category of culture

Peter Rich Architects have recently won the World Building of the Year award for the Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre in South Africa at the World Architecture Festival held in Barcelona earlier this month.

This is an authentic, beautifully crafted and culturally deep rooted building. A very deserved winner I say.

More info and images can be found here.

HOMEmade

We previously blogged about Anna Heringer and the inspirational Handmade school in Bangladesh here. After hearing her speak at the Finland Symposium I thought we should update you all with the latest HOMEmade project. These three family houses are a tribute to local craftmanship, a testament to true community participation and basically a great lesson in how to provide modern, functional design that is appropriate to its surroundings. Oh and did i mention that they are also beautiful?

Anna has been nominated for the CurryStone Design Award and we wish her all the best! While I am at it, also in the running for this award is Rob Hopkins from Transition Network fame. If you haven't heard about the new wave that is Transition Town then you should definitely jump on board... Rob wrote the Transition Handbook and since then more than 200 towns have taken on the Transition principles. The first Transition Town was started in 2006 in Totnes, UK where the community banded together to grow local food, lower their energy use, plan more pedestrianised paths and cycle ways and even create their own currency to boost their local economy. It just shows what can happen when communities work together...

a safe haven

We have recently come across these great structures - the Safe Haven library and bath house.

In January 2009 TYIN Tegnestue invited 15 norwegian students to participate in a workshop at the Safe Haven Orphanage, Thiland. The workshop was led by Associate Professor Hans Skotte and architect Sami Rintala (who has just chaired the Edge Symposium in Finland! More on him later).

The most immediate needs at the orphanage was a library and a new sanitary building. TYIN worked on a bathhouse, together with the Karen workers from Noh Bo, while the workshop participants put their efforts into the library.

What an amazing result! We love this project and just wanted to share with you what can be achieved with a small budget and local materials.

Teach a Man to Fish

The old saying "Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have feed him for a lifetime" is the inspiration for this particular organisation. Teach a Man to Fish aims to broaden access for the poor to high quality education combining vocational training and entrepreneurship by supporting institutions to increase their financial self-sufficiency. 

The website is packed full of fantastic projects from a 100% self-sustainable agricultural school in Paraguay to other small income generating projects such as piggeries and poultry initiatives in Uganda and Kenya. 

I hope this has give you a little inspiration for the day... if so I urge to you stop by and take a further look. 

Finland Symposium

b+c has been invited to attend the 11th International Alvar Aalto Symposium by our good friends Finnish Architects Hollmen, Reuter and Sandman (mentioned also here.) To see more of their stunning projects visit the NGO website Ukumbi (A Swahili word meaning forum, verandah and a meeting place for dialogue and discussion.)

The Symposium will be held on 7-9th August at the University of Jyväskylä which was designed by Alvar Aalto in 1954—55. As one of the b+c team is currently in Europe we are hoping to make it to this fantastic event. This statement below sums up why we think it is important for us to attend:

Inside the urban hubs of the Western world, a feeling of safety prevails. We continue to enjoy the highest standard of living ever known to humankind. At the same time, we are fully aware of the results of our culture of consumerism. Therein lies the greatest paradox: We are forced to actively forget reality to be able to enjoy the facade of excess we have created around us.

Yet outside the main stages of the metropolis is where our work is needed. There are a few architects who challenge the conventions of the profession and the ever-dictating forces of the market; they go where the real problems are and try to solve them with insight, economy and wit. These people are the pathfinders towards the next revolution in architecture, which will not focus on style, but on the balance between man and nature – or, in short, survival.

Sami Rintala, Chairman

To see the amazing programme and line up of speakers visit here.

glorious gardens

We were blown away by the Thuthuka School garden in Tembisa Township near Johannesburg as seen last week on Around the World in 80 Gardens. After viewing some stunning botanical gardens in Cape Town and a beautiful and opulent garden and home in Parktown, Johannesburg - the Thuthuka School garden brought tears to my eyes! The students work in the garden of their school to grow edible herbs and flowers, vegetables and trees. The children are so happy and delighted to have the space and resources to be able to beautify their school and you can feel their enthusiasm and passion when they show you around...

