Oxford Road Corridor

So I began the MA Architecture and Urbanism course in September and so far I'm really enjoying it. For our first piece of work, as part of our first project; The Oxford Road Corridor, we were each assigned two buildings/sculptures/landmarks on Oxford Road in Manchester and had to link them together somehow. I won't bore you with the details, I'll show you some pictures instead.

 

 

So I had the Obelisk and the Edward VII statue in Whitworth Park. Using water and a looping wall concept I linked the two together and created these images to show my idea.

My tutor must have liked them as he added the images to the course blog http://architectureandurbanism.blogspot.co.uk/ !!! So all in all, it's been a good start I think!

How to Procrastinate Like a Pro

To Procrastinate: To delay, put off or postpone something.

Basically, it’s exactly what I am doing right now! That’s right, instead of doing my work I have taken time out from drawing endless lines on AutoCad, to write a blog.

So I decided to provide you with a number of things you can do instead of anything on your ‘to do’ list…


So these ones are pretty standard ways to procrastinate:

·         Read this blog…CHECK!

·         Go and make yourself a really nice fancy meal. If it involves going to the shop to buy ingredients, that’s even better!

·         Tidy your obscenely messy room. Tidy room, tidy mind…right?

·         Then clean it!

·         Rearrange all of your clothes. And I mean all of them. I know my t-shirt drawer has a way of unfolding all my t-shirts without me even touching them. There’s no better time than now to straighten them all back out again.

·         Catch up with any online TV shows. You never know when they might be deleted, best to watch them now.

·         Facebook stalk to your hearts content. Followed by Twitter Stalk. (Then write a status about how much you don’t want to do the work you’re not doing anyway)

·         Two words: Youtube. Cats.

·         Do some exercise: Run, gym, jogging, walking. Whatever you prefer, do it now, because being fit and healthy is, in the long term, more important than your work.

You know that saying 'if you're going to do it, do it properly', or words to that effect. That would be this: These forms of procrastination are not for the faint hearted. These require a little commitment to see them through:

·         Clean your whole house. The bathroom’s filthy, the kitchen is growing and the living room is un-liveable. You have a deadline next week, but this needs doing NOW.

·         Clean your car. ( If you don’t have one, clean someone else’s. You could even charge them a small fee, but this may become a little too productive for procrastination if you do that)

·         You have vouchers for Boots that run out tomorrow. You’ll just have to go into town and use them today. This is no organising a sock drawer, you have to leave your house for this one...shit just got real.

·         Grow your own plants. Now this one I actually did. Last summer I planted Basil, Oregano, Mint and some other stuff I’ve never actually used. All because I was putting off doing my work. Unfortunately all those herbs are now dead. Have no fear, in a months time…I can replant them instead of doing my major project!

·         Alphabetise your bookcase. Or arrange them by size order depending on your preference. If you are doing this, you have admirable patience and determination. Or your a little anal.

·         Or write a blog….I think that’s how we got here….

Please feel free to add your own procrastinating habits in the comments!

Then go do something useful with yourself.

Why I’m So Excited About Next Year.

So if you are a Facebook friend or follow me on Twitter or God forbid are real life friends. Or all of the above! You may know that I recently had an interview for an MA starting in September in Architecture and Urbanism at Manchester and was accepted. This may sound uber boring to most folk but I’m about to attempt to convince you that it’s NOT!

So firstly, I’m actually looking forward to the prospect of moving back home. This is good for a few reasons: I don’t have to pay rent, I don’t have to pay utilities, I don’t have to pay for food, I don’t have to cook lame excuses for dinner (like Heinz beans, broccoli and mushrooms which I’m ashamed to say I ate on Friday night. I mean seriously, what a bizarre combination!?), I don’t have to walk or cycle everywhere because I will have the Holy Grail of all transportation methods that is my Mothers car. I also get to live in the lovely countryside again instead of the grotty area of Cardiff I currently reside in. I can go for my run and not have to dodge dog shit, be heckled by kids, wolf whistled, pipped and ogled by random strangers! And I can shop in the shopping paradise that is Manchester whenever I fancy! Of course there are some obvious downsides but I am currently concentrating on the positives.

