My Reading List

     I signed for a seminar on Public Interest Design in January, so I have some homework to do before then. It's being organized by Bryan Bell who edited the book Good Deeds, Good Design: Community Service through Architecture, and is the founder and executive director of Design Corps. He is also one of the forces behind SEED (Social Economic Environmental Design) certification for buildings. SEED is similar to LEED in it's evaluation of buildings, but it goes further and looks at the social and economic relevance of the project, as well as the environmental aspects.
     On the reading list for the course is his book, Good Deeds, Good Design which is a collection of essays and case studies of projects that look at projects that serve the people who normally can't afford an architect. It's an inspiring book for architects that feel the profession is letting down society by only catering to the upper echelons of society. Also on the reading list by Bell is Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism which expands on his previous book and is a guide for architects who are interested in the same issues that SEED deals with.
     Also on the list is Design Revolution: 100 Products That Empower People by Emily Pilloton who is the founder and Executive Director of Project H Design, a non-profit that provides humanitarian product design services. I haven't read it yet, but I'm curious to see how similar it is to Design for the Other 90% by Cynthia E. Smith, and whether or not the projects overlap.
     Lastly on the list is The Power of Pro Bono edited by John Cary. Here, again, is a compilation of 40 community based projects divided into 6 different categories: Arts, Civic, Community, Health, Education, and Housing.
     I am curious to see how these projects were funded, how involved the community is in the design, and whether or not the community is able to continue to fund the upkeep of the building after the design services go away.
     

Architecture and Health

     On my last day in Bangladesh this past trip, I sat with the director and some of the other higher-ups in the NGO I visited, and we talked about my trip, what I learned and what my ideas for the future of my project were. At that point it wasn't quite clear in my mind where I could take my research further since what I learned wasn't exactly what I expected, and the problems I saw didn't require an architecturally based doctoral thesis to fix.
     They really tried to impress on me that if I wanted to work with them further, that I should keep in mind that they focus on health, economic and family issues, not building construction. I guess I could take my (as yet undefined) building ideas and go elsewhere, but during our conversation, the issues I brought up of what I observed made us both realize that there is a common link that we share: Architecture and Health. How are the conditions of rural housing directly affecting the inhabitants physical and mental health? What can be done to improve their housing conditions in a economically sustainable way?

 Thin leaf walls, the only protection against
the cold,wind, and rain

     During my last two trips to Bangladesh, I only stayed 2 weeks, and at both times, the weather was reasonable. I avoided the monsoon in the summer and the cold weather they have in the winter, and the extreme heat they have in between. So, there was no first hand observation of how villagers lived or what health issues came up during these times. When I asked them how what they did under bad weather situations, they said they used thick jute blankets in winter, stayed inside mostly when it rained, and the heat just seemed to be something they lived with. Only one older woman complained the cold gave her arthritic type symptoms, and when that came up, other women admitted their kids had bad colds as well. But still, it was hard to judge the extent to which people were suffering, especially because no one seemed to complain.

Mold found on the exterior of the foundation

     Most of the villagers had been working with at least one NGO, and thus had access to clean sources of water and latrines. But still, I saw examples of a latrine that was built within two feet of pond, and could potentially contaminate it; leaky roofs; thin walls that couldn't possibly guard against the cold; farm animals and their fecal matter living in the same building as their owners; enclosed smoke-filled cooking areas that could cause eye and lung damage; suspicious green mold on the courtyard floor and exterior walls of houses.
     I'm thinking further study would have to include medical professionals to observe what illnesses arise, and to test if there is a connection between building materials or building conditions and people's health concerns. Are there particulate matters in the air that come from the materials or from smoke inhalation? What serious health concerns are associated with having a cow defecate and urinate in the same living quarters as their owners? How can walls be better insulated in an economically sustainable way, when the level of resources is next to nothing? 
     At this point, I have more questions than answers. But isn't that always the case? At least I feel I'm moving in the right direction.

Lampshades, continued...

     The "lampshade" from last weeks post turned out to be more like a tea light holder, but it a few things can be learned from it:
     The tapioca glue definitely hardened the material (I used layers of sheer polyester material for most of it, with a few lines of thicker cotton material). I thought the two different materials would act to stabilize each other, but when working with them while they were wet, they reacted differently - the polyester tended to cling to the balloon underneath, while the cotton became limp and couldn't hold it's own weight. 
     I had to work upside down to let the glue drip off. I'm thinking the glue was too watery, although the structure held it's shape after drying. The end product was still pretty flexible, could be flattened and then would pop back into shape, and not as brittle as I imagined.
     Since the opening at the top was smaller than that at the bottom, I turned it upside down (had I used a lightbulb I probably would have flipped it). I like the light effect I got from the tea light, but did notice the material started to burn on top, but it did not ignite (not at least during the hour I had the candle burning).
     As for other building uses, I would have to play around more with the consistency of the glue mixture and experiment with other fabric types, to get a more stable product, and would have to work on a larger scale.