Visit of Tom Jones

23.11.17: The students are well advanced with their projects, even though it is only 3 1/2 weeks since they started. We have the honour of a visit from Tom Jones, chief exec of Jefferson Sheard architects. He gave us a good lecture with Case studies of work by the practice which demonstrated different aspects of design, including structure and sustainability, Master planning and interiors. Akhil and Ehab also spent the afternoon tutoring with us and we were able to operate parallel tables.

Progress with TallBuildings and Cafe Scientific

13 November 2017: We are deep into the first term, and advancing with our design for Jakarta. The students have made a good effort to understand the culture of this great city, and understand the complexity of tropical climate and the transport and economic culture. This is a completely different building from what would be produced in Hong Kong or London.
Later in the evening, I had to do a lecture to the Cafe Scientific, Tall Buildings in just 25 minutes. I had a 20 slide lecture, with six bonus slides to help answer the questions which came later. I must do the same lecture again today to 1st year undergraduates over 50 minutes, so will use it but add another six bonus slides to include more of the questions that I was asked in the evening.

Tutorials for Manchester sites 30.3.17

We had visitors, John Napier and Noura Ghabra, to join The team for a day, with work in progress tutorials, one week before the end of term.
Many detailed plans to go through, but still waiting for sections and models.

Tall building tutorials 16.3.17

Firming up 3D master plan, and looking to develop more detailed plans and section. Peter Russell as special guest.

First interim design reviews

9.3.17: it is five weeks since the site visit and we are now having a review of the first stage designs. We have nine projects. These are complex connected clusters of urban buildings, not single towers. Everybody has something, even though we need to keep improving and refining.

Site analysis context tutorials, 9 February

9 February 2017: we had work-in-progress tutorials on the urban context analysis, with guests Lily (Beijing) and Akhil (Mumbai)

Graduation December 2016

13 December 2016: graduation ceremony in the new sports centre building. Celebrating so much achievement by all these wonderful distinction level students.

Tall buildings studio with John Napier

8-12-16: Tall buildings studio with John Napier. Tutorials and an excellent lecture. Only one week to go to pin up... 

The Conversation: How Cities forced Skyscrapers to Evolve

6 Dec 2016: I finally got my second article published in The Conversation. (It was written in the summer, but we turned to other things, and decided to get it finally published in December.)
This is about how the standards of design of skyscrapers have advanced, much of it due to urban economic and regulatory pressures.

https://theconversation.com/rise-of-the-glass-giants-how-modern-cities-are-forcing-skyscrapers-to-evolve-56843

Student designs for Blackfriars, London 2015

Lecture on facades by Dik Jarman

2 December 2016: Dik Jarman offered to do a lecture on facades and we had a most entertaining couple of hours seeing some of his work in previous practice in Australia, Japan, China.

Design tutorial with Tom Jones

10 November 2016: Tom Rhys Jones joined us from Sheffield for a day, tutoring the early stage designs for Kowloon. This is only week two, but already, the students had 3-D models and sections. Next week, we will be asking them for plans.

One week special design in Wan Chai

26 October 2016: the students are midway through a one-week intensive sketch design course, taking on the entire brief for the Pocket Tower that would normally be taking a whole semester... and trying to get a building by the end of the week.
When they choose their real sites later in the term, they will be able to be far better equipped for the difficulty level, and they will take it to much greater levels of detail and resolution.
So far, it is going well.

Presentations of urban analysis

20 October 2016: the students have been considering their sites in Kowloon, and presented powerPoints on the Culture, Context and Climate of their location. Next week, they will do a short one week design in Wan Chai, and the week after will start properly on their chosen sites in Mong Kok, developing Concepts and forms appropriate to those sites. 

Example of zoned elevator systems on the Leadenhall

I must lecture about elevators and sometimes the diagrams seem too abstract. However, thank you to the Leadenhall tower for being a perfectly visible illustration of zoned elevators

Field trip to London

6 October 2016: two coaches of students travelled to London, and the tall building students and the environmental students travelled around as a walking group to see a mixture of tall buildings and other historic sites in London.

Students assemble for the main briefing

3 October 2016: we start off the design studio with a briefing, and nine students turned up but later this became seven, and then later it became 13. That is a good number.

Students saying goodbye before they fly home

Some of my dissertation students are on the point of returning to their countries, so they turned up to hand over copy of their work and say goodbye..

Dinner at the white lion for the tall building studio

6 September 2016: we had a dinner at the end of the year after all that the dissertations are handed in. One person had to leave early because his plane is leaving in the morning, and others are flying on Thursday or at the weekend. Happy time because everybody has submitted dissertation on time, but sad to be departing.