(it's about 3.20 minutes into the clip here... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgUJHL7-qGY)



There's not much information around about how they started the garden or how they have made it so beautiful- as far as I can google they have had support from Food and Trees for Africa - a South African based organisation that embrace best practices in sustainable environmental activities that empower poor communities while also playing an important role in reducing carbon emissions- truly inspiring!

The Tools to End Poverty

We love sharing great organisations with you all and here is a fab one. Kickstart is a not for profit organisation that develops and markets new technologies in Africa. The low-cost technologies are bought by local entrepreneurs to create profitable small scale businesses.

We visited their offices when were in Kisumu to see how their MoneyMaker irrigation pumps worked.  As you can see we had to give it a test run! 

Over 60 000 people in Kenya, Tanzania and Mali are running profitable businesses using these pumps. This is a great video which features co-founder Martin Fisher, the Kickstart team and the MoneyMaker pump in action. 

Another great product that we were looking into was the stabilised soil block press. Affordable shelter will always be in demand and this press provides a solution. There are plenty of other technologies to check out on the website such as cooking oil technologies and lots more. 

meet green thing

Do the Green Thing is a public service that inspires people to lead a greener life. The website is an interactive one where you can watch brilliant short clips, add to the blog or add a story of your own. The mission is to get as many people in as many countries doing the green thing and then use that power to persuade government and business to do the green thing too. 

So make sure you take the time to watch Green Thing do his thing, very funny and imaginative. Oh and Plug Out Boy is also very cool!

garbage warrior

Now this is one amazing guy. Anyone seen this documentary? A friend who is in the know about all things waste has watched it. I am yet to, but just visiting the website and watching the trailor was enough to inspire.

For 30 years, renegade architect Michael Reynolds and his green disciples have devoted their time to advancing the art of "Earthship Biotecture" by building self-sufficient, off-the-grid communities where design and function converge in eco-harmony.

Based in New-Mexico, Michael has come up against many critics, so much so that he was stripped of his architecture licence. These earthships defy state standards and Reynolds has continued to lobby for the right to create a sustainable living test site.

It was when the Tsunami struck that Reynolds was able to use his pioneering skills to rebuild communities such as the Andaman Islands. He was able to teach the locals how to recycle cans, bottles, tyres and collect rainwater off these structures for clean drinking water.

He looks to be a wild character, a one of a kind and as some put it a hero of the 21st century! I will be heading out to grab my copy of Garbage Warrior for sure. To watch the full length trailor visit here.

Sand-bag Architects win top prize!

South African architects MMA have been awarded the inaugural Curry Stone Design prize of $100,000 for their ingenious solution to the Design Indaba 10x10 low-cost housing challenge.  established this year by the university of Kentucky College of Design through a very generous gift from architect Clifford Curry and his wife H. Delight Stone.  The prize recognises breakthrough design solutions with the power and potential to improve our lives and the world we live in.  The 10x10 housing project initiated by Design Indaba paired 10 teams of South African architects with international designers to pioneer new affordable housing systems.   The objective of the competition was to come up with affordable, attractive, innovative responses to the urgent need for housing the urban poor.  

MMA were awarded the Curry Stone Design prize for their pioneering design and innovative pilot project to build 10 affordable houses using a sand-bag construction system.  

Thanks to The Architects Newspaper for posting this great story with beautiful images and a great interview with the architects. 

Luyanda Mpahlwa, who shares the firm with Mpethi Morojele, s

aid that a key component of the house was to provide not only shelter but also social justice and pride.  The house was originally designed...as a house for 50,000 rand ($6,200), which required some unusual thinking.  In addition to utilizing inexpensive and locally accessible building materials, which required not even a single electrical outlet to put together, the designers turned to the community to build the houses.  Mpahlwa said that this approach saved not only the cost of labor but gave the community an added sense of ownership and provided work for the community riven with unemployment.   

