Thought I would share a couple of great organisations who have only popped up this year who are already on their way to doing great things by thinking outside the square and getting creative...

[co]design studio since forming in May this year have already 5 projects under their belt. The crux of this organisation is that they collaborate with architects and designers from the countries in which they work. What better way is there to engage communities than to build capacity of the local professionals and to exchange skills and learn from one another. Such inspiring work. You can follow their progress on Facebook, Twitter and the like. 

Another great concept is from the guys at turn me ON. The idea was to host worldwide design competition to generate discussion and ideas to address the current problem of accessing clean water in rural communities in Nepal. We are looking forward to seeing what the entrants have come up with! 

young designers

Eco-Cubby is a fantastic initiative being implemented in schools across Victoria. Supported by City of Melbourne and Regional Arts Victoria, the program teams Architects and designers up with school children and communities to promote concepts of sustainable design.

I love how insightful children are and this program allows the students to develop a range of skills and address a number of topics from creating awareness of the living environment through to the use of maths and scale. To highlight what can be achieved, this is an Eco-Cubby that has actually been built! It was designed by the children at the University of Melbourne Early Learning Centre and opened last month!

Take a look at the Eco-Cubby blog to see what some other schools have been up to.

The Social Studio

On a recent visit to Melbourne I stumbled across this great community concept. On first glance you expect this Smith Street studio to be just like any uber trendy cafe/clothing store that Melbourne so often delivers. However The Social Studio provides a unique opportunity for young refugees to not only use their style and skills to produce a clothing range but offers them emplyment, advice, encouragement, counselling and training.

At a time when it is becoming more and more important to reuse and recycle The Social Studio collects excess manufacturing material and reconfigures it into funky fashion! Take a look at their website, such a fantastic social enterprise!

BSF + The Sorrell Foundation

The Building Schools for the Future programme will see every state secondary school in the UK, a total of 3500, rebuilt or remodelled during the lifetime of the programme. Launched by the Department for Education & Skills in February 2004, BSF is the largest and most ambitious scheme of its kind anywhere in the world. It will transform education for some 3.3 million students aged 11-19.

The programme aims to create learning environments which inspire young people, provide teachers with 21st century workplaces and provide community facilities.

The Sorrell Foundation is one organisation that is working with school children to design their school of the future. The Foundation was set up in 1999 with the aim of inspiring creativity in young people and improving the quality of life through design. 

The following is a list of common issues that students have identified in workshops held over 7 years. 

A great organisation doing fantastic stuff. Take a look at their website to see their other programmes. 

The Art of Architecture

There is a fantastic collection of Le Corbusier works currently showing at the Barbican. It is an amazing collection of original models, interior reconstructions, drawings, furniture, paintings and sculptures. His ideas of social housing and utopian urban plans still resonate today. Working your way through the exhibition, you can see why he is dubbed the most influential architect of the 20th century!   

nigel

I have to share with you all the blog of artist/photographer Nigel Peake. It is so refreshing to see fun, architectural images so equisitely hand drawn and the photos are great too!  

His website Second Street is a joy too... so many quirky drawings and the water colour site is just so cool. Make sure you check it out. 

Thanks Nigel. 

pretty christmas idea.....

Our friend Felicity has always been so creative, but this I think is especially beautiful.  She has made these "snow flakes" for her front window. They sound so simple to make and look so pretty, only Fliss could come up  with such a great idea. Read more about how she made them here.

weekend project

a Christmas wreath! I've been wanting to make a wreath for my front door for a few years now and this year is going to be the year! I've been having a good scour around all our favourite blogs to get some inspiration..... 

The first photo is from the lovely Pia, she used a wire base and pussywillow. She adds flowers and berry's during the year, very versatile! 

This next one I really love! It's Sara's effort from last year (you have to scroll to the bottom of the page), so very pretty...... she used grape vines as her base... not sure I'm up for that yet!

The final one is from a blog that is new for me blomsterverksta, this lady makes wreaths for a living. Sophie also blogged about a pretty one she found here.

