... International Aid ..... Renate Carius ....

Renate Carius, Sydney, Australia : New Zealand Master Class 2007 :

Glenn Murcutt Master Class 2009 : EU Master Class Ireland 2011

[ international aid : small projects : remote community development ]

Small Education-based Projects : Ladakh and Nepal, Himalaya

When life is lived at the edge, as it is in Nepal and Ladakh, with restricted access to some or all of the basic human needs such as clean water, shelter, sanitation, healthcare and education, resilience becomes a necessity for survival. Despite these hard living conditions, I am constantly amazed at the genuine warmth and the tenacity of the people and communties I work together with.

These images have been chosen from the last 3 years of my work. They were taken to capture the fine grains of ordinary life in the Himalaya. They lie behind small, education-based projects in Ladakh and Nepal. This work is in response to conditions of poverty, political instability, civil war, natural disaster and geographic isolation.

With a focus on young children, our small projects in education, dental health and infrastructure aim to improve the conditons of basic human needs. They are simple but effective and repeatable.

A large part of my work takes place in remote communities where collecting daily water or harvesting a crop is of primary concern. In this context, common questions of, and responses to, architecture are challenged. Working remotely means asking a different set of questions - is the road passable, is there a water source, is it festival time, what materials and skill sets are available, what are the cultural parameters, is there political stability and so on? To find answers I seek local knowledge. Observation and collaboration with educators, monks, students, farmers, medical workers, engineers and so forth, inform the process. All of the projects are identified by the community and executed by hand by local people.

Equally, funding is hard-won, reading plans near impossible and organization is unpredictable. To add to complexities, time is elastic, extravagance discarded and the work arduous. However.... the warmth, generosity, colour, humour and the needs of the people are the paradoxes that resonate to move things towards vital community development goals.

As architects we conceive of and put things together.

The series of images show some of the small projects across education, health and infrastructure created together with communities.

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Lindsay Johnston7 June 2016

Juan Carlos Eugene Soler : Glenn Murcutt Master Class 2001

54th Central Glass International Design Competition, Tokyo, Japan

‘Architecture That Generates New Sakariba’ - 2019

The Japanese ‘Central Glass International Design Competitions’ have been run each year since 1966. The 2019 competition attracted 188 international entries. Seven were shortlisted and Eugene’s entry was placed second.

[ theoretical proposition, metaphor, solar energy, technology, sustainability, community ]

‘MOON LANDING’

It is in our deepest primal instinct as social beings that people gather in a communal place that gives us a sense of culture and belonging. We gather around the warmth and wonder of campfire under the stars and share memories and stories. Or by day, under the cool shade of a tree- a natural place to meet a lover or exchange knowledge. Such place that delivers these conditions perhaps is the genesis of ‘Sakariba’.

The proposal is a massive balloon structure that can create and harness energy from the Sun whilst defining space underneath its volume, where people of all ages can gather to meet, play or ‘hangout’. The ‘Moon Landing’ hopes to create a central place for gathering where business and commerce are encouraged and generate ‘Sakariba’.

On a hot summer or rainy day, people can gather under its shade. On a cloudy day, the balloon structure can rise above the clouds where it can efficiently harness energy from the Sun. At night, it becomes a light source and a signal to attract people and when it descends it creates a space where people can gather around its warm glow. The ‘Moon Landing’ has all these features at the same time providing sustainable energy to its local community.

This idea is not science fiction but actually a very feasible means of efficiently combining what is currently being developed in balloon technology, sustainability, science and art. What is new is the realignment of technology to create a more poetic and meaningful purpose to reinvigoration local culture, religion, myths and stories, which is appropriate when it needs to be integrated in local communities. Especially to the 25% of the world’s population which has no or lack access to electricity. Such space offers a wonderful chance for the community to be activated, bring people together and encourage businesses and various activities.

By combining a strong metaphor with technology and sustainability- the proposal hopes to address not only the community’s basic needs but also hopes to give a deep importance and meaning in local culture and tradition to bring people together and organically for business growth and generate a ‘New Sakariba’

Moreover, in a world where we have Internet connection but seem to be ‘disconnected’- the ‘Moon Landing’ can be a benefit to existing ‘Sakariba’ not only to reduce the abundant energy we are drowning in, but also to remind us to look up and realize our place in the Universe and encourage real connection with each other.

Architect : Eugene Soler

Awards : 54th Central Glass International Design Competition _ Second Place

Web site : http://www.ateliersoler.com

OZ.E.TECTURE

architects thinking locally acting globally

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