MSA interests me as a place to study architecture for many reasons. Not only is it extremely highly regarded but it also provides an opportunity to explore a wide range of architectural practices within a multidisciplinary environment – in a city I have some experience of.

The most exciting recent exhibition I have seen is the Sensing Spaces exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art. This exhibition blew me away -the RA asked seven different architects from six countries to approach the architecture of the RA in a new way and to create installation pieces to ask some of the big questions about the nature of architecture and our lives. I loved the wide variation of the pieces of work. After listening to the different architects talk about their work I really understood how, from the same brief, different architectures approached these questions from very different perpsectives. I think my favourite installation was the piece by Li Xiaodong. This was an intricate maze finally leading to a courtyard. Li Xiaodong wanted to create a magical walk in the forest on a snowy night This was clearly reflected through the walls being filled with wooden twigs while the floor was lit with white LED lights. I felt lost as well as guided. Light and texture were used extremely effectively in this piece. The white light in the floor and the light in the extreme space coming through the twigs creating interesting shadows giving a warmth to the lost feeling I felt. When I  finally got to the courtyard, this space was completely different to the rest of the maze. Due to the gravel floor and mirrored walls this space felt a lot colder and fresh than the rest of the space – a real contrast. What I liked most was the way Li Xiaodong engaged so many different senses so that I became completely absorbed in the space.

Tadao Ando is also one of my favourite architectures. This is due to his clear individual style and strong base in the minimalist architectural tradition. My favourite piece  is Church of Light. This piece intrigues me due to the powerful use of light and the way it challenges traditional and European church style. The large cross on one of the walls is the only way to get light into this massive concert block. This church has an extremely dark interior except the lights seeping in through the cross on the main wall.

Church on Water by Tadao Ando, would be the piece of architecture I would want to visit. This piece of architecture strongly represents the minimalist view, particularly reflecting the ideas linked with Japanese Zen gardens. Ando has created a church, once again challenging traditional expectations of religious architecture, by creating a church that seems to be floating, which in doing so prompts spiritual contemplation.