It is great to hear that Mpahlwa is planning to use his prize money to build more 10x10 houses and sponsor underprivileged kids to attend architecture school.  These architects are fabulous inspiration!! 

green school

The world's first green school has just opened in the riverside jungles between Denpasar and Ubud. Constructed entirely of bamboo the Green School's goal is 'to prepare students to become responsible global citizens in a world offering challenges and opportunities that can not be imagined at this moment'. Most students are children from all over the world with some local Balinese students offered scholarships to attend.



And with classrooms that are as spectacular and beautiful as these, the journey from pre school onwards will surely be one to remembered.




It's enough to make me want to go back to school! If you're in Bali - the school is open for tours on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10am sharp. Bookings are required.

if all the world was paper...

Our friend Fliss sent us this link to pingmag. Shigeru Ban's banlab is responsible for the amazing work in Sichuan Province where a massive earthquake in May ripped through reaching a magnitude of 8 on the richter scale.

The banlab research centre in conjunction with the Keio University has used cardboard tubes to build temporary school buildings. The article discusses the importance and role of architecture after disasters.

As a material paper is cheap, and more importantly, it uses materials that are available anywhere in the world. It is also structurally sound, so you do not have to worry about safety issues. Shigeru Ban has already used paper tubing for rebuilding after earthquakes in: India, Turkey and Kobe.

This excerpt particularly inspired me on this particular Monday:

People tend to think that architecture is only about building skyscrapers and homes. And sometimes, architects let that kind of attitude go to their heads. Architects have to think about what they can do for society. The answer to that is doing something for people who need help. That’s an obligation.

Check out the article to see the finished paper school! And check out Fliss's stuff too... she is one talented lady. Thanks for the heads up Flissy!

newtown festival 08

The b+c team possesses two Newtown residents, so if you get down there this Sunday 9th to Camperdown Memorial Park from 9.30am - 6 pm, you are bound to run in to them...

It’s Newtown Festival’s 30th birthday bash - so string those pearls and get your twin sets ready to celebrate Newtown Festival’s ‘pearl’ anniversary, its going to be one very big day...

It is an event jam packed full of entertainment, great stalls and more.... see here for the full program.

For those of us who are into this like we are, don't miss the demonstration sustainable greenhouse - see what you can do to reduce the environmental impact of your home. The walk-through building is made entirely from recycled products and materials, and features a vertical garden, energy and water efficient fittings, solar panels and much more.

We will be there soaking up the atmosphere, so get on down!

elephant pepper

A friend recently alerted us to the Elephant Pepper Development Trust - they seek to preserve Africa's threatened elephant population.

Their mission is to promote the livelihood of farmers living in elephant range through training, the deployment of appropriate conflict mitigation methods and development of agricultural techniques which promote elephant conservation. By promoting effective farming techniques crop security for rural communities in Africa is also improved.

How you ask? Well one of the ways is through chillis! These hot peppers are being used by farmers to protect their crops from elephants as they are known to hate chilli! Elephants cause widespread damage to crops. With only 20% of elephants in Africa formally protected this has lead to massive decreases in elephant populations in some local areas where people are forced to compete with them over food.

The organisation is currently working the the following countries.

You can also buy Elephant Pepper produce at their online hot shop!

sustainable house day - this weekend

This weekend is the 7th annual Sustainable House Day. Throughout Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th of September all across Australia sustainable homes will be open to the public. For open house locations click here. It's a great opportunity to check out how the ideas of sustainability can be put into practice. Image from here.

Thanks for the heads up daily imprint, a great blog to check out!

congratulations Bholu!

Big news from Bholuland over the weekend. Bholu won the Telstra Business award for social responsibility. Congratulation to Jodie and all our Bholu friends, what exciting news! Of course you deserve it, we always knew you were amazing and it's not surprising everyone else does too. 

If you haven't heard about Bholu you should make sure you check them out. Jodie is pictured above and is the founder of Bholu. We've mentioned them here before. They are a wonderful design company that has a beautiful range of products and they also are a fair trade company with a social conscience. 

A farm in the city!

How exciting would it be for city children to see first hand where an egg comes from! Or to participate in growing produce rather than seeing it only in the supermarket! This is one of the many visions of those involved with the Sydney City Farm project at Callan Park.

