Manchester School of Architecture (MSA) is celebrating the success of this year’s graduating students who have impressed tutors, industry experts and the visiting public with designs including a nature-inspired healthcare hub, miniature 3D models and an innovative concept for end-of-life care.
MSA 2023 showcases the work of 342 students from BA (Hons) Architecture, the Master of Landscape Architecture, Master of Architecture (MArch), Master of Arts (MA) in Architecture and Urbanism, and the new MA Architecture and Adaptive Reuse programme online and over three floors of the Manchester Met’s Grosvenor East Building.
Open to the public until 29 June, highlights of the exhibition include the design of a next-generation palliative care centre proposal by Master of Architecture students and Royal Institute of British Architect (RIBA) Silver Medal Nominees Aiman Rahman and Arif Ismail. Aiman said: “Our concept, The Last Vacation, aims to address the challenges of elderly and end-of-life care in the Cumbria region while also boosting tourism and the local economy.”
Other notable designs include intricate small-scale models of real buildings that have been adapted for other purposes, including a 200-year-old prison in Belgium that was converted into a university law school and recreated in miniature acrylic pieces by MA Architecture and Adaptive Reuse students Xinyi Li and Xiaoming Dai.
Their programme launched this year and equips students with the skills and experience needed for ‘adaptation’, a practice now at the forefront of architecture and which reuses old buildings to aid sustainability.
Also on display is work from other student award winners and nominees including BA (Hons) Architecture students and RIBA Bronze Medal Nominees Alexandra Muntean and Natasha Nedelcu who designed a nature-inspired healthcare setting proposed for Burnley.
The exhibition also features the work of flagship initiative MSA Live in which students work with local community groups and charities on live projects to create social impact. This year’s projects included making safer streets, age-friendly housing and landscape design for biodiversity.
Head of MSA, Professor Kevin Singh, said: “Once again, I’ve been extremely impressed with the students’ work on display and their sophisticated design processes, ideas, innovations, proposals and drawings.
“I’d like to thank all the staff, visiting tutors, speakers, practices, organisations and community groups who have contributed to the school this year, and congratulations to all of our talented students on their achievements.”
MSA, a unique collaboration between Manchester Met and the University of Manchester, is ranked 5th in the world and 2nd in the UK in the prestigious QS World University Rankings for Architecture which highlight the world’s top performing universities.
It unites two schools with more than 100 years’ experience, over 150 experts in their architectural fields and more than 1,200 students from over 80 countries. Offering a range of professionally recognised undergraduate, postgraduate and research degrees, it has gained a prestigious reputation following appraisals by professional bodies like RIBA, the Architects’ Registration Board and the Landscape Institute, alongside a number of prizes gained externally.
Members of the public are invited to visit the 2023 end of year exhibition at Manchester Met’s Grosvenor East Building until Thursday 29 June.
To find out more about Manchester School of Architecture and explore students’ profiles, go to the MSA 2023 website.