Design is in

http://www.architectureforhumanity.org/

Architecture for Humanity is an initiative started in 1999, and today is a network of more than 40,000 professionals who give their time and knowledge to help those who would otherwise would not be able to afford their services. One of the ironies of our time is the fact that often, the people who are most in need of design and development services, are the ones who can least afford it. In the last ten years Architecture for Humanity has helped rebuild local communities after natural disasters, alleviate poverty and provide access to to clean water. They also work for communities struggling with urbanization, build for the differently abled, rebuild communities post-conflict, and reduce the footprint of buildings.

One of the key areas they work in is sustainable design. They believe (very sensibly) that "Buildings not only have a physical footprint - they have an ethical footprint." Projects they work on range form community centers for tsunami affected people in Sri Lanka, to preservation of defaced structures in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The projects on their site and both numerous and varied, and there is a detailed documentation of each one. Their sensitivity to culture, people and the environment, results in buildings and spaces that blend with and support the local resources, as well as revitalize the local culture and sense of community. As they say, "Design is important to every aspect of our lives. It informs the places in which we live, work, learn, heal and gather. We engage all stakeholders in the design process. We believe our clients are designers in their own right."

Cameron Sinclair is the CEO, (Chief Eternal Optimist as they call it) of Architecture for Humanity, of which he is the co-founder with Kate Stohr. He was trained as an architect in University College, London, where he developed an interest in social, cultural and humanitarian design. Ten years back he and his wife Kate had an idea while watching news of the refugees in Kosovo. Cameron said, "I bet there is more than just us who cares about these communities, who want to help and make a difference." They launched a design competition for Kosovo, and were flooded with a new ideas for refugee housing. And so Architecture for Humanity was born. You can read more on him here. They have co-authored a book 'Design Like You Give A Dam'. (I couldn't have said it better myself!)

Cameron believes that when your clients are living on less than 50 cents a day, being 'green' is not a choice. Sustainability is also about affordability, and innovation with the minimum resources.
You can request design services or offer design services. Also have a look at Open Architecture Network, another initiative by them, an online, opens-source community to share knowledge and improve living conditions. These people realize that architecture is so much more than just 'buildings'. It is the spaces we live in, and in a way our homes, workplaces and gathering places are extensions of ourselves. They shape us as much as we shape them. I quote their site "One billion people live in abject poverty. Four billion live in fragile but growing economies. One in seven people live in slum settlements. By 2020 it will be one in three. We don't need to choose between architecture or revolution. What we need is an architectural revolution."
One of the several current projects is happening in Haiti, post-earthquake. Cameron's entire posts on the home page are worth reading. A quote here, "For those not used to working in disasters the first week is chaotic, filled with stories of heroism and despair. The first responders are not the NGO's or medical personal but the families of those who are injured or lost their lives. It is an overwhelming situation to be in. It is also not the time for architects to show up thinking they can rebuild. People are trying to find their loved ones not think about what their lives will look like in 5, 10 or 15 years."

Do read their site in detail, its range and depth of work is commendable, and have a look at the video below. (lots more videos on YouTube). Its time to design like you give a dam.
By Armeen Kapadia

Wat-a-filter! 01/06/2010

Every year millions of children die of water-borne diseases. A scientist from Australia has developed a filter, that's as easy to make as it is to use, with clay, coffee and, believe it or not, some good ol' cow dung. He created this technology in 2005, and it has never been patented, so that it is used freely wherever required in the world.

Tony Flynn, an artist, potter and materials scientist at the Australian National University (ANU), realised that water-borne diseases such as diarrhea destroy numerous lives, especially in the developing world. Most water filters consist of a hollow ceramic vessel filled with charcoal. These filters are usually imported from foreign countries, and out of reach for the people who need it the most. This filter uses normal clay, found freely anywhere in the world, mixed with coffee. The clay on its own is too dense to allow water through. When the clay is mixed with coffee in equal parts, and fired, the coffee creates holes in it, making it porous.

Firing of clay is an expensive affair requiring a kiln, and Tony knew this would not be practical. Wood too, is not always easily available. He realised that cow manure is the ideal material as a dung fire burns at 950˚C, perfect for baking clay. After around an hour of baking in the dung, the filter is ready to use. When tested the filter removes between 94.6 and 99.8% of e-coli in water. The tiny holes of the filter are too small for bacteria to go through. However, particles from the clay itself, and some viruses can pass through the filter. "It's not a golden bullet but it's a bullet nevertheless. It will help where there's nothing else available." Mr. Flynn elaborates. According to the ANU, 'the organic materials are burned away during the firing process and create small passages in the filter that allow water, but not pathogens, to pass. This filter effectively removes 96.4-99.8% of E. Coli in water.'

