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10/10/07

Wired Science Video that includes info Grip Clips. "Architecture for Humanity creates opportunities for architects around the world to make a difference through design initiatives, forums, workshops and competitions." : http://www.pbs.org/kcet/wiredscience/story/29-cameron_sinclair_architect.html

Putting Smart Design Where It’s Needed the Most

Cameron Sinclair solves the problems of the world with architecture. Co-founder of the charitable organization Architecture for Humanity, Sinclair and his co-founder Kate Stohr literally help re-build broken communities by promoting innovative and sustainable architecture and design. With the signature line "Design like you give a damn," Architecture for Humanity creates opportunities for architects around the world to make a difference through design initiatives, forums, workshops and competitions. The organization is, for example, helping to reconstruct the parts of India and Sri Lanka that were devastated by the 2004 tsunami, and is re-building parts of the U.S. gulf coast affected by Hurricane Katrina. They have also built a mobile health clinic to combat HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In addition, Architecture for Humanity advises and consults governments around the world in their ongoing design projects. They are, for instance, helping Afghanistan build refugee housing and working with Turkey to construct earthquake resistant buildings. Sinclair and Stohr recently published a new book, Design Like You Give a Damn: Architectural Responses to Humanitarian Crises, which has received critical acclaim as the first ever compendium of sustainable architecture efforts around the world.

This year, the organization opened an online open source architecture community called the Open Architecture Network to improve living conditions through design. In September, the Network launched an international competition—open to everyone, including non-architects—called the Open Architecture Challenge, which seeks to bring affordable Internet access to half of the world by 2015 (right now, only a fifth of the world can surf the web). Three winning design teams, to be announced next year, will work with Architecture for Humanity to implement their plans in South America, Africa and Asia, respectively.

Sinclair was one of the recipients of last year's esteemed TED prize, which honors visionaries who inspire others to do great things for the world. Host Adam Rogers talks with Sinclair about how he connects smart design with the communities who need it the most.

See: http://www.architectureforhumanity.org/designlikeyougiveadamn/ for info on the book: "Design Like You Give a Damn" which fetures the Grip Clip. The greatest humanitarian challenge we face today is that of providing shelter. Currently one in seven people lives in a slum or refugee camp, and more than three billion people—nearly half the world's population—do not have access to clean water or adequate sanitation. The physical design of our homes, neighborhoods, and communities shapes every aspect of our lives. Yet too often architects are desperately needed in the places where they can least be afforded. Edited by Architecture for Humanity, Design Like You Give a Damn is a compendium of innovative projects from around the world that demonstrate the power of design to improve lives. The first book to bring the best of humanitarian architecture and design to the printed page, Design Like You Give a Damn offers a history of the movement toward socially conscious design and showcases more than 80 contemporary solutions to such urgent needs as basic shelter, health care, education, and access to clean water, energy, and sanitation. Featured projects include some sponsored by Architecture for Humanity as well as many others undertaken independently, often against great odds. Design Like You Give a Damn is an indispensable resource for designers and humanitarian organizations charged with rebuilding after disaster and engaged in the search for sustainable development. It is also a call to action to anyone committed to building a better world.

On Jun 4, 2007

Eleanor,

The GripClips are great. I was looking for a way to suspend bug netting under a tarp. The GripClips are just what I needed. Many thanks.

Dennis

On Dec 10, 2006

hello bob and eleanor,

sorry for the delay in getting back to you.
i'll fall back on my standard excuse...the weather.

november 2006 is now officially seattle's wettest month in recorded history.
they started keeping weather records around here in 1891.

that makes it the wettest month in 115 years!
it was 15.59" at seatac airport this morning and it's still raining today.

the old record was 15.33" in december of 1933.

what made it even more fun was a freezing rain scare last night and the night before,
but that did not materialize in my area, so for now i have dodged that bullet.

i managed to fill in between 1/4 of the valley rafters on the north end.
the angle cuts went as calculated and they went up pretty easily.
i'll do more when i get another break in the weather.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

well, the weather gave me a break with nearly two weeks of no rain to start december.

i managed to take advantage of it and got all of the valley rafters filled in on both the north and south ends of the house.

i didn't have enough time to put up new plastic before the rains started coming again yesterday, with at least a full week of rain
to follow but with none of the volume that we had in november. as a result i used tyvek tape to patch holes in the plastic.

the holes were mostly where the connectors were located on a boundary between the full 2' x 2' grid pattern and the valleys that
were at that time not filled in and before i started weighing them down in the center. anyway, the patches were not hard to make and
after the rain yesterday i just go around looking for water on the floor and then patch above it. so far, the leaks have been minor
and few.

also, there was a medium level of wind activity yesterday and i sort of giggled as the wind blew over the plastic exhibited little
or no motion whatsoever.

at last!!!

the attached pictures were taken of the north end of the house while working on the south end.

i think they probably show the matrix better than any of the ones i sent before.

i will collect an assortment of pictures at their original higher resolution and put them on a cd for you should you wish to use
them as examples of how people are using your connectors.

as i was driving back home yesterday i happened to go past a house that was under construction/renovation and was "tarped", but it
was done in the usual fashion and all three tarps were being blown all over everywhere.

i forsee a real market for your connectors in the construction industry.
i doubt any contractor will take the time to put up as many connectors as i did, it would cost him/her too much time/money.
but it takes only minutes to attach them along the edges and that would likely be sufficient for short term work which would be
worth it to them, especially since it takes no time at all to connect/disconnect the tarps for working in a specific area.

best wishes for the holidays,

michel

Date: November 24, 2006

Dear Eleanor,
 
We pitched our tent again yesterday, it was a really cold day.
Your grip clips are working great.

We are still having some trouble with our connectors.
It works, but it's a bit too big of a hassle.

Still, we're having a great time planning and making and trying it out!
Here are some photos. Please enjoy.
 
Sincerely, Yu Ota