MUSEO DIOCESANO
I undertook my BArch thesis project in 2007-2008 at The University of Manchester.
Project location is designated by the program - this year being Milan, Italy - however, the students choose their own site and form their own brief.
Located in the richly historic cloisters of the 12th century basilica Sant’Eustorgio, Museo Diocesano permanently houses Christian art and artifacts.
In 2006, the diocese announced an international design competition to provide a new museum addition to include large gallery spaces, conference, conservation and education facilities, as well as promote a more successful public relationship.
I undertook extensive site and contextual analysis in Milan and, through sketch, diagram, physical and computer modelling, I developed my thesis project to the competitions prescriptive brief and programmatic requirements.
Utilizing rich yet muted materials, the addition is designed to sit senstively against its neighbor but at the same time be a striking contemporary addition that will spark new life and interest into the treasures within. The passive systems that control the environment are not only designed in response to the hot climate, but in respect of the historical architectural strategies employed before the advent of mechanized control.
Context, continuity, identity have always been an important part of my architectural approach and themes that I am always looking to understand more deeply in my work.
I want to provide my buildings with a clear and coherent narrative that looks to both be sensitive to place and at the same time continue the discussion on what place is or could be.
My thesis dissertation was aimed at turning attention away from the identity of place or buildings, to the identity and role of those that create them; their stories and the way in which we percieve them or how they might want to be perceived.
My dissertation was awarded the university's G.E. Greenway Prize for Outstanding BArch Dissertation and was shortlisted in 2008 for
The Dissertation Medal for the Best Dissertation at RIBA President’s Medals Student Awards.
