"Take two"

Two weeks into term at MSA (Manchester School of Architecture) and I am getting into the swing of things.  Life as a student second time around seems much more 'grown up'. It's refreshing to be in a new city and my chosen module, 'Intimate Cities: Edgelands', is probably the best way I could get 'intimate' with it.

My wanderings have made me realise how easy it is to blindly navigate oneself around a space and never truly experience the place you're in; so often we are on auto-pilot to get from A-B without ever really looking at where we are. It's amazing how much more fulfilling the seemingly banal, everyday activities can be when you begin to observe with an awareness and consciousness and question why.

Bird's eye view

The view from the 'Cloud 23' bar on the 23rd floor of the Beetham tower (Hilton hotel), really engages you with the urban fabric of the city and the interconnectedness (or the absence of connectedness) between all of its parts.