DLA MANCHESTER COLLABORATE WITH MANCHESTER SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS

Sectors : Community

Client : St Mary's RC Primary School, Levenshulme

The DLA Design Manchester team was delighted to collaborate with the Manchester School of Architecture in summer 2018 to support a group of students with their MSA Events project.

DLA supported a group of 5th year students in their development, management and execution of a two week project for 1st & 2nd year students at the Manchester School of Architecture. DLA provided expert knowledge and advice through project development meetings, presenting to students about DLA’s community approach, forming a ‘crit’ review panel and supporting the student’s final exhibition, which took place at a local primary school.

The students worked with St Mary’s RC Primary School, Levenshulme and delivered a series of workshops with pupils to help familiarize them with architectural terms and processes that define space. To help increase their understanding of their everyday learning environment, the pupils drew their school using architectural drawing principles. The pupils then engaged in design tasks to create and draw their ideal school.

Through a design competition, three teams of 1st and 2nd year students then produced proposals for an exhibition that would develop upon the pupil’s designs by projecting their ideas back as an ‘ideal city’. The aim being for the pupils to be able to react and engage with a series of spaces designed by the architecture students using the pupil’s ideas as a brief, stimulating discussion and debate about their spaces.

The judging panel for the exhibition proposals was formed by DLA’s Daniel Haigh, Stuart Riley and Sophie Hodges. The students were able to present their ideas and receive feedback and advice to assist in their project and future design processes. DLA selected one exhibition to be developed that was then realized by the students and presented back to the pupils in the school.

The exhibition was a great success and the pupils and staff at St Mary’s greatly enjoyed the addition of architecture to their curriculum.

The project sought to encourage two way learning between the MSA students and the pupils in school. The former developing their skills in consulting with the community to inform their design approach; and the latter gaining a greater understanding about design, the built environment and careers within the profession.