An Architect For A Day

Interactive Exhibition and Community Workshops, 2023

An Architect For A Day was an interactive exhibition which I designed and led as part of the City Sparks Creative Residency at the Manchester Science and Industry Museum.

The project explored the future of the high street, but rather than looking at the larger City Centres, it focussed on the smaller Neighbourhood Centres. These are often the places which help to shape the everyday life of our communities, providing necessary services as well as creating places for social interaction and exchange. In May 2022, in a press release from central government, local communities were granted the power to take control of their high streets under local council guidance, and it was therefore timely to reimagine what these places might be and how they might better serve local people. 

Using Openshaw as a case study, the project looked at the past and present of the local high street, documenting the story of the shops, houses, banks, cinemas, superstores, cafes and pubs through both archival images and newly commissioned photographs taken by Maggie Derry and co curated with community groups from The Manchester Settlement.

High Street Diorama Boxes made by the local community were displayed in the museum alongside open activities and special workshops which focused on architectural skills such as understanding context, exploring materials, visioning, drawing, making and modelling. The workshops were aimed at empowering the community (especially younger people and future leaders) with the necessary skills needed to imagine the future of their own local high streets.