This is a Call for young teams of architects, designers, artists, students or professionals of ecological building, who are interested in recycling and eco-design and who are keen to develop full scale prototypes within the framework of a civic project in a suburban town near Paris. They should be passionate makers and possibly also fans of… AAA’s work.

Please have a look into this Call for Residency (bellow), which is the first in a series that we initiate within the R-Urban project currently developed in Colombes(http://r-urban.net/).

Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information. We are really excited about possible collaborations and look forward to receiving your expression of interest!

Recyclab is part of the R-urban network of projects.

PS. Please feel free to circulate the information within your networks

Posted April 29, 2013 11:40 by Andreas Lang

The Open Charter Agency would like to invite you to our second public discussion forum on Tuesday 16 April at 6:30pm.

The discussion will address different forms of knowledge exchange and modes of learning as an essential part of experimental and engaged spatial practice, and the potential for alternative forms of education as a driver of change within the architecture and design professions.

16 April, 6:30pm
The White Building, Unit 7, Queens Yard, White Post Lane, London E9 5EN

www.open-charter.net

Posted April 14, 2013 21:33 by Andreas Lang

Shop as resource and value created through recycling trash to treasures

This upcycling project by public works demonstrates how, with very little material resource, one can upcycle low value objects into higher value products.

The project was conceived and delivered by public works, in collaboration with ROOFLESS art practice and clothing collection, as part of SHOPPORTUNITY – a project to improve shop frontages on Wood Street, Walthamstow, E17. New Life Charity Shop at 135 Wood Street hosted the project, providing 70% of the raw materials used to create a shop window display system, and an upcycled clothing collection called ‘A New Life’. public works also worked with staff and students from the Fashion Department, HND course at Waltham Forest College to breath new life into an odd assortment of clothing donated to the shop. Together they have produced a range of fabulous high fashion items all with specific stories behind them.

New Life Charity Shop is an incredible place of hidden treasures. A bespoke window display unit aims to highlight these treasures within old picture frames found in the shop. The display unit was designed and built by public works and accommodated a workbench for a short period, to enable the design team to work in the shop window upcycling clothing and shoes.

The upcycled clothing collection – ‘A New Life’ will be unveiled, alongside the students’ works, at a fashion show on Saturday 23rd March 2013 at 12 noon in Wood Street Plaza, E17. The designers will be present to describe the project and the stories behind each item of clothing, and share upcycling tips. Following the fashion show items can be purchased from New Life Charity shop itself. The proceeds of the sales will go to New Life Charity supporting children's education and welfare in third world countries.

Saturday 23rd March 2013

12 noon – 1.30 p.m

Wood Street Plaza, E17

Posted March 22, 2013 06:37 by Torange Khonsari

Our R-URBAN-WICK project is published in this month Blueprint magazine if you want to find out more about the project visit our brand new website exclusively dedicated to R-urban-Wick

To download the pdf of article from Blueprint click here or even better buy the magazine to see it in full analog glory.

Posted March 13, 2013 23:47 by Andreas Lang

Lets take some time for this crisis ...

Architecture is closed of by procedures

The OPEN CHARTER, Our collaboration with Owen Pritchards and Urban Projects Bureau for the Venice Biennale  is coming to the London. From the 26th of February until the 27th of April it will be on display at RIBA as part of Venice Takeaway.

Open Charter Agency is a platform for discussion and action for the architecture profession and those disciplins involved with architecture to clarify, critique and act upon critical issues determining the wider role of the architect and their identity as a catalyst for change.

Open Charter Agency supports politicised and experimental practices that are searching for change within and outside of the accepted norms and codes of the established profession.

Open Charter Agency is motivated by a desire to reaffirm the social, ethical and political qualities of contemporary spatial practice that are vital to the progress of society and the architect as a valuable agent in the world.

What we are doing

Open Charter Agency was conceived after extensive direct research into the image, role and definitions of the architect around the world, collecting over 5000 voices which revealed widespread confusion and fear of architecture as a profession. You can see all these profiles and comments at the RIBA exhibition.

There are a number of ways to participate and offer your thoughts:

Open Charter Agency at the RIBA
Three afternoons a week, the OCA will be in residence at the RIBA. Here you will be able to contribute to the ideas further and look through the research that underpins our current themes.

Activism in Architecture
Empowerment
Architects in residence
Knowledge transfer and models of learning

Visitors can also