This invention was born out of a World Vision and Potters for Peace project in East Timor, to rehabilitate a small potter community, Manatuto, that had been displaced by the constant violence of East Timor's civil war. The idea was empower the potters to make their own filters, and maybe even sell them for income.

The simple materials, and the firing with cow-dung ensures this is a 'zero-technology' process, available whenever needed. Tony Flynn sums it up,"“Everyone has a right to clean water, these filters have the potential to enable anyone in the world to drink water safely."

By Armeen Kapadia

Eating off leaves 09/11/2009

VerTerra dishes

Michael Dwork, founder and CEO of VerTerra, was inspired by the Indian leaf plate when he visited India. Since then he has been constantly refining that simple organic plate. On similar lines, VerTerra focuses on producing more durable and versatile single-use products. The products can be used to bake in the oven, store in the fridge and reheat in the microwave.

VerTerra is rooted in the Latin phrase 'Veritas terra' or 'true to the earth'. The VerTerra dinnerware is made from fallen leaves that they borrow and then returned to the earth. The methods that Verterra uses to produce its quality dinnerware is sustainable. Most of VerTerra's dinnerware are made in South Asia by creating hundreds of fair-wage jobs. The company claims that their craftspeople are well-supported financially, provided healthcare and safe working conditions.

Their top priority is to be true to the earth. Although water is used to clean gathered leaves, no trees are cut, and over 80% of the water is recaptured and reused. The dinnerware is 100% free of chemicals, lacquers, glues, bonding agents or anything toxic.

VerTerra has won many awards for its innovation. The products are stylish, versatile and compostable. The dinnerware is light and looks like a beautifully grained piece of wood. It is rugged and feels almost like thin bamboo. But it is the strangeness that is so attractive. The thickness of the plates gives no hint them being disposable products. They replace paper or plastic plates in over 500 parties and events across the globe. It takes about 62 days for a plate to fully decompose. A set of eight 6-inch plates retails for $4.99. Via its website, customers can directly buy VerTerra products. Critics haven't been able to report anything negative even after abusing the plates and bowls.

VerTerra's products are so good that they are now the official serviceware of the Statue of Liberty. Price is a crucial factor that stops people from buying such products. In recent years, the cost of their products have been cut by 50%, making them as affordable as disposable products. Their factories use 10% of the energy that most recycled paper plate factories use. The leaf-scrap that is left while making the plates is crushed into powder and provided as fertilizer to the farmers who send leaves to VerTerra. A manufacturing plant only produces around 2-3 regular trash bins worth of waste in an entire month.

Michael Dwork regrets the fact that all items are put in recycled plastic shrink wrap for hygenic reasons. He wishes there was a way around that use of plastic, but it is necessary. There are no other heat and water stable materials that will ensure that customers get the product in a sanitary condition, but he will happily entertain suggestions. The only complaint that he has got in 9 months of selling is that people feel bad throwing them away since they feel so sturdy and look so attractive.

These products are the biodegradable, aesthetically pleasing dinnerware and they are as green as it gets. Do see the interview with Michael Dwork.

By Sanjay Basavaraju

Juicy bags 07/22/2009

Eco-friendly bags made of juice cartons

Someone is finally putting those millions of juice cartons, which we all happily chuck in the bin, to good use. These juice cartons are being recycled to make an attractive, lively set of bags. Juice cartons are quite non-biodegradable, and end up in landfills, or littering the streets, or are burnt creating more pollution.

The Eco-friendly Juice Bags are not only eco-friendly, but they are also helping poor communities, as they are made by a woman’s cooperative in the Philippines, where the women are the main bread-winners in their families. This cooperative is formed of more than 500 women of Pasig City, Philippines, and was started in 1999. The cooperative provides a livelihood to 200 families, creating income to pay for education and healthcare. Their main objective is to recycle cartons, plastics and the rest into bags and accessories. Working with local community leaders, the cooperative convinced people to separate their waste, and sell recyclable matter to the cooperative. The local council provided pushcarts and weighing scales and established an Ecology Center. This ultimately led to Pasig City being awarded first place as the cleanest and greenest township.

Of all the recyclable materials, the colourful juice cartons attracted the women’s attention. After collection, they are sanitized, and made into bags. The bags have a wide range of shapes and sizes. There is the ‘shopper’ a large divided bag that can accommodate A4 size files. There is the ‘woven handbag’ made from interwoven lengths of juice carton. There are insulated bottle bags with zip-up lids.

