My appreciation for architecture has always been fuelled by two concepts, ‘my love of art and living in London. Art has always been my strongest subject and it was through art that I was brought directly into architecture, through Antonio Gaudi and his grand piece Sagrada Familia, the first piece of Architecture I studied in detail. When I first saw an image of the Catholic Church I thought it unusual and ugly, however the more I studied the design the more shapely and aesthetic the structure became. Gaudi is known for his smooth, flowing art Deco designs and expressive curved forms. His work really inspired me to learn about different types of architecture in other, further parts of the world. I have not been to Barcelona but I would love to visit the city and I would pay tribute to Gaudi by visiting the Sagrada Familia, my favourite piece of architecture and the one building that truly hooked me into studying the design of building.
A lot of my time is spent travelling around London, especially along the Thames between Battersea and Tower Bridge. It is a fantastic city to grow up in and having access to the wonderful buildings that connect outer to inner city London has meant that I have been exposed to much architecture dating back nearly 1000 years. I am able to experience architecture left by the Normans of 1066 and enjoy more modern architecture such as the ever growing Shard, that I have seen ascend everyday on my walk to school. The one architect who I truly admire for his contribution to Architecture in Britain is Norman Foster and I recently visited his signature piece, 30 St Mary’s axe (the Gherkin) on a field day in London. 30 St Mary’s axe is an example of High-Tech architecture that enables a building to maintain it’s shape and aesthetics whilst having the structure and stability of the metal framing on the outside of a building to support what is often a glass casing in the shape of irregular forms. Although having an unusual shape that suggests a lack of seriousness, St Mary’s axe is a power vacuum in the heart of a CBD of which it’s sheer size and width makes it a dominant neighbour compared to the more formal buildings surrounding it.
The skills I have acquired through my secondary education, work experience at an architecture firm and study of art and the design of building have encouraged me to pursue architecture further after Six Form as I have thoroughly enjoyed what the practice has offered me and I want to go beyond everything I have researched, created and learnt.
I am applying to MSA because you provide a course which excited me in a city that represents many of the architectural ideas I admire, linking, like London, a sense of the future with a sense of the past and heritage.
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