Callan Park you ask? Well, it is situated at the site of the Rozelle Hospital. It is a 62 hectare picturesque park that was designed using nineteenth century therapeutic landscaping and gardens - it includes undulating waterfront parkland and views over the cove, heritage gardens and buildings and one of the few remaining beaches in the Inner West. There are numerous derelict buildings ready to be reused... and the organisation behind City Farm know exactly what they want to do with them!

City Farm is a not-for-profit Incorporated Association. This means the farm will belong to all its members in the community and any income generated is required to be reinvested in the ongoing work for the community. It will be an organic farm and environmental management showcase, modelled on city farm projects in New York, London and Melbourne.

The vision for the farm has been described as a green sanctuary to showcase an eco-friendly future in the heart of Sydney. It would be a way for metropolitan people to engage with the local and global ecological challenges together as a community. People can come together to grow organic food, learn about the latest in water-saving techniques, climate-friendly renewable technologies, and more...

Callan park before...


and after!

Visit here to read more about the future plans for Callan Park - become a member and show your support for this future sustainable centre!

OzHarvest

One of the bricks + cartwheels ladies alerted us to this fantastic program after passing their stall at Live Green on Sunday.

Founded in 2004, OzHarvest is a non-denominational charity that rescues excess food which would otherwise be discarded. This excess food is distributed to charities supporting the disadvantaged and at risk in Sydney and Canberra.

OzHarvest currently receives food from 175 regular and a further 290 ad hoc food donors. Food is donated by all the major law firms within the city and Parliament House on a regular basis. Large corporate offices, tourist operators, function centres and caterers all contribute to the 75 000 meals OzHarvest delivers every month. Not only do they deliver food to those in need this process saves excess perishables from being dumped as landfill. Win win all round!

If at anytime you are aware of anyone throwing away excess food- just give OzHarvest a call on 9516 3877.

For more info about this food rescue initiative visit here.

Live Green 08

Live Green is on again this year on Sunday 17th August, Victoria Park, Camperdown.

From the words of Lord Clover Moore: "More than 10,000 people attended the first Live Green event in 2007 and this year’s program promises to offer more innovative and simple practical actions you can take to reduce your environmental impact and help make our Sustainable Sydney 2030 vision a reality."

Program highlights include cooking with Kylie Kwong, panel discussions on green careers and "green washing". Workshops with practical eco hints and tips, a green bar with naturally brewed beer and organic and locally grown food and produce..... and plenty more!

Approximately 50% of what Australians put in their garbage bin is organic waste. When buried anaerobically in landfill this waste produces methane gas and causes over 2% of Australia's annual greenhouse gas emissions. Our house has newly acquired a worm farm! (Thanks to City of Sydney's Waste Education Officer Kath) Now all our kitchen scraps and garden waste is turned into rich fertiliser! You can see this process in action within the Waste area at Live Green where a giant worm farm will be used to collect food, paper, cardboard and bio degradable waste from the event.

Have a look at City of Sydney's Zero Waste campaign - Visit the Zero Waste stall and do the interactive recycling quiz to pick up a free bag made of 100% Reused City of Sydney banners. See the display of Reuse product designs by the College of Fine Arts and cast your vote in the People's Choice Award for the best idea.

So get along to Live Green this sunday! It promises to be a very educational day!

Peru's Challenge

The Peru's Challenge Program works with volunteers to create opportunities for rural children living in the Andes of Peru in South America.

The Program was started by Jane Gavel (Australian) and Selvy Ugaz (Peruvian).

The aims of the organisation are to create basic opportunities for the children of Peru focusing on education, health and providing a happy and safe environment.

Like bricks + cartwheels before starting any project, they have lengthy discussions with all members of the community to ascertain what it is that they want and require for their children and how they can work closely together.

"It is very important the community feels that we are working as a team. Constantly through the project development, we involve the community in all decisions and plans. This way, they learn to continue the great work that we have done together and become self sustaining with the support of the relationship built with the Department of Education for years to come."

This is the type of work we love to see! Visit here to read more about this fantastic organisation and inspiring projects they are currently working on.