As a renowned educational establishment in the field of Architecture, MSA is an obvious choice of school to begin my education as an architect. At first glance, MSA near the top of any league table for Architecture, as well as offering a joint degree from both the University of Manchester and MMU - an aspect of the degree that other Universities cannot offer. This means studying at MSA will essentially make twice the resources of any other University available to me.  I have chosen to apply to this University with the belief that studying here will expose me to many more career opportunities than any other University.

This summer I visited the magnificent Cathedral of Palma, Mallorca. The Cathedral was built on an existent Arab Mosque as a way to symbolise the victory of the Christian King, James I over Islam in the 1229. The nave of the Cathedral stands at an impressive 44 metres tall – a feat that I believe is only truly appreciated when standing inside the Cathedral. Though now seen as one of the wonders of gothic architecture in modern day, the Cathedral’s took almost 400 years to complete. Numerous architects contributed to the construction of the Cathedral, perhaps most famously of which being Antoni Gaudi, who contributed to a restoration of the Cathedral in 1901. What struck me most about the Cathedral, and continues to amaze me with most pre-modern structures is the amount of detail which covers the entire exterior. Even in this age aided by extremely intelligent technology, I would consider recreating this detail almost impossible.

Architect Gary Chang was my first real impression of an architect and one I regard as my favourite. I recall hearing about his work on the news and later reading about it across numerous websites. Chang is my favourite architect as his ability to not only create something out of nothing, but also use this something in the most efficient way possible, amazes me. My first experience of Gary Chang’s architecture was his own Hong Kong apartment. With only 32 square feet to work with, Chang designed in such a way that allowed him to create 24 separate rooms by simply moving a few individual walls. Further research revealed his additional work – the suitcase house. A rectangular building which ‘stores’ its rooms in the floor, ready to be unfolded and revealed.

I would definitely like to visit San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, as I see it as not only a work of attractive architecture, but also of phenomenal engineering. I find it an impressive achievement to create such a large, necessary structure, but also make it aesthetically pleasing to all. It is an achievement I would like to experience in person.

As part of my AS Level Graphics course, I was asked to choose and existing building and create a scale model of this chosen structure. For this project I chose the Wales Millennium Centre located in Cardiff Bay. Here is a picture of my completed model edited into the real-world setting.

A free hand pencil sketch of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge - A structure I would like to visit in the future.

A free hand sketch of a landscape in The Lake District.

A one point perspective sketch of the interior of a high rise apartment.

A one point perspective sketch on a city scale.

As a separate part of my AS Level Graphics course, I was required to design and develop packaging for a new fragrance that would join an already existent brand. I have included a plan view of the constructive net for my design, with dimensions, and an orthographic projection of the design that I produced using CAD, I believe this shows my ability to easily convert 2D designs into 3D designs and vice versa.

Two Point Perspective - Japanese Zen Building 

Shown here is another design I have developed myself using the two point perspective drawing technique. I took inspiration for this design from traditional Japanese houses – I chose to include sliding doors as seen in many traditional Japanese buildings and placed my concept against a natural backdrop. I have also given this structure a large glass panel around the entire perimeter of the roof. This would allow large amounts of natural light into the building if ever constructed in reality.

Two Point Perspective - 3 Point House

Shown here is a design I developed myself using the two point perspective drawing technique. For this design, I took inspiration from the crazy paving style used in pavements and driveways. I essentially developed the rest of the structure around this crazy paving style. I chose to add a glass barrier around the roof, turning into a roof terrace. I believe this adds a modern touch to the otherwise quite traditional house.

Throughout my AS project, I was able to use Computer Aided Design to develop my scale model. The main development can be seen in the picture on the top left of this collection. I believe these photos show my proficiency in CAD, particularly using programs such as Google Sketchup and Adobe Illustrator. Using programs such as these allowed me to mathematically plan my model, ensuring it was made to a high level of accuracy.