The collaboration between Manchester Metropolitan University and The University of Manchester benefits students directly: as an Architecture student I would look forward to using both universities’ libraries, workshops and tapping into a much broader range of student societies as well. The MSA is highly-regarded in industry, ranked 8th in this year’s Guardian League Table for Architecture. High course satisfaction (something which is echoed in online student forums) and spend per student assure me that the MSA is an environment which invests in its students. Coming late to an architectural education, it’s crucial for me to get off to the best possible start.
I recently visited Lev Rudnev’s Moscow State University building. One of Stalin’s ‘Seven Sisters’, this skyscraper went beyond brick-and-mortar to claim sociological and political significance in the USSR. Much like New York’s Empire State Building, this immense construction became synonymous with renewed hope and prosperity in a post-war Soviet Union. Stalin was acutely aware of the impact architecture can have on perceptions, declaring: "Foreigners will come to Moscow, walk around, and see no skyscrapers. If they compare Moscow to capitalist cities, it will be a moral blow to us". From the appointment of its architect to the treatment of its builders and the sense of East-West oneupmanship it exudes, the building seems to me to be a microcosm of Stalinist Russia.
Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye was covered in some detail in a book I recently read, Alain de Botton’s “The Architecture of Happiness”, prompting me to visit the house earlier this year. I could not fail to be struck by the vision of the architect in the context of 1930s France. He wanted function to reign over beauty, and yet the minimalistic style this achieves serves as a beautiful monument to Le Corbusier’s innovation. The building prompts any visitor to ask questions about the balance between art and science in architecture, and it is that willingness to challenge ideas that endeared the building to me. Villa Savoye can truly be considered a Modernism-defining work of architecture.
I often take pleasure in the graceful design of what might be deemed ‘everyday architecture’. On work experience with PBWC Architects, I saw how delivering a building with "wow" factor whilst working within various constraints can be a frustrating and rewarding challenge in equal measure. However, an internationally-renowned work to visit is Gaudi’s Sagrada FamÃlia. There seems to be something extremely human in the way the building treads a tightrope between genius, folly and technical perfection. I tend to favour straight lines and minimal aesthetics, and yet looking up at Gaudi’s uniquely imaginative construction has to appeal to any prospective designer of the built environment.
Many thanks for considering my application!