The Recycled Juice Bags look great, function great, and utilize waste. Design at its best, even without the designer.

By Armeen Kapadia

Ten of them 07/21/2009

Dumper, designed by Sam Johnson

“We talk about design and sustainability.” This is how ten.blog describes its intention. Ten is a group of designers who have got together for the last three years to create products based on responsible design. The designers are Tomoko Azumi, Stephen Bretland, Carl Clerkin, Gitta Gschwendtner, Chris Jackson, Sam Johnson, Michael Marriott, Hector Serrano, Onkar Singh Kular and Nina Tolstrup. Last year’s collection wood is a series of practical, affordable, and sustainable objects for the home.

One of the designers, Chris Jackson, was frustrated with the general low level of social awareness in the design industry. In 2005 he took a year off to research sustainable and ethical design. He came up with a project called ‘Ten’, where he grouped together ten London-based designers, and then asked them to source materials for new products within a 10 km radius of their homes, and within a budget of ten pounds each.

Jackson feels this was a great chance for designers to get back to their most basic skill, ingenuity. More than aesthetics, the design of an object was dictated by its function, resulting in some pretty interesting outcomes. Constraints and limited resources produce fantastic pieces of design, often created by users and non-designers.

Ethical living is one of the main issues Ten addresses. As Jackson explains, we now live in a use-and-throw society, people don’t think of repairing every day objects, but just replace them without a thought. It is this issue that these designers strive to resolve, which is apparent on each of their sites. They create, re-use products, and re-invent products. Their strong focus on functionality does not mean that aesthetic considerations suffer, in fact, far from it. Their products have instant likeability, and many have that ‘wow’ factor, besides being sustainable, affordable and usable.

Some of the products I really liked were this wedge racer, designed by Gitta Gschwendtner, which also doubles up as a door-wedge, and can be enjoyed by adults and children.

The extreme flexibility of Nina Tolstrup’s designs makes them ideal multi-purpose prodcuts. The 1 X 1 Trestles are pieces of wood that can form a range of interior objects, including lamps, a chair, a ruler, and hooks, all made in the same 1 x 1 wood sections. The 2-hanger utilizes the parts that generally go waste in manufacture, to create another unique product. The on/off alarm is the easiest thing to switch on and off, just tilt it one way or the other.

Do check out each designer’s site, as they all feature really some unique and intriguing products.

By Armeen Kapadia

E-waste not going to waste 06/30/2009

The refuse from discarded electronic products, e-waste, end up in landfills or incinerators. In today’s ‘use and throw’ philosophy, the amount of e-waste is constantly increasing to alarming levels. It’s easier to buy a new computer, than upgrade your old one, or so most people think. Alex Lin, at age 13, started a progamme in his community to reduce e-waste by refurbishing discarded computers and providing them to families unable to afford electronic equipment.

Alex, from Westerly, Rhode Island, USA, formed Westerly Innovations Network (WIN) in 2002. He explains in the video how improper waste encompasses a lot of things, like burning, burying, and exporting. In the average computer monitor, there is 4 to 8 pounds of lead, there is also mercury, cadmium, and the plastic cases themselves, all causing severe health defects. Earlier, all the residents of Westerly were dumping their e-waste in the landfill. With a few phone calls, and some effort, they set up a receptacle at a certain point, where people could dump their computers, protecting the crops, water and environment.

The WIN team then meets once in a week in Alex’s basement to refurbish the computers. Alex feels that recycling is much more efficient than buying new pieces. They get donations from corporations and banks, and sometimes have to replace hard drives, RAMs etc. After refurbishing, the computers are usually given to people in Westerly who don’t have computers. They also sent computers to Sri Lanka after the tsunami, where they were used in an education centre.

Later the WIN team also made a presentation to the State Legislation, and because of their efforts today improper disposal of e-waste in Rhode Island is illegal. You can see Alex’s speech at the Youth Brower Awards, 2007. Today the WIN team works with people in Sri Lanka, Cameroon and Mexico. They effectively created a system that deals with several problems, those of e-waste, environmental damage, and increased access to computers for poorer sections of society. As Alex says, this is a small step in changing the way the country, and even the world deals with waste.

By Armeen Kapadia

SunNight Solar 06/29/2009

While a lot of us take electricity for granted, there are an estimated two billion people living without power from the electric grid. These people rely on outdated, expensive, and unhealthy sources of illumination such as kerosene, candles, etc. SunNight Solar has developed a flashlight that uses solar energy, and can be used for various lighting conditions.

