Monday saw us back on site, this time to take a closer look at the area we were assigned and to take our street panoramic.
The area we were assigned was to the very south of Cheetham Hill, around the prison. Wandering around, it had a very different feel to that of the rest of Cheetham Hill. There was a distinct lack of activity, whether pedestrian or vehicular. The majority of the area is made up of wholesalers and warehouses, mainly in the textile industry. Any activity that was going on was between proprietor and business owner; selling on goods. It seemed to be an area that excluded the public and there was very little, if any, sense of community.
The only 'community' orientated area was to the north, closer to what was more considered to be Cheetham Hill. It seemed to become more residential although the only residences in the area was a gated community that was shut off from its immediate surroundings. The park, while being adjacent to a primary school was empty and there were very few people just walking thought the area.
It was entirely different to the hustle and bustle of what I want to call the 'town centre' and it made us question whether our area was actually considered to be part of Cheetham Hill.
Tuesday, 8 October 2013
Friday, 4 October 2013
Site Visit: First Impressions
I went to site for the first time the day after studio to get a feel for the area and maybe gather some ideas.
I started by taking the bus to Victoria Station and then I planned to walk the remainder of the way up to Cheetham Hill. I briefly looked at the map before I left and saw that Cheetham Hill Road started near the train station so it was pretty straightforward to get there. However, so does Great Ducie Street and this was the one I started up in an attempt to get to Cheetham Hill. Luckily I realised my mistake before I had gone too far and found a route to Cheetham Hill Road with as fewer turns as possible.
My route took me straight around the Strangeways Prison perimeter. I had already walked past the prison en route but it was one thing to walk past along a main road and another to walk past along quiet back roads. There were no cars, except those parked outside the brick warehouses and I passed only a couple of people. The high walls of the prison were unsurprisingly intimidating and the quietness of the surrounding streets really made me want to move on as quickly as possible to Cheetham Hill Road. There was very little activity along the surrounding roads and there was not much sign that they buildings were inhabited, particularly on the side facing the prison.
Despite being late morning, when I reached Cheetham Hill Road, there was very little pedestrian activity on the street although there was plenty of traffic in the way of buses, cars and lorries. The activity seemed to increase as I approached The Manchester Fort and headed further into Cheetham Hill. The section of the road I walked along before I reached The Fort seemed to be more of a transitory space rather than part of the Cheetham Hill territory, a bit of a no-man's land between the city centre and Cheetham Hill.
The amount of activity increased further as I headed up the road. Along with houses, there were more shops, restaurants and community buildings such as mosques and job centres. There were more people out and about in the streets, many of them shopping. There were lots of small supermarkets that spilled out onto the pavement creating small markets.
Once I reached the library, I turned around and headed back to the city. This time I managed to stay on the right road!
I started by taking the bus to Victoria Station and then I planned to walk the remainder of the way up to Cheetham Hill. I briefly looked at the map before I left and saw that Cheetham Hill Road started near the train station so it was pretty straightforward to get there. However, so does Great Ducie Street and this was the one I started up in an attempt to get to Cheetham Hill. Luckily I realised my mistake before I had gone too far and found a route to Cheetham Hill Road with as fewer turns as possible. 
The amount of activity increased further as I headed up the road. Along with houses, there were more shops, restaurants and community buildings such as mosques and job centres. There were more people out and about in the streets, many of them shopping. There were lots of small supermarkets that spilled out onto the pavement creating small markets.
Once I reached the library, I turned around and headed back to the city. This time I managed to stay on the right road!
Thursday, 3 October 2013
Studio 1: MSAP Intoduction
First studio day of year 3. Not sure I'm ready to get thrown in at the deep end but not sure I've got much say in the matter!
We started the day with discussing what the atelier, MSA Praxis was about and we split into small groups to discuss 'participative techniques' that are used in architectural practise to engage with the clients. We were given a list and we talked about which ones we knew about, what we thought others were and whether we thought they were actually used in practise. They were all things that we can use in our own projects as well.
Over lunch, we were tasked with making a cognitive map of a familiar route. These were then compared when we restarted. Most people did their route to university although not all were the half hour or so commute; some were from home to Manchester. It was also interesting to see the differences in the maps. Some were really literal (like mine) and easy to read while others were more abstract and only clear if you knew the route.
Then the REAL map came out. Of Cheetham Hill.
As I hadn't had the chance to visit the site before studio, the area was completely unknown to me and reading an unfamilar street map upside down doesn't really reveal much. As it is such a large area, we split it up into 6 areas, one for each of the groups. The task was to survey our area and to make a panoramic street view of a section of Cheetham Hill Road. The following week, we would then present our findings and collectively, we would all have a better understanding of Cheetham Hill
We started the day with discussing what the atelier, MSA Praxis was about and we split into small groups to discuss 'participative techniques' that are used in architectural practise to engage with the clients. We were given a list and we talked about which ones we knew about, what we thought others were and whether we thought they were actually used in practise. They were all things that we can use in our own projects as well.
Over lunch, we were tasked with making a cognitive map of a familiar route. These were then compared when we restarted. Most people did their route to university although not all were the half hour or so commute; some were from home to Manchester. It was also interesting to see the differences in the maps. Some were really literal (like mine) and easy to read while others were more abstract and only clear if you knew the route.
Then the REAL map came out. Of Cheetham Hill.
As I hadn't had the chance to visit the site before studio, the area was completely unknown to me and reading an unfamilar street map upside down doesn't really reveal much. As it is such a large area, we split it up into 6 areas, one for each of the groups. The task was to survey our area and to make a panoramic street view of a section of Cheetham Hill Road. The following week, we would then present our findings and collectively, we would all have a better understanding of Cheetham Hill
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