My desire to study architecture at MSA stems from both the quality of the school and my passion for the city of Manchester itself. Research I undertook when submitting my applications informed me that MSA is among the top architecture schools in the country, and that it excels in terms of student satisfaction and the prospects of its graduates. This information was validated for me when I visited the University of Manchester in July, which was a wholly positive experience. I also believe the city of Manchester would be an outstanding environment to undertake my studies in; I really feel that the city is rich in history, culture and interesting Architecture.
A building I recently visited that I felt worthy of review was Jean Nouvel’s “One New Change”. When I came across the building incidentally, I viewed one of the buildings few flat facades from street level. My view was that this curtain glass wall with its daring cladding paid little respect to the surrounding street environment, thrusting a façade, that one may expect to see along a back alley, upon a thriving streetscape. Further exploration of the building led me to retract this initial judgement. One of the buildings key features is the deep trench running from the very centre of the building outwards in perfect alignment with St. Paul’s cathedral. The very specific angle of the facades within the “trench” results in a reflection of the cathedral on either side, demonstrating that not only has the building leant itself to its surrounding environment, but that it’s seemingly random form is anything but, and is in fact cleverly engineered to provide the most interesting experience for pedestrians moving through the space. Whilst more enclosed sections of the building were very dark, this suited the sleek, sharp sense of environment Nouvel has created, furthermore, I believe One New Change to be among the most successful applications of sense of movement and connection between storeys within a single building.
One of my favourite buildings is Rem Koolhaas/OMA’s “New Court” in the City of London. Whilst its design is neither intricate nor delicate, it’s basic form and simple application of ideas is its strong point. The blocks that form the main segment of the building are cleverly broken up by the use of branching silver rims on one arm of the building. These add to the design and don’t overcomplicate it as they so easily could’ve.
