Archive
RSA – Sustainability As A Matter of Survival: 10 Years of Architecture for Humanity
Cameron Sinclair, joint founder of Architecture for Humanity, recieved an award, and spoke at the RSA on November 9th.
It was illuminating to gain some insight into the history, operation and future directions of AfH, direct from Cameron Sinclair. I experienced an immediate, if somehwat stretched, affinity, by discovering he was originally from Peckham. :o)
AfH have a well-established model for participation and sharing of open-source architecture, via the Open Architecture Network. The classic decentralised ‘network’ approach, that Sinclair quoted as inspiring him, is Paul Baran’s model of distributed network nodes, from 1962, which was instrumental in creating the conceptual underpinning of the internet.
So, the aim is to decentralise, share and participate. You then get a multi-nodal flow of knowledge and experience. Function, meaning and activity will ‘enculture’ local and dsitributed networks, via skills, materials, techniques and symbolism, working across the spectrum of modern Product Design and Engineering. So we’ll explore ways to contribute in traditional Design Engineering (for example, partnering with architecture projects to develop appropriate technology for air-conditioning, heating, ect. for buildings; ‘Jua Kali’ fuel briquette manufacture for micro business, using unpowered machinery and waste organic materials), Industrial Design (for example, input into the useabilty and manufacturability – appropriately – of the above), Service Design (for example, exploring the networks and approaches for marketing and distributing the briquettes) and so on.
How will this work from a design and engineering perspective?
Well, Emily Pilloton has already established another analogous group – Project ‘H’ who approach the domain from a ‘product design’ direction.
The ‘Jua Kali’ prject and Madegood.net will offer another dimension to these, and other existing, models of collaborative, distributed design networks. As an integral part of the Jua Kali project, a collaborative link has been established with Kenyatta University, in Nairobi, where, computing hardware and software will be provided to train designers and engineers in 3D CAD modelling and analysis. This advanced virtual design capability will allow students to compete globally, while improving the efficiency of the design and prototyping cycle locally.
So, a key part of our ‘sharing’ will be making all part, assembly and drawing files available for contributers to use and modify.
The ‘Jua Kali’ project is our main focus and will be for 18 months, but we’ll, hopefully build capacity and bring online some more projects, UK domestic and international, as out network builds.
Again, hopefully, our network will complement those already leading in the vanguard of this movement in design.
BA Product Design – Year 2 – MDX – Visualising the Jua Kali Collaboration (and ‘Madegood’ association) and “How to Participate?”
Year 2 students, on the Human Factors, Product Semantics and Interaction Design module, have been designing visualisations of the collaboration – a ‘Service Ecology’ of the ‘actors’ and their inter-relationships, in order to help explain how the project will work and how it can develop. A key element of this is contribution by the public (those not yet involved in the collaborative project). They have also been working on a straightforward way of communicating the need for these contributions and the process of ‘how to participate’.
The following examples were produced by Rebecca Board http://rebeccaboard.wordpress.com/, Dwayne Lecky and Kieron Woodhouse http://kieron-scott.com/:
Further designs, by other Year 2 Students are viewable in ‘Current Proejcts’, along with the Brief they are working to.
Jua Kali Project Contribution – Sam Dempsey
Sam Dempsey, product designer and creator of the ‘Design Democracy’ blog http://designplant.wordpress.com/ has contributed a Solidworks model (parts and assembly) of one of the current versions of the multi-briquette compressors, produced by Jua Kali artisans and Kenyatta University students.
Thanks to Sam.
Created by Sam Dempsey
We will upload the parts and assembly file, for anyone wishing to develop it further.
MadeGood straplines – capturing the sense of the project
Approtech + Cleantech via ‘Opentech’ (beaten to it, with ‘coining the phrase’ – http://www.ukuug.org/events/opentech2009/)
‘The world turned common – an idea shared’
Appropriate Technology and Social Innovation through open-source, collaborative and participatory design
Useful links to ponder, from ‘Open Tech’:
‘KenYerSel’ – appraoches to interactive and evolving discussion maps – http://www.kenyersel.org/maps.php
‘Ndiyo’ – affordable, sustainable IT for the world… http://ndiyo.org/
‘How to Build Developer Communities’ – http://philwhitehouse.blogspot.com/
HFPS&ID Workshop
Will Stewart will be joiniung us in the above 2nd Year BA Product Design session on Wednesday. We are working through the Service Ecology and ‘How to Participate’ process graphics for the ‘MadeGood.net’ website and associated projects. At this stage, that means the ‘Jua Kali – informal manufacture sector’ open-source appro-tech distributed collaborative project.
We should have some ideas and designs to upload in a week and a half from these sessions, along with some ideas and graphics from some contacts of Will’s.
Made Good 