YEAR BOOK 2015
Final Review
It was a long haul, but the first cohort of the UCLan Masters in Architecture made it! With guest reviewers, Sue Emms, Director at BDP and David Vila Domini, M.Arch Course Leader at Scott Sutherland School of Architecture, Aberdeen, the students presented their design theses at their Final Review.
Thanks, Dorota Moskal, for the photos….
Tom wins client approval!
In January, Year 5 started work on a live project. Commissioned by Impact International, a global company specialising in management learning and development, students considered the business model and opportunities for developing the company’s wooded site Windermere in the Lake District. Proposals included a retreat for musicians; mindfulness therapy centre and a strategy for depopulation via transient, plug-in living spaces.
After some fantastic presentations, the client, CEO David Williams, selected Tom Boardman as the winner. Tom proposed a new headquarters building for the company, which raised the company’s local profile as well as giving form to their collective values. Tom proposed a timber frame structure which bridged the roadside to the forest behind, creating a smooth transition between the local landscape and global business. Tom wins a night for two at the exclusive Merewood Country House hotel. Congratulations Tom!
North End Soul
UCLan hosted this year’s RIBA 2015 annual Northern Soul design charrette at Avenham Park, with UCLan’s Masters in Architecture students joining the teams to respond to the challenging design brief. The brief asked students from schools of architecture from across the north of England to work intensively on solutions to revitalise Preston’s historic Stoneygate area.
Find out more at http://www.uclan.ac.uk/news/riba_event_uclan.php
Charrette #2 Structure vs. skin
Nothing like a charrette to shake things up a bit.
This week, M.Arch students took part in some intensive model making to interrogate the relationship between structure and skin in their architectural thesis projects. This one day exercise challenged students’ preconceptions of building composition in relation to their design thesis, propelling their design process to a more creative outcome.
On track for validation
As we’re a new course, we won’t be formally be given RIBA Part 2 status until we have produced our first graduates. But we’re nearly there. In February, the RIBA visited us to speak to staff and students and inspect their work. The board were really impressed by our progress, especially our facilities which are amongst the best in the country. So, we’ve been awarded RIBA Part 2 candidate status, which means that so far, we’re doing good.