MSA creates 'stunning entrance' for Salford school

A TEAM of seven first year architecture students from Manchester School of Architecture have constructed a stunning exhibit for a new flagship school in Salford.

Their “entrance experience” project at St. Ambrose Barlow RC High School, which is still under construction was the winner in a competitive process.

The live project to design an installation for the three-storey entrance space, which ran as a competition for the whole year 1 BA group.

From a total of 175 proposals, a long list of 24 entries were further developed within the 12 studio groups, which was then whittled down to a short list of six pitched to a panel from St. Ambrose School and the Manchester School of Architecture.

Laing O’Rourke

The head teacher and chair of governors chose the winning design to the delight of Nasra Ali, Alicia Booth, Abbey Costello, James Flanagan, Ryan Millar, Louis Speelmans and Adrian Wong who then developed and finalised the project a little further with the school and the contractor Laing O’Rourke.

Helen Aston said: “As Head of Year One, I wanted the students to undertake a competitive design project within their first term of first year, and also give them the chance to visit a large construction site.

“The winning group benefited greatly, having to negotiate their ideas and concepts, finalise the details with the contractor, and manufacture the installation in our workshops.”

The polypropelene letters make up the mission statement of the school, and hang as twelve clusters, rising gently and elegantly through the entrance space.