Atelier MAKING considers architecture to be an act of enrichment in the fabric of our environment and ecology. We instrumentalise making as the primary mode of design enquiry and emphasise experience as active and purposeful engagement with materiality, environment, and architecture (in exploring site and context as well as in reviewing and testing design proposals in studio). Our approach reflects the increasingly important role that modelling plays in architectural design, communication, and collaboration in the profession.

Projects in Atelier MAKING aim to explore and advance contemporary issues and priorities of architecture, both on a social and technological level. This year, atelier projects began with open-ended experimentation with material and form alongside an introduction to design theory and frameworks. These led to diverse building design proposals where students were encouraged to identify a research question or impetus for their enquiry process and a position on contemporary architectural design

The final design proposals synthesised material and digital experimentation and form-finding with inspirations found in the characteristics of site and climate applied to a distillery brief. Located in the context of Manchester airport, the site offered a rich historical, cultural, economic, and social context and ecology to inspire creative experimentation in the making of architecture.