SunNight Solar was started by Marc Bent, a US diplomat and oilman who had spent years working in Africa, and wanted to give back. Lighting takes up almost 30% of a family’s disposable income. The SunLight series of flashlights will provide light for 750 to 1000 nights, 8 hours per night – which is a minimum of 6000 hours. Unlike conventional flashlights, which lose approximately 3.8% of energy monthly, this flashlight stays charged all the time. The SunLight series uses Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMh) AA batteries, which are the more expensive, but have the least environmental impact.

The SunLight solar flashlight, unlike many products, is easy to open up. With just a coin, one can open it, remove a battery, put in a new one and close it again. The torch has a solar photovoltaic panel that generates electricity. The electricity is stored in the three batteries. The user has to place the flashlight in the sun during the day. Though this looks like a flashlight, it can be used to light up a room. It has several different settings for different light conditions and needs of the consumer. The design of the flashlight ensures there is circulation of air around each of the batteries, vital for the batteries to retain and store energy. In many products one has to figure out the direction the battery goes in, but in this flashlight, all three batteries go positive side first, so there is no confusion.

Bent has designed the product himself, and there’s even a model in pink, to discourage men from seizing the products from women. Bent initially had invested heavily in the project, and later got help from Innocentive, an R&D firm. Thousands of Africans are using the solar powered light; SunNight Solar has passed one million in sales. Bent wants to expand the line and add a solar-powered UV water-filtration system.

By Armeen Kapadia

The man and his machine 06/25/2009

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Mahmoud Mujahed at work

One of the main difficulties faced by disabled people is while using public transport. The transportation system and often people too, are not sensitive to the problems faced by them. A disabled Palestinian man, fed up with having to wait for taxis, built his own electric car.

Mahmoud Mujahed, 64, has had severe knee injuries, and can only walk with the help of crutches. His disability forced him to give up work. Unable to afford taxis, he built his own electric car. It took him two weeks to build the car, which works on a 12 volt battery, and the help of a computer system. It can reach speeds of up to 80 miles an hour, and has 20 horsepower. Mujahed says, "Because I don’t work, I don’t have money to pay for transport. I thought I would make a car with three wheels.” The first car he built was too slow, but a friend, Abdul Sultan, suggested he make the car in this style, and it worked. “This is different to any other car and I don't think anybody has done anything like that before. Firstly we can say it's environmentally friendly because it operates on batteries".

Necessity is the mother of invention. Faced with difficulties, people are known to do the seemingly impossible, or very difficult, to overcome their problems. The human creative power knows no limits, as Mahmoud Mujahed proves. It probably goes back to the early days of humankind, when people created the first tools to help them in their work. From making the first spade, to building a car, it is this unique ability of humans that separates us from the animal kingdom. Although some animals have highly evolved problem solving and tool-making capabilities, in humans this ability has developed to a very great degree.

Mahmoud Mujahed hopes the Palestinian government, or an organization, will help take this invention to many others like him, as it can benefit millions of people worldwide.

By Armeen Kapadia

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The wheelchair was a bicycle 06/22/2009

A huge problem for disabled people in the developing world is the lack of a suitable means to get around. A team of designers in the USA and Guatemala have created wheelchairs from old bicycles.

At the California Institute of Technology, two students of the product design class Rudy Roy and Ben Sexson, built a prototype of a wheelchair that could be made using the parts of a bicycle. The design uses normal bicycles as well as mountain bikes, which can navigate rural terrain. They continued the project after the semester ended and teamed up with Charlie Pyott, another student from the Art Centre College of Design, to form a non-profit organization called Intelligent Mobility International.

The class worked closely with students of Rafael Landivar University in Guatemala to gain important insights into the lives, needs and culture of the local people. Made in a Guatemala City workshop, the wheelchair can be easily made from ready-made bicycle parts, and bicycles are widely available in Guatemala. A standard wheelchair in Guatemala costs around $400, which is twice the average monthly household income. This wheelchair costs around $40 to $150, and could last up to ten years, much more than other wheelchairs. Opportunities for disabled people are often scarce, especially in Guatemala, as the government does not offer many opportunities. It is estimated that at least 55,000 people in Guatemala are disabled, with at least half of them in rural areas. Intelligent Mobility International employs disabled people in their factory for the manufacture of the wheelchair.

The primary goal of the company is to improve the lives of the immobile through transportation. The idea is for the wheelchair to be locally made, by the disabled people there. There are an estimated 300 million people with disabilities in the developing world, with 20 million in need of new chairs.

Innovations for the developing world need to fulfill many criteria, including providing much needed employment and encouraging local talent. What started as a classroom project became a passion for these students, and they took academics far beyond the classroom to actually impact lives.

By Armeen Kapadia