Buse discusses a typical week as an Architecture student and why they chose to study at The University of Manchester.

I always had a strong passion for creating mental and emotional experiences within a larger systematic world in a way that can only be translated through architecture and three dimensional space, and being an Architecture student at The University of Manchester has provided me with a plural understanding for architecture as a discipline, passion and trajectory with the University’s collective search for radical forms of pedagogy for an innovative approach in studying architecture.

Experiencing a technical school with a strong emphasis on art that heavily relies on the independence of peculiar ways of thinking has reshaped and evolved how I perceive and approach design, built environment and the fluidity between the the city and its people.

When approaching a degree like Architecture, I always thought I should first look at the city, and what I could derive from the city of Manchester is so far limitless, especially because the school prioritizes student experience as its core with a plethora of available workshops, job opportunities, societies and events going on all year round. As this has been giving me a daily sense of comfort and knowledge with its deep connections with what is going on around me, I am better at determining where my needs and passions are fulfilled with a clear sense for how I live the present and imagine the future. The Careers service website and the Students Unions’ Job Fairs were also very helpful to experiment with my skills and create new connections through active and diverse job vacancies.

A typical week for me starts on Monday with the initial sketches, model making and speculation for any project at the first studio lectures in person with our tutors, where we usually split up in teams to generate our unique ideas, and then discuss them in greater aspects and various concepts.

Being assisted with advanced tutors from all around the world who are also active in the field enable the student body to gain various perspectives on how both Architecture and an Architecture school runs: by its people and the city, which gives me a sense of belonging to be a part of it.

For example, the B15 Modelmaking Workshop in the University of Manchester Humanities Building provides modelmaking as a core design tool and is open from Monday to Thursday. This was an essential part of my learning process so far because I could request workshops in advance that required knowledge of the use of specific materials and the experienced staff and school has provided me with great resources for applying systematic and computational thinking into physical structure through advanced machines like 3D Printers, Laser Cutting, CNC Routers and many other.

Because my particular area of interest is the digital fabrication and design softwares, the existence of the ‘Advanced Digital Design’ Area and staff has been so helpful for me. They record tutorial videos and in person events covering so many different areas for softwares in Architecture and interdisciplinary design. This has been specifically so mind opening for me, as it encouraged me to experiment with CAD softwares like Maya and even with other fields like animation with the software Houdini.

Furthermore, with The MSA Thursdays has also been a great resource and a part of a typical week for me as a platform for provoking and inspiring talks and student discussions with Architecture and design industry professionals, writers, researchers and internationally recognized academics with such specific areas of expertise that I loved getting used to seeing titles like ‘Unreal Cities’, ‘How to not make your city’ or ‘Constructive Biology- a language’. On Mondays and Thursdays after the lectures, there was always an optional workshop associated with our studio, Humanities or Technologies projects that were going along perfectly with what my mind was asking for: The practical aspect of turning the technical architectural knowledge into physical space.

On a regular day I always somehow find myself convinced to go and experience the things that are constantly advised to be available to me, whether it be a Gender and Diversity in Architecture Seminar, an MSA&U Architecture LGBT walking city tour with the academics, or an International Students Event, or even a ‘Garlic Appreciation Society’ meet up where we are just a group of students who love garlic enough to meet every few weeks to bake garlic bread to share our pure appreciation.

Overall, my experience at the University of Manchester has provided me with so many interesting opportunities that I’m very thankful to be a part of. I could never imagine the university to have the perfect environment for me to totally saturate myself in exploring my individualistic curiosities and further expand my expectations of applying theory into practice by allowing me to not ‘work” but ‘live’ my passions.

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