Emilee Faulkner

I believe that having a visual stimulus in your environment is important. For example, if I'm walking down the street I want to see an eclectic mix of buildings that I find exciting to look at, rather than rows of uniform houses. David Harvey, in his book Rebel Cities, describes the value of this connection between people and their environment, writing 'animated by neighbourhood life, squares full of people, children relishing the river bank'. This idyllic vision makes me want to create equally vibrant spaces for people to enjoy.

This ideology influenced a design project I completed while on work experience with PTE architects (October 2013). I wanted to create a building that would both excite its users as well as onlookers. The house I designed using Google Sketch-up I was perched on top of two living trees. I imagined how a passer-by might look up in awe at the sight of a tree house in central London, or how the inhabitant would feel as they ascended into their house on a staircase suspended by wires and draped with vines. Architecture combines creativity and art with a significant social function and it is this that attracts me to study the discipline at university.