The Bubble Works
The Bubble Works is an ambitious attempt to combine education with leisure and the public - acting as a bridge between MMU and the public. Utilising scale as a means of creating spectacle was a significant driver behind my design - crafting a landmark into the site context. The Bubble Works is designed to host a bi-annual collaborative project between the local residents of Hulme, MMU faculty and students, and local primary schools. This brief ensured that my design needed a functional, and flexible university structure, with ample exibition and public spaces which would be able to educate and attract everybody from Hulme, Greater Manchester, and potentially the UK.
The university building design acts as a multi-functional space - combining exhibition spaces with study rooms, studio spaces, and computer suites. The spaces are curated with a specific emphasis on collaboration, and inter-connectivity - with wide hallways, and grand views as a means to promote visibility and mobility throughout the entire design. In contrast, the Bubbles are a naturally lit, immersive spaces, designed to exhibit nature through a maze of EFTE geodesic bubbles. The Bubbles act as a interactive, and unique experience in which people navigate through different zones, following curved pathways and openings - exhibiting green spaces, plant growth, views of Manchester, and the local ecosystem. As such, the design utilises architecture as a means of inviting the public into a university structure and creating amemorable experince; through the planning strategies implemented I was able to craft a spectacle in which people will remember for years to come.
