeting, followed by a catch-up meeting online with our collaborator, Jade.

A quick meeting to get to know each other, a brainstorming session about ideas and objectives and a brief system of work were put forth.
Team Meetings every Wednesday morning from 10:00 to 11:00
Jake led our meetings. Organising our action plan early was vital, as was setting out tasks, deadlines, and checkpoints to ensure the project stayed on track.
Every Meeting had a summary outline to be followed for the next. A banter between Jake and Oliver was a must. :P
Meanwhile, a date for a site visit to Bradford was organised.

Our Collaborator, Jade Ibeguna
21 February 2024
Jade is part of Bradford Council's Culture Department. She is our primary source of contact in Bradford and has been helping build the project's framework thus far. Jade will also allow us to communicate with stakeholders in the Bradford redevelopments and other important people involved.

As seen standing in the middle of the group photo in the Council Chamber room, Bradford City Hall.

Visit to Bradford Site and Day proceedings
21 February 2024,

This is how our day went...

[Rains are expected whole day]
10:00
Arrive at Bradford Interchange – meet Jade

10:15
Arrive at City Hall, where we collect our Visitor badges and proceed to the Council Chamber – Rachel Firth + Len Palmer (Bradford Council City of Culture,2025)

10:20
We have an introductory session to Heritage Action Zone by –
Saira Alia, Richard Middleton and Phil Hargreaves (Bradford Council City of Culture,2025)

CHECK OUR NEXT POST for further Updates on this day's visit

Visit to Bradford Site and Day proceedings
21 February 2024,

[Heavy rains and wind are expected to continue]

10:50
Tour 1 Walk through the Heritage Action Zone

11:20
Tour 2 Culture Connection, our site location
Walk along the Great Horton Road, stretching from Odeon Cinema to Bradford University Campus.
We had an insightful conversation with a Bradford University students and staff focus group.

1:20
Lunch at Bradford 2025 office, informal chat with Executive Director Dan Bates

We got *FREE PIZZA* for lunch : P

CHECK OUR NEXT POST for the final update on this day's visit

Visit to Bradford Site and Day proceedings
21 February 2024

2:30
Arrive again at Council Chamber: Project planning – reflection and next steps!
Discuss proposed interventions, limitations, and possibilities with Jade and exchange ideas.

4:00
End of Day back to base MCR

[Rain stops. Sun is Out]

An eventful day indeed!

Look out for our next posts for further updates!

Day 1
It was great kicking off our MSA Live project today!
It was fantastic seeing everyone together this morning, in person, for the first time on time!
We're diving right into what's going to be an exciting couple of weeks—with not too much work to drown you in!

Morning:
We kicked things off with some introductions—it's always good to put faces to names and dove straight into the project brief. We ensured everyone was clear on what we aimed to achieve and walked through the action plan for the next two weeks. There was a solid Q&A session, too, where everyone got to clear up any queries about the project or just about uni life in general.
As part of our morning session, we explored some valuable resources from the Bradford Culture is Our Plan. These resources, including a promotional video, provided us with insightful perspectives that will help shape our interventions for the MSA Live project.

Day 3
It was a beautiful day to visit our site in Bradford
We have two groups working at two different sites in Bradford, the (Heritage Action Zone) and (Great Horton Road Reimagined) travelling together for the site visit.

Here's a brief overview of how our day unfolded...
Morning 8:20
Early start. Bus from MTC to Bradford site.
Our collaborator Jade (Bradford City Council Culture Department) welcomed us at the Alhambra Theatre, followed by a presentation and overview of the Bradford City of Culture 2025 presentation.
A representative from the culture department provided us with information regarding the history and purpose of the buildings on the street.
Later, students walk along the stretch of our site on Great Horton Road, taking notes, photographs, sketches, observations, and discussions on existing built facades, vacant spaces, street use, and possible interventions…

Day 3
Interaction with students from Bradford University. The group learned their views, current problems, and the loss of connection to the city centre. The site is perfectly poised between the Bradford University campus on one end and two iconic entertainment venues on the other, favouring it with significant potential redevelopment opportunities.
It was important for each student to understand this and analyse it for their specific section of the street facade.
Followed by a tour of the City Town Hall, City centre public spaces and the famous Alhambra Theatre. We also had the opportunity to visit the refurbishment works of Bradford Live, which is currently under construction.
Afternoon 4:30:
To wrap up the day, we had a quick summary. Students had to take away what they had learned about the history, culture, students, and our site, Great Horton Road—directions for the work to be done next as we left for Manchester.

