Oxford Road Plaza, as visualised by MLA students
Masters students envision the future of All Saints Campus
20 November 2018
Landscape Architecture students work with consultants to develop public realm strategy
Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) students have been collaborating with development consultants Planit-ie and Placemarque to generate ideas for the future of the All-Saints campus.
Students were required to pool their collective skills in order to create proposals for the development of the site, whilst taking into account University aspirations such as remaining a leader in environmental sustainability and continuing to enhance the educational and social experience of staff and students.
Each work group was allocated a different area of the campus to assess, including Oxford Road, Mancunian Way and Sugden and the surrounding area.
The student groups then delivered a presentation to the judging panel, with the winning group providing a vision of an open and community-focused Oxford Road corridor, with redirected traffic in order to create a pedestrianised and multi-functional space.
Jenifer Rainford Mendez, one of the MLA students involved in the project, commented that “working with the consultants for the public realm strategy gave our group an insight into how a professional collaboration can pull together different interpretations for the reworking of a space”.
“I found the ideas that were discussed inspiring and influential on my own work. I welcome further opportunities to collaborate with consultants in this way as it provides valuable experience for budding Landscape Architects.”
In addition to the presentation, students created an A1 board communicating their final proposals, including the key aesthetic and functional characteristics of their designs.
MLA programme leader Edward Fox described the resulting designs as “bold and exciting”, adding that the students have been given “the chance to influence the development of their own campus, and potentially have a long-term role in this process of change”. MLA students have been invited to participate further in the development process in the coming months.
Find out more about studying as a Master of Landscape Architecture on the course webpage.
