BArch Blog

Before I discuss today's studio session, I think it would be appropriate for me to explain what I understand about the Bio-climatic Architecture Labs Unit. It is simply studying nature's blueprint and INTERPRETING the information into a functional sustainable prototype or form (you will find that there's a lot more depth to it as I blog on but for now this is the most basic explanation I can give for this unit)

Today we received a bit of a historical background talk about the Bio-climatic Architecture Labs unit. It is actually a derivative of the Biomemetics Unit which was started at the Manchester School of Architecture over two decades ago and was discontinued and in its place the B.A.L Unit was set up. I don't quite understand why it was discontinued in B.Arch but I honestly do believe Biomemetics may be a subset of the Bio-climatic Architecture Labs and this new unit embodies more.

The B.A.L Unit if its anything like Biomemetics (which I did for my 3rd Year), will require piles of research, investigation and a good understanding of specific ideologies, concepts, discussions and arguments even before the site visit. The information gathered creates an almost calculated preconception allowing us to analyze the site and its context from specific perspectives.

Hi I'm Daniel Kwasi Oware-Amankwaah this is a blog documenting my experiences and research during my Bachelor's of Architecture program.

I graduated from the Manchester School of Architecture (MSA) with a 2nd class Honorary Bachelor's degree in Architecture and completed six months of my RIBA Part I Year-Out experience in Ghana at Atelier Consulting Architects.

I return to MSA to study on the Bachelor's of Architecture (B.Arch) degree (which also makes up my RIBA Part II).

Since 5th Year at MSA requires a dissertation, I spent part of my summer pondering what I could write about; It was important to me that I discussed an issue pertaining to my home country and explore constructive and plausible solutions through research. I have decided to write my dissertation on the idea of 'Exploring how cultural/national architectural identity affects a culture/nation's confidence (or pride), economy and politics.'

I've chosen this dissertation topic because I have realized and feel strongly that my home country, Ghana, has lost something in the sense of its architectural identity; with contemporary design, almost carbon copied from the Western cultures. It is quite unfortunate since we have such rich culture and tradition. (I will discuss further how I plan to go about my dissertation, the process and as much research as possible in ensuing posts)