Day 4
Today, students worked independently. They had self-directed tasks, working on concepts and sketches of alternate uses, reimagining spaces, and understanding how new life will be brought to the street through our interventions. The work produced represents their assigned facade itself—a step closer to our final output!
For week 2, we prepare for intensive days of model-making!

Day 6
Today, we progressed with completing our reimagined street facades, which will be put to new function and use, using new colours and materials to try to make them come alive again.
Next up, the group prepares for the final model presentation and design drawings.

Day 7 and Day 8
Reflections and discussions on proposed design schemes.
We are setting up the walkthrough model as students make the final visuals for our collaborator's presentation day. This is our last working day for the action week!

Day 9
Presentation day!
Morning, we set up our room with the hanging model and presentation screens
Our collaborator Jade swung by from Bradford to Manchester to see our collaborative work!
The students explained their visuals and the hanging model for the reimagined street. Jade was happy to see our work, and we discussed the possibilities and opportunities such projects would take in Bradford in line with the City of Culture 2025 project. We were able to exchange feedback, look back on the whole project, and show our appreciation to the rest of the team for their amazing work!

Day 9

And that's a wrap for MSA Live 24
Getting to know and work with the bachelor students has been really exciting. We are delighted and hope we have been helpful and inspiring in their architecture journey!
Cheers! Group 29!

Reflections

To conclude, MSA LIVE Reflecting on the project and what our group and collaborator have achieved is essential.
Our project output focused on presenting the reimaged facades and, thus, the repurposed street.

|Coordination with Collaborator |
-Coordination among stakeholders was efficient, and through our main collaborator, Jade from Bradford Council, we had access to contractors, local government, and the community. These groups worked well together to deliver the project.
-We provided regular updates and communicated clearly with our collaborators through email or team meetings. Four in-person visits were also made.

| Transparency and Engagement with Team |
-Great communication, coordination, and motivation enabled undergraduate students to ideate and produce fantastic models and visuals for the respective designs.

| Implementation Project Management |
- Efficiency: The project was completed on time and within budget.

| Design Proposals |
This activity developed a range of skills for the students. Generating a design narrative is an essential strategy used throughout university projects and in practice. This is partnered with graphical communication, another crucial aspect used in academic and professional settings. In addition to the physical model and visual curation, the students concisely presented their schemes to over 30 people. This has benefited their confidence and ability to communicate an idea to an audience.

| Feedback |
- Satisfaction: Feedback from our main collaborator at Bradford Council about their satisfaction with the redesign was very beneficial, informative, and incredibly positive.

Reflections Lessons Learned

1. Successes and Challenges
Achievements: The Great Horton Street redesign project stands out for its unique successes. We achieved a remarkable 100% attendance and participation from the ba1 and ba2 teams and the master’s students. Our innovative planning and design of the project framework and action plan not only made the project engaging and interesting but also led to a depth of excellent outputs, both physical and digital.
Challenges: The challenges faced were front-heavy. Planning the project alongside our other university deadlines meant time management was vital, and it was a challenge to prioritise certain parts of the university course equally. However, the action week ran without issue.

2. Best Practices
- Innovation: We used innovative practices during the project, including new technologies provided by Bradford Council, including the GIS Model (scan of the entirety of Bradford). All students could get the best idea of the street post-site visit and inform their three-dimensional cardboard development elevation models. This will instil in the students that despite the outputs being two-dimensional elevations, the importance of working and thinking three-dimensionally is their applicability to future projects. The project can be replicated in other parts of Bradford, future street redesign projects, and the students’ projects.

3. Reflecting on these aspects not only provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of the Great Horton Street redesign project but also has the potential to significantly influence future urban development initiatives. It can guide the creation of more liveable, sustainable, and inclusive urban spaces. Moreover, it creates a platform for the students to learn and grow from, enabling them to decide for themselves how they could improve or approach similar projects differently in the future. This project can be systematically incorporated into future efforts, establishing a formal process for capturing and utilizing lessons learned.

Signing off MSA LIVE,
Make sure to check the MSA LIVE exhibition from 17th June
Cheers!



Fin.