Course: Year 2
This year has been a challenging one for everyone at WSA, and year two is no exception. With studio and lectures needing to be abandoned to comply with social distancing regulations, everyone has needed to work away from fellow colleagues and tutors and instead adopt their home desk as their primary workspace. Whilst this proposed many challenges for everyone it also taught us how to be more resourceful, how to reach out to people and most of all how to be understanding and empathetic to everyone’s differing circumstances during these tough times. Despite all of this, we have managed to produce an impressive collection of projects that maintain a remarkable energy, enthusiasm and professionalism.
Semester one focused on retrofitting residential buildings across all studios, with small adjustments to the brief coming in the form of how different people with different occupations could use their home as both a living and working space. The brief was dependent on which of the six studios we chose; a gallery for craft/making, a public library and third space, a terroir centre for regional studies, a concert hall and musician’s residence, a sports and community centre and a sanctuary for spirituality and reflection. Fittingly, the site for each project was our own homes! This task of self-awareness and discovery produced a plethora of exciting and thought-provoking submissions that gave everyone the opportunity to reflect on their own live/work conditions and how they can adapt it to better suit their needs.
In between the two terms, we were all given the opportunity to take part in a school sanctuary project. This challenged us to explore how to sensitively approach designing a space to nurture the psychological and intellectual development of children aged from five to eleven. This provoked a variety of different responses from year two that all dealt with the various challenges of a child’s development comprehensively.
Semester two presented us with the task of making a public project that engaged the local Welsh community in ways relating to our selected studio groups. The projects considered a sensitive and respectful approach whilst also ensuring an innovative and challenging response to the local environment. These all showing promise and commitment to improving Wales’ architectural landscape.
Despite dramatic changes to the typical on-goings of architectural education, year two has produced a thoughtful, imaginative and sensitive body of work. Glimpses of which have been captured here, we hope you enjoy it.