Three Cities, Three Continents

Curitiba, Brazil

Whitelaw + Turkington very kindly invited us to a continuing proffessional development lecture. This was a really interesting afternoon with talks on the 'free city' concept in Melbourne, development in Stockholm and paving in Paris. The last talk on Curitiba in Brazil was fascinating, a really brilliant example of urban planning. The masterplan was developed by Jaime Lerner, who went on to become Mayor. There were really innovative approaches to dealing with public transport, waste removal and recycling and the social inclusion of its poorest inhabitants. This was a really inspirational project.

New public transport bus stops, Curitiba

Shifting Sands: Good Design In Seaside Regeneration

East Beach Cafe - Thomas Hetherwick

Sihting sands in Littlehampton was a brilliant lecture and very relevant to our current North Sea Faing projects. There were over twenty speakers covering a wide range of topics. Maria Smith from Studio Weave, was particularly interesting talking about a long scuptural bench she is creating for Littlehampton. The highlight of the day was Thomas Heathewick who spoke about the new East Beach Cafe which is replacing a kiosk on Littlehampton seafront. Located just ten minutes from the leacture hall, we visited it at lunchtime, after a having a paddle in the sea! The building is absolutley stunning. I love its curving forms and raw and weathered look. It fits to the location perfectly. Although still in the final stages of construction we are able to have a look at the space inside too.

On The Threshold: The Changing Face of Housing

Living Room House, Gelnhausen, Germany

This exhibiton demonstrated the importance of good external design of housing in creating a sense of community and creating place where people want to live. Architects whose work was represented include: AHMM, BKK-3, Brendeland Kristoffersen, FAT, Maccreanor Lavington, MVRDV, S333 and Wilkinson Eyre.

There were some really innovative ideas, such as the Living Room House pictured above, with rooms that slide out of the building like draws, creating an outdoor-indoor space! This was a tiny exhibition, really hidden away but well worth having a look at. It really highlighted the overlapping roles between architects and landscape architects. There were some beautiful models and a really interesting video of people talking about the old London slum areas.