About Me and StudioKC

Rooted in a legacy of artistic expression and creativity, StudioKC is the culmination of works that articulate such characteristics, as a touchstone for every design project. This site - created by myself, McKenzie Cartwright - curates a gallery for you to enter and explore my work, both resolved and incomplete - almost what one would expect to see in an artists studio.

Here is a little bit about me…

My interest in Architecture began in the form of art, at a young age. Like many others I enjoyed simple drawing, but as I grew older and improved my skills, my ambition grew too; as I began drawing complex mechanical systems, photoreal anatomy on a large scale, and surrealist illustrations that challenged my capabilities at the time. My middle school art teacher urged me to continue my fine art skills in Sixth Form, but my underlying attraction to understanding complex tasks through the medium of drawing lead me to pursue an A-Level qualification in Design and Communication at College, in my home City of Doncaster.

It was my college tutors who guided me towards, what I didn’t know at the time would become, my passion and specialty… I somewhat owe them for guiding me in this way, recognizing my skills and introducing me to the rest of my life. Before university, architecture as a practice existed only superficially in my head, an unfamiliar topic which in the beginning, naturally, I applied what I had already learnt over years of artistic practice, and began learning. Being the first in my family to attend a university, finding myself in architecture, self-provoked to an extent, was a challenge that was faced with tenacity and resolve. Eventually, my unique style formed; a hybrid of my childhood artistic expression and three years of studying and understanding the technical.

That is what I wish to share here, at StudioKC, titled “studio” to highlight that what is seen here may not always be polished, beautiful, or even finished… but it hopefully lets you see the ways in which I work, think, explore, and make.

You will see three Undergraduate projects from my degree: one of a Monastery for Priests, one of a museum for roman history, and another… speculation and science-fiction where humanity’s neglect of the environment births - a hostile mirror image of Leeds in the sky, almost like a storm cloud. Where the state of ruin, terrifies the populace into changing its treatment to the environment and its eco-systems.

Please also feel free to explore other sections of my model making, hand drawings, and extra relevant experience.