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News
MDX PAVILION: INNOVATION, LEARNING & SUSTAINABILITY
Melissa Nabre reports on the project started in 2017 by Architectural Technology BSc students, as it is finally finished as they make their mark on campus. PHOTOGRAPHY BY RENEE GORDON
SEPTEMBER 2019 | ISSUE 3
“We all spent our degree crying, laughing, stressing, screaming and changing...” * * FROM THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH SHEMEKKA C PROUD
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADAM TAYLOR
Petria Koumi (health correspondent) touches base with some of the recent graduates of Middlesex University to find out their highlights, and brings to us the student perspective of this once-in-a-lifetime day. Between the 8th and the 12th of July, over 9,000 academic students were awarded their degrees across 12 graduation ceremonies.
“This group of students are probably the only such class that have had the opportunity to put into practice what they were learning. As the first cohort to graduate, they have now left a legacy on the campus that will inspire the future cohorts... What the students have achieved has been amazing and they have experienced something that will stay with them for a very long time. These students were not the geineau pigs [sic] of this new course but the the [sic] cohort that led the way and left a trail for the others to follow.” - Prof Mehmet Karamanoglu, Head of Department for Design Engineering and Mathematics.
After two years of hard work, the new MDX Pavilion has finally been created. This was a major project to create a sustainably designed learning, event, community and wellbeing space on campus. It presented a unique opportunity to take the construction theory and technical know-how that these students had learned and apply them in a real project. The project was developed for the Architectural Technology BSc students. They took the lead on designing this space on campus. In 2017, they launched this project in collaboration with industry professionals. The Pavilion now stands proudly by the main path that runs from the Burroughs to Grove Park alongside Portakabins 6 and 7. The idea behind the Pavilion was to create a design that was intimately connected with nature, and that could be modified by future Architectural Technology
students. The project’s core centered around innovation, practice-based learning, and sustainability. The initial idea for a small construction project to be built on campus came from Tong Yang Senior, a Lecturer in Construction Architecture & BIM. Tong teamed up with Homeira Shayesteh, a fresh face to Middlesex, joining as a Senior Lecturer in the same field, to develop the plan further in spring 2017. What was originally a design for a tree house later evolved into a Pavilion as Tong and Homeira incorporated the Architectural Technology modules each of them lead. The pair managed to make the entire project fit within the University’s five year strategy, through assessments based on the project deliverables from design to planning, preparing a business case and construction detailing. The Pavilion now acts as a flagship for collaboration between aca-
demics and students. The message has already spread to different departments, such as BA Photography, where students were able to document the construction of the project, and other collaborations which involved working together to promote and develop this new space on campus.
The idea behind the Pavilion was to create a design that was intimately connected with nature... With possible uses including as a space for welcome events, exhibitions, student societies and outdoor films, speed meets, and more, the Pavilion provides a learning space close to nature. Keep your eyes peeled to see how it’s used during Welcome Month.
Families from across the world came to visit Middlesex’s Hendon campus to support someone who had studied at Middlesex. They were found gathered around the campus (including at the new MDX Pavilion) for memorable photos after their ceremonies. Graduation is the pinnacle of a student’s journey at Middlesex. But it is also an opportunity for the university to celebrate and reward the successes of its’ alumni, particularly those individuals who have reached the top of their profession or made a significant impact to society. During graduation week, the University honoured individuals who have excelled in their fields, including: Maggie Appleton, the CEO of the Royal Air Force Museum; Dr Neil Bentley-Gockmann, OBE Chief Executive of WorldSkills UK; and Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji, President of the International Criminal Court. The event this year was particularly successful for the Alumni Communications and Engagement team who signed-up over 2,000 graduates to the Alumni Association, ensuring that students are still part of Middlesex University after they graduate. With 27,054 macaroons eaten and 18,036 glasses of Prosecco served, graduation 2019 was defiantly a merry one! Being the culmination of all the hard work throughout each individual course, extra-curricular ac-
tivities and everything in between, graduation was brought to a close with a sigh of relief. Students found themselves overwhelmed by having finished their courses and, with tears of nostalgia, started remembering the first time they stepped foot on campus. Shemekka C Proud, recent graduate, described the day as having an “atmosphere of achievement and celebration” and described the ceremony as being “the fulfilment, the goal, the aim.” “I have never felt the way I felt at graduation at university before,” she continued. “It always feels like a lonely struggle when studying, but the smiles and the outfits, the glamour squads and the proud family members, make you realise we won over the struggle. Alone, but ultimately together.” Every student studies as individuals, but at graduation, the student body celebrates as a whole. With a total of 21 different gowns worn, including the honorary graduate, the incredible diverse range of subjects that MDX offers are brought together to celebrate as a community. Middlesex university was a buzz with excitement, praise and overwhelming emotions. Many students were found to be live streaming the celebrations after the ceremony on Facebook and Instagram and creating boomerangs by throwing their caps in the air. Many student posed in their gowns and held the ‘A Middlesex grad looks like this’ photo board, showing social media what they have accomplished.