Now for the actual important life stuff: My MA. I have been pondering the idea of doing an MA for about a year now and in Sept I decided that it was definitely on the cards. Jobs are lucrative, I had a bit of a falling out with my BA course last year and lets face it; I know very little about the world outside the education system I have come to know and love. So I decided to stick with what I know, get myself more in debt (because really now, what’s another £4000 at this point?) and get a few more fancy letters after my name for my imaginary business cards.

 So what’s it all about? Well Architecture and Urbanism of course! Since studying Interior design I have found that I actually enjoy writing about design as much as I like designing. And I also prefer architecture to interiors, it’s a broader spectrum. My course allows you to be broad, most of the time, but I want to go even broader. This probably stems from doing my dissertation. You learn so much shit writing that thing! Things I had no idea even existed; Urban Taxidermy, Urban Psychology, Linear Metropolis…(…s’? …ses?) And other geeky stuff like that. Mine is about Zaha Hadid and perception, and some other boring jargon. That dissertation is the reason I chose Architecture and Urbanism. Through writing it I actually became interested in what I was saying and coming up with and it was all really fascinating. I actually love having all this knowledge in my head and I wander around sometimes and think ‘Yeh, all this stuff really does make sense when you apply it to everyday experiences.’ It’s great! I feel all intellectual for about 10 minutes of my day! So next year I’m going to be learning tons more about urban spaces and how they function and flow, and all the theory behind it, and then put it into practice through project work and a thesis.

 If you, like me, want to pretend to be knowledgeable and clever about stuff like this, then I recommend reading Zaha Hadid: Automobility and Architecture in Anthony Hoete’s Reader on the Aesthetics of Mobility AND Replicant urbanism: the Architecture of Hadid's Central Building at BMW, Leipzig by Spencer Douglas in the Journal of Architecture. They were the only two texts that I actually enjoyed. They are both good reads if you care at all about anything I just said in the above paragraph. If you don’t care, then don’t worry, this makes you a normal person.

Also I’m just really excited about doing something new. I love nothing more than a challenge and this is mine for next year. It’s going to be a huge leap from what I do at the moment, but I think I’m ready for it. I’m ready to try something a bit different, broaden my horizons and I guess really push myself academically. There are only positive things to gain out of this and I have a really positive outlook on my future at the moment. I get to meet new people, have new opportunities and gain new experiences. Come September, I will officially (as long as I don’t fail, drop out or get hit by a bus) be a student at the Manchester School of Architecture, which, FYI, is jointly run by Manchester Uni and Man Met. I get to be a member of all three, BOOM!

So that, my friends, is why I am so excited about next year.

It's a New Blog, Blog!

Hello, hello! Welcome to my very first blog!

I planned on starting this days ago but it took me ages to decide what to call the damn thing. Typically I'm still not actually happy with what it's called but alas, it shall have to do!

So last Friday I was back home for the week and went to see my friend Jonny in a football match. Now you see this is strange for two reasons. Reason number one: I am not the sort of girl who watches football or goes to matches. I actually hate football and everything about it, which is a topic I will not get in to right now. Reason number two: Every player was in a wheel chair. That's right guys, this was Powerchair Football! Not a clue what that is? Well take a look...

Pretty cool huh?

This thing could get pretty violent, there was some ramming involved, a lot of screeching tyres. But generally speaking it was a good game. And it was something that I had never seen before in my life, and I'm pretty sure not many people will have watched or even heard of Powerchair Football either, so I figured it was only fair to share.

It works just the same as normal football; get the ball in the other team's net more than they get it in yours. But all the players zoom around in Electric Wheelchairs instead of running. I think it's fantastic that this sort of sport and opportunity exists, and I found it inspirational. The next Para Olympic Sport perhaps?

Jonny's team won! Yay! They basically annihilated the other team. As a side note I also went to watch Jonny shoot at the Welsh Open Air Rifle Championships last year and he also tried out for the GB Para Olympics Air rifle team.

So now you know about Powerchair Football!

It was also Pancake Day today! Or Shrove Tuesday to be precise. It really has saddened me today how many people don't know what Pancake day is really about. Now I'm not religious but I still think it's important to know it's not actually called Pancake day. It's about Jesus, eating up food, lent, and 40 days. Go and Google it people!