Summary of BSA proposal:
Prompt: BSA or Boston Society of Architects started a program in 2004 to promote research in Architecture with a focus on design as research and research conducted in practice environments. It encourages students to work on a wide range of issues from materials and technologies that shape physical form; to abstraction of ideas supporting theoretical projects; drawing upon social, economic and political dimensions that inform program or process; across physical scales of design from the nano-particular to the megalopolis; and from the historical past, the current moment or as projections.
Small-scale infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, forms the physical skeleton of any human settlement. However, many rural communities in Southeast Asia’s developing regions lack these critical components. With the growing urgency of food at a global scale, small-scale infrastructure is crucial for rural agricultural communities to take advantage of economic development opportunities and alleviate their own poverty.
B.Y.O.B (Build Your Own Bridge): Designing and Implementing New Forms of Rural Infrastructure proposes a multi-phase, cross-disciplinary approach to research, design, and prototype a new bridge that is
appropriate and scalable for developing rural communities throughout Southeast Asia.
Our research consists of three phases:
1. Conducting a comprehensive survey of successful precedents in small-scale infrastructure
projects, particularly bridges
2. Observing first-hand and constructing a bridge in Lamhin, a rural community outside of
Bangkok, Thailand
3. Designing and prototyping of an affordable, pre-fabricated do-it-yourself bridge for potential
implementation in other rural communities beyond Southeast Asia.
Final deliverables include a constructed bridge in Lamhin, Bangkok, a comprehensive report including background precedent study research, interviews, photos and detailed documentation of the bridge construction process, and a full-scale model of an affordable pre-fabricated do-it-yourself bridge which tests and demonstrates our innovative design solution.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Proposal updates "RVA"
RVA proposal was sent in during the August, and the Australian Embassy Discretionary Fund (DF) for Thailand was sent in during early September. Thanks to the everyone who has been working so hard on these proposals! The BSA grant (Boston Society of Architects) is due Thursday and Esther is currently working hard to get that one done!
For those of you who are wondering what these proposals are about here is a brief summary taken from the proposals.
Summary of RVA proposal:
Prompt: Projects to Focus on Transformations in the Built Environment Within Dynamically Changing Societies
This year, Rafael Viñoly Architects will award up to five grants of up to US$60,000 each for studies focused on transformations in the built environment within dynamically changing societies. Singular grants have been a vital component of the practice's training and research programs since their 2005 introduction. This year, to commemorate
Small-scale infrastructure, like paved roads and sturdy bridges, forms the physical skeleton of any human settlement. However, many rural communities in Southeast Asia’s developing regions lack these critical components. With the growing urgency of food at a global scale, small-scale infrastructure is crucial for rural agricultural communities to take advantage of economic development opportunities and alleviate their own poverty.
Our project proposes a multi-phase, cross-disciplinary approach to research, design, and prototype a new bridge that is appropriate for developing rural communities throughout Southeast Asia. Our research consists of three phases:
1) At MIT, Conducting a comprehensive survey of successful precedents in small-scale infrastructure projects, particularly bridges;
2) Observing first-hand and constructing a bridge in Lamhin, a rural community outside of Bangkok, Thailand;
3) At MIT, designing and prototyping of an affordable, pre-fabricated do-it-yourself bridge for potential implementation in other rural communities beyond Southeast Asia.
Final deliverables include a constructed bridge in Lamhin, Bangkok, a comprehensive report including background precedent study research, community meeting notes, interviews, photos and detailed documentation of the bridge construction process as reference and resource for future researcher, and a full-scale model of an affordable pre-fabricated do-it-yourself bridge which tests and demonstrates out innovative design solution.
Summary of DF (Austrailian Embassy) grant:
Prompt: The Australian Embassy Discretionary Fund is part of Australia’s overseas development program. Funding is provided through the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The DF was designed to enable the Embassy to consider and respond quickly and effectively to requests to assist with small-scale development projects by providing small grants for development projects.
What we hope to achieve:
Lamhin is a small agricultural community on the outskirts of Minburi, Bangkok. In many ways, it is like neighboring villages, with its 200 residents dependent primarily on distributing and selling the rice it cultivates to local markets. However, Lamhin lacks avenues of transportation for its goods because the Lamhin canal physically seperates it from Liab Wari, the main road in the region. The only way to cross the 10-meter span of the canal is a wooden footbridge. Also, the wooden bridge does not have the capacity to accommodate the passage of vehicular traffic, which is the ideal method of transporting large quantities of goods to local markets and bringing in crop-harvesting tractors.
While neighboring villages with access to the main road are reaping the benefits of development, the Lamhin community is stuck with literally no way out. This brings about high cost of doing agriculture, low or limited income for residents, and ultimately holds back further physical development of the already disadvantaged, low-income Lamhin community by literally barring the physical passage of construction materials to the site. Additionally, the absence of a connection for automobiles has forced villagers to put their existing limited resources at risk. Residents who own cars have no choice but to park their vehicles outside the village, far away from their homes. Vehicles are sometimes damaged and even destroyed when they are left in these remote locations.
For those of you who are wondering what these proposals are about here is a brief summary taken from the proposals.
Summary of RVA proposal:
Prompt: Projects to Focus on Transformations in the Built Environment Within Dynamically Changing Societies
This year, Rafael Viñoly Architects will award up to five grants of up to US$60,000 each for studies focused on transformations in the built environment within dynamically changing societies. Singular grants have been a vital component of the practice's training and research programs since their 2005 introduction. This year, to commemorate
The call for proposals, released in April, solicited original research projects focused on any region of the world, though there is particular interest in studies addressing relevant issues in China, the Middle East, Russia, and South America. Study subjects might include new demands for housing and infrastructure due to urban immigration in China, South Asia, and Africa; the proliferation of new cities in sparsely populated regions of the Middle East; threats to historic resources posed by development or changing political climates in Russia, Eastern Europe, and former European colonies; and more. The firm seeks insights into how these and other transitions are reshaping the work of architects and others charged with managing our physical surroundings.
Studies could be framed in reference to aspects of architectural design, engineering, construction, planning, project delivery, and conservation; the techniques, technologies, practices, and materials associated with these; the governmental policies, economic, and social factors that shape them; or the trades, crafts, and professions with which they are involved.
Our Lamhin Abstract:Small-scale infrastructure, like paved roads and sturdy bridges, forms the physical skeleton of any human settlement. However, many rural communities in Southeast Asia’s developing regions lack these critical components. With the growing urgency of food at a global scale, small-scale infrastructure is crucial for rural agricultural communities to take advantage of economic development opportunities and alleviate their own poverty.
Our project proposes a multi-phase, cross-disciplinary approach to research, design, and prototype a new bridge that is appropriate for developing rural communities throughout Southeast Asia. Our research consists of three phases:
1) At MIT, Conducting a comprehensive survey of successful precedents in small-scale infrastructure projects, particularly bridges;
2) Observing first-hand and constructing a bridge in Lamhin, a rural community outside of Bangkok, Thailand;
3) At MIT, designing and prototyping of an affordable, pre-fabricated do-it-yourself bridge for potential implementation in other rural communities beyond Southeast Asia.
Final deliverables include a constructed bridge in Lamhin, Bangkok, a comprehensive report including background precedent study research, community meeting notes, interviews, photos and detailed documentation of the bridge construction process as reference and resource for future researcher, and a full-scale model of an affordable pre-fabricated do-it-yourself bridge which tests and demonstrates out innovative design solution.
Summary of DF (Austrailian Embassy) grant:
Prompt: The Australian Embassy Discretionary Fund is part of Australia’s overseas development program. Funding is provided through the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The DF was designed to enable the Embassy to consider and respond quickly and effectively to requests to assist with small-scale development projects by providing small grants for development projects.
What we hope to achieve:
Lamhin is a small agricultural community on the outskirts of Minburi, Bangkok. In many ways, it is like neighboring villages, with its 200 residents dependent primarily on distributing and selling the rice it cultivates to local markets. However, Lamhin lacks avenues of transportation for its goods because the Lamhin canal physically seperates it from Liab Wari, the main road in the region. The only way to cross the 10-meter span of the canal is a wooden footbridge. Also, the wooden bridge does not have the capacity to accommodate the passage of vehicular traffic, which is the ideal method of transporting large quantities of goods to local markets and bringing in crop-harvesting tractors.
While neighboring villages with access to the main road are reaping the benefits of development, the Lamhin community is stuck with literally no way out. This brings about high cost of doing agriculture, low or limited income for residents, and ultimately holds back further physical development of the already disadvantaged, low-income Lamhin community by literally barring the physical passage of construction materials to the site. Additionally, the absence of a connection for automobiles has forced villagers to put their existing limited resources at risk. Residents who own cars have no choice but to park their vehicles outside the village, far away from their homes. Vehicles are sometimes damaged and even destroyed when they are left in these remote locations.
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