As Pia suggested I think I'm going to keep it simple and see what I can find in my garden.... maybe some eucalyptus leaves, flowers and berries. Hopefully it will be a fun and successful weekend! Next up christmas cake, anyone have a good recipe?

friday again!

Thank goodness! It's been a long week! I do believe we only have five Fridays left in Sydney before we will all be in Katolo to continue community consultations and begin construction for the Secondary School for Girls. Woo hoo!

Tonight we're heading to our alma mater, The University of Sydney to check out the final year architecture students' exhibition.



[in]form Graduate Exhibition 2008 is on at the Wilkinson Building at The University of Sydney, 148 City Road, Darlington from 6pm. Hope to see you there and if not have a lovely, sunny weekend!

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!

mac-o-ram-a in the Maasai

We're on the cusp of welcoming two b+c directors to the cool Mac owners club! After Kirstin's pc gave up the ghost and Harriet simply needing a laptop to keep up with us when she heads to London next year- the purchases are imminent!



And apart from being easy to use, super cool to look at and generally just great- have a look at the Apple article here. It's from a little while ago, but how great to see technology available in parts of the world that have previously been out of reach. Here's hoping that we can do the same in Katolo at the Secondary School for Girls!

work work work

just a little reminder of how to work better..... We have been trying to keeping our heads above our ever increasing pile of work the past couple of weeks. The bricks + cartwheels Gala Dinner is on this weekend, and we are all so excited and even a little bit nervous about it. 

It's been a hard slog, getting everything organised BUT it's definitely going to be worth it! I think this list of tips is the perfect way to stay calm and in control. Thanks to Erin from Design for Mankind for the post.

school masterplanning

A recent weekend away to the lovely Shoal Bay was just the inspiration the b+c team needed to nut out a masterplan for the secondary school for girls. After receiving feedback from the community about the initial brief we were able to decide on a draft document which we are now busily preparing to send back to Katolo for the community to look over and discuss.


There was plenty of pens/trace/bubble diagrams and lively discussions about different options... We are happy to say we now have a masterplan! A job well done! We are looking forward to hearing the feedback from Kenya.

a little herb garden

When we were last in Kenya, I planted a herb garden with Basil (my favourite), Parsley, Chives, Coriander and Mint. It made our not so great food that little bit better! Nothing like some Basil to add some fresh zing to a pasta sauce. I've just planted a herb garden on my balcony in Sydney, but wishing that I had these so I could have them all organised on the kitchen window sill.Available from one of our favourite shops, top3 by design, the Eva Solo pots are self watering. The vase in the base of the pot holds the water for the wick to bring up to the soil as the plant requires it. How cool is that?

Mitchell Road Auction house

The Mitchell Road auction house in Alexandria is a recent find of ours. It is a treasure trove of amazing things. We could spend hours and hours trawling through all the beautiful things at this place. The downstairs is full of everything you could possibly think of from lawnmowers, surf boards and bikes to side boards, desks, chairs and lamps. This is where the auction items are and they're a bit more rough and ready. 

Upstairs is a retro lovers dream. The most beautiful chairs, tables, lamps, glasses, jars, typwriters and clothes.... just to name a few things! This is where the impatient buyer can get a quick hit. No auctions up here. Well worth a visit, the website is here. 

how could you resist....

Now this is what I call awesome toys! Beautiful minimalist wooden toys from where else but Sweden. Momoll which means "yeah, yeah" in Swedish/German slang is the name of this great kids design company. 

 I would have killed for these dolls houses and even this toy stove..... what a way to instil good design in small children. Get them young I say.....

Found via Famille Summerbelle.

friday afternoon inspiration

A few beautiful photos of inspiring spaces to get everyone through the rest of this Friday afternoon. The first three are The Hof residence, designed by Studio Granda..... isn't it amazing.

The next few images are of a lovely apartment in Amsterdamn, I think we all at bricks + cartwheels could very easily live or work here. The light is lovely. 

The Hof house found here and the apartment found here.