Artur Machura Portfolio

I completed an MA degree in civil engineering at one of the best technical universities in Poland, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology. It was soon obvious that engineering is not creative enough for me and that was the moment when I woke up to my passion for architecture. Even though I had just received my qualifications in engineering, I completed a BA degree in architecture.

​

During my studies alongside theoretical subjects, I had a number of design tasks starting with a geometrical composition and finishing with the final project for a university campus building. I was tasked to do different types of projects like a family house, a residential estate, a hotel, a retail building, offices and an urban design. A considerable amount of different types of usage and building contexts has given me a good background in my early career.

​

Nonetheless, soon with a few friends, we decided to go beyond the standard learning program and established a student scientific organisation - RestART. We explored new fields of architecture like static and dynamic illumination. New tasks that we were undertaking encouraged us to learn new skills as well as how to use digital tools quicker than our colleagues. We participated in several editions of the Karkonosze Festival of Light where we won the first price in the Master of The Light contest with architectural mapping projection. It was a great chance for us to cooperate with students from other universities and different faculties and inspire each other.

​

The university also gave me a chance to exchange my knowledge with colleagues from Germany, Italy and Spain on international scholarships. The workshops I was participating in took place in Poland and Germany and each time I was working in a multi-national group. It was very interesting how students from different countries have a different approach to the same problem. Therefore I've seen that working in an international group helps to think outside the box.

​

My final project was the complex of buildings for the Institute of jazz in Nysa. The idea for the topic comes from my second passion - music, the institute needs appropriate education and performance space.

​

Until now I have a few years of experience in Poland and two and a half years' experience in England. In my homeland, I was working part-time with a few architectural practices and I was also self-employed. Although working in architectural offices gave me a chance to work on different types and scales of investments, projects I’ve done as a self-employed architect are the ones I remember the best and I am most proud of.

​

I was also involved in a few local initiatives like promoting a 1798 heritage building from my home town. Likewise, I also volunteered as a tutor of graphic design at a secondary school.

​

My work experience in the UK is connected to two architectural practices. The first company I was working for was designing a number of massive schemes for one of the big international corporations. One of the types of projects I was involved in were distribution centres with a significant office area. The tasks I was doing varied from creating CGIs, preparing a “design and access statement” and preparing an office layout to completing detailed drawings. The second company that I am currently employed by work on smaller projects but across the whole of Europe.

​

​

In my portfoilo I've included also a lot of CGI projects that I've done in my free time. Most of them are just practice excercices but some of them are for my famili and friends.