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Manchester is a unique urban setting in the North of England. This is exemplified by the Manchester Universities' eclectic and growing range of architecture on campus, particularly the new Graphene Institute building. For me, being surrounded by outstanding buildings does more than just motivate artistic ambition, it inspires me to engage with architecture more closely. I wish to study in Manchester because this is an exciting time in the city's architectural history. Indeed we have seen the skyline grow until the Beetham Tower was dwarfed by new towers, and the cranes show no sign of going, promising more stunning developments. I was impressed by the MSA building itself, especially by its interior's scale and design. During the open day, I enjoyed the exceptional quality of students' practical work.

This June I attended an exhibition in the Whitworth Gallery of two landscape illustrators titled "Cozens and Cozens" (a father and son). Their work was precise and realistic, evoking the era of monochromatic watercolour illustration that has become synonymous with 18th century England. Particularly interesting were the sketchbooks on display, showing how the father and son influenced one another's art, showing a distinct stylistic lineage throughout their body of work, but also displaying the subtleties in their personal flourishes which differs them.

My favourite architect is Walter Gropius, one of the originators and promoter of the International Style, as well as a major contributor to the Bauhaus movement, which has produced some of my favourite architecture, such as the Bauhaus Building in Dessau and the collection of experimental architecture in Stuttgart's estate exhibition, now a UNESCO world heritage site. His contribution to how we understand modern architecture, though not always flawless, capture how he and his contemporaries used to think contrasting to how we now think about the fundamental premises of architecture.

I hope to visit Habitat 67 in Montreal, which remains one of the most complicated and dramatic buildings I have seen. This was also one of the first buildings I ever attempted to illustrate, perhaps not the greatest choice as I learned while sketching attempting to capture the perspective in my sketches. Because of the atypical layout it is hard to truly understand the spacial character of the building experiencing it through photos only.