Hasta La Ideas

Belgium-based band Pale Grey recently released a warm piece of indie-pop: “Seasons.” The track is just over two minutes, but its combination of synths, gentle drum machine and sweet lyrics gives it depth. The three-piece is currently on a European……

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In this exclusive movie produced by Dezeen, Serpentine Pavilion architect Diébédo Francis Kéré reveals how building a school for his home village in Burkina Faso was the starting point for his career.

Kéré was born in a village named Gando, a village on the east side of the African country. While studying to become an architect in Germany, back in 2001, he embarked on a building project for the place where he grew up.

“In my culture everyone has to put his path to push the community forward, so I started to build a school,” he explains in the film.

Kéré was the first son of the head of the village, who allowed him to attend school as a child – although this was very rare. By building Gando Primary School, Kéré made it possible for any child in the village to receive an education.

It was his first ever architecture project, and set a precedent for a style of architecture that combines traditional building techniques with modern engineering methods.

“I did a modern building that is not westernised, and not a traditional African building,” he explains.

He says his aim was “to create a building that responded the best to the need of the climate and the need of the people, using the most available material”.

Kéré spoke to Dezeen following of the launch of his Serpentine Pavilion in London – an oval-shaped structure with a slatted timber roof, designed to represent the tree that was a meeting place for Gando residents.

While that building is primarily formed of wood, Gando Primary School is largely built from clay, as this material is cheap and readily available in Burkina Faso.

Kéré experimented with a clay and cement hybrid that was durable enough to withstand the high temperatures of the semi-arid environment.

“We tried to improve the quality of clay, adding some cement to make it attractive, to make it innovative,” he says.

Burkina Faso sees heavy rainfall during the wet season, so traditionally buildings in feature corrugated tin roofs that overhang to keep the water out. However, in the dry season, the metal makes the interiors intolerably hot.

By using clay bricks, Kéré was able to avoid this, to keep the inside of the school cool. A ceiling of perforated bricks helps naturally ventilate the building, while the suspended roof directs the rain away.

“[We created] a well ventilated structure, which is working without any artificial or mechanic climate control,” he says.

Having drawn up the plans, Kéré worked closely with the villagers to help with the construction. He also set up the Kéré Foundation to help fund construction.

“In the village no one could build. What I had to do was train the people to be part of the building process,” the architect explains.

“Building with the labour of the community, I could do something big with less financial means, which is important for a project such as this.”

The use of locally sourced materials and simple technologies helped to keep the costs down. As a result, Kéré has since developed on a number of extensions to the school, allowing it to increase its capacity.

“It was a big success,” says Kéré. “We built a school in this time for 200 kids. But soon after, more kids wanted to attend education so we had to build an extension, and we also had to build housing for the teachers.”

As the project grew, so to did Kéré’s burgeoning reputation.

“One thing makes another thing happen, so we started to build a lot in the village. Then, people started to discover my work. People started to ask me to do the same for them,” he adds.

In 2004, the primary school was awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture – an award that recognises architecture with a social responsibility.

Kéré went on to found his Berlin-based firm Kéré Architecture, which takes on projects across Africa and Europe, ranging from a Camper retail space at the Vitra Campus to Burkina Faso’s new National Assembly building.

“Today in 2017, 16 years after building the first school, I have a team of maybe 200 to 300 builders, welders, carpenters, bricklayers, a lot of people working on different sites in Burkina Faso,” he says. “This is incredible.”

Photography by Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk.

The post Diébédo Francis Kéré says school that launched his career is “not a traditional African building” appeared first on Dezeen.

Twelve years ago my parents moved from the Pennsylvania home of my childhood to a smaller, single-floor residence in sunny Florida. A part of that process was scaling down their property to what was essential. A lot of stuff was sold, donated, given away, or just tossed. It was a time-consuming process that would have been avoided entirely with a little “Döstädning” or Swedish Death Cleaning.

No, I don’t mean scrubbing the house while blasting “The Eagle Flies Alone” by ARCH ENEMY on the stereo. Instead, Swedish Death Cleaning refers to the conscious, methodical reduction of clutter over time, typically starting at age 50, and going until the end takes you. It sounds morbid, but it’s actually a very thoughtful thing to do.

In her book “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family From a Lifetime of Clutter,” Margareta Magnusson reveals what she calls the “secrets” to effective death cleaning, including:

1. Speak about it always. Tell others what you’re doing, she says, so they can hold you accountable.
2. Don’t fear the process. It’s not about the ever-present inevitability of death, she says, but about life itself. It’s about your memories. “The good ones you keep,” she writes. “The bad you expunge.”
3. Reward your efforts with life-affirming activities. See a movie, attend a convert, enjoy a fantastic meal.

Of course, you need not be in your 50’s — or contemplating mortality — to reap benefits from the mindful reduction of stuff. Fewer possessions mean less worry, less maintenance, and greater ease if and when you have to move (Magnusson notes that she has moved house 17 times). Plus, it puts the focus on one’s most meaningful life events on memories, not the stuff acquired along the way.

I like the idea of Swedish Death Cleaning and I’m going to give it a try. Perhaps I’ll have an update for you all in a few months. Now excuse me while I fire up some ARCH ENEMY on the stereo.

Post written by David Caolo

UPDATE: 3 days to go and over 100% funded, grab yours now!

I envision a day when instruments like these will be a part of every home. With the way we humans have systematically degraded the quality of our environment, it’s no secret that the sun’s UV rays are now making their way through our depleting Ozone layer. Those effects show on our skin now, with people getting all sorts of skin complications from staying out in the sun too long… and it’s not just the sun, your skin is the first line of defense against pretty much anything from cosmetics, to fashion, to even your diet. The skin is usually quick to react to products that aren’t suited for you, often showing symptoms of an allergy.

The Barrier Light isn’t a preventive measure (like say sunscreen lotion), but is in-fact a diagnostic tool. The pen-shaped device comes with 4 medical grade sensors capable of detecting your skin’s moisture and barrier strength. Devised as a result of not just environmental degradation but even the cosmetics boom, the Barrier Light understands what products and routines are the best for your skin. Barrier Light does this by measuring your skin’s moisture level, and its ability to hold onto moisture, along with the temperature and the environmental humidity. All one does is hold the pen against their skin (be it their face, arms, or anywhere else) for 10 seconds and that’s enough for the Barrier Light pen to perform its diagnosis.

Keeping things minimal (read: portable) and bathroom counter-top friendly, the Barrier Light directs all diagnostic information to its companion app on your phone. This allows the Barrier Light to have an incredibly small form-factor, enough for it to even be carried around in a purse/bag. The piece-de-resistance however is the MyBarrier app, which breaks down the information sent from the pen and presents it in a simplified way, telling you if your skin-care routine is doing you any good, or if the environment is conducive to good skin.

The Barrier Light puts a dermatology clinic in the power of your hand. While we all have home-based instruments to measure our temperature, weight, blood pressure, and even blood sugar, we don’t give our skin the same priority. With the Barrier Light, now you can know everything about your skin and effectively your health too. From whether your sunscreen is doing you any good, to whether your laundry detergent is skin safe, to even whether your diet is the best for your health and skin, the Barrier Light will make sure you know what to do to keep your skin young and glowing!

Designer: Jason Yoo

Click here to BUY NOW: $99.00 $199.00

BUY NOW: $99.00 $199.00

With everything needed to start a matcha obsession, Ippodo’s five-matcha tea kit includes all items required for regular and consistent matcha-making. There’s a strainer, whisk, bamboo ladle, whisk stand and (of course) five different high-grade matchas……

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