I have known that I have wanted
to study at MSA for a while because it has been consistently high in the
national league tables. As well as this,
location was a very important part of my choices for university. I wanted to commute which meant that I was restricted
to picking universities that were close to home. Manchester was an automatic choice because I
know the city reasonably well. After
applying, I duly read up on the course and obtained additional information from
the UCAS fair. The MSA catalogue was
useful as it gave detailed information about the course and its units; I found
the international exchange projects particularly interesting to read
about.
I recently visited St Peter’s
Basilica. I was greatly impressed by the
structure as a whole, not just by the ingenuity behind Michelangelo’s creation
of the dome, but by the fact that despite numerous architects working on it,
increasing demands for space and constant revisions of old designs, the space
still manages to convey a sense of harmony.
I feel that the interior follows the same sort of symmetry as the piazza
outside. The ceilings of the Vatican in
particular – despite being so intricate and flamboyant – look properly
proportioned and symmetrical, making the interior feel just as well-balanced as
the outside.
When I learnt about Taipei 101, I
was impressed for a number of reasons.
Firstly, the design was inspiring since many modern skyscrapers follow a
banally rigid design, favouring to look like large oblong columns in order to
adhere to functionality rather than beauty.
I like the pagoda-style exterior and the repetition of the number eight
in the design as it is a lucky number.
Appearance aside, the building is also a testament to ingenious
engineering: the underlying mega-columns within the building allowed it to be
as tall as it is and the steel counterbalance (as I have learnt from my
hazard-management studies in Geography) is an effective method at overcoming
movement caused by earthquakes and typhoons.
I would like to visit the Jewish
Museum in Berlin, firstly because it was designed by my favourite architect,
Daniel Libeskind. Having studied the
Second World War from the German, Russian, British and French perspectives, I
have always found the plight of those who were persecuted to be very personal
to me. I have read various essays on the
design of the building: how it was based on several aspects, taking the overall
shape of a distorted Star of David. The
symbology and the obvious thought process that went into the design makes the
building seem a very personal space in dedication to the Jewish people,
something which I would very much like to experience.
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