Mark Laverty - Architecture Portfolio

In this blog I shall be displaying a range of work that will demonstrate my ability in sketching, photography, model making and graphic design. All of these skills are vital to an Architect and hopefully I will be able to express to you my potential and creativity.

The University of Manchester has a fantastic reputation that immediately drew me towards wanting to visit and get a feel for a university which I felt could be ideal for me and guide me on my way to being an Architect. From being quite local living near Preston, it is the perfect choice to continue my education and this was further solidified when I visited the open day in summer. I viewed the workshop and was stunned with the quality of work and how constantly strong the work was throughout all the years. I arrived early to the open day but this luckily worked to my advantage as I was able to speak to one of the 5th year students who was kind enough to give me a brief overview of the course and his experience of the University, which, as you would like to hope, he couldn't recommend more. Along with already liking the city, I knew that I had to apply to the School Of Architecture.

A piece of Architecture that is again relatively local, that I have reviewed, is the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. Nicknamed 'Paddy's Wigwam' after its unique wigwam shape and the Irish Catholic influences in Liverpool, it was one of the first pieces of architecture that I truly appreciated when I first saw it and caught my eye immediately. Some say that it merely looks like a blown up tent, but I think that it does exactly what it aspires to do, which is to stand out against the surrounding city. The interior though is a different story, as I believe the strange contrast between the flowing, curved form of the outside, and the quite jarring stick like forms that are incorporated into the design, really bring down the majesty of this piece of Architecture.

This architectural style really enticed me, thus leading me to explore the works of one of my favourite architects, Oscar Niemeyer. In fact, the resemblances between the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral and The Metropolitan Cathedral in Brasilia by Niemeyer are uncanny. He to manipulates curves brilliantly, using them to create a illusion that his buildings are as smooth as a pebble, that is almost as free-flowing as the wind. 

His work is something that I would like to combine into my own and if I was to visit any piece of Architecture in the world, it would be his work in Ibirapuera Park, Sao Paulo, to see the Palace of Arts and Industry, which look compelling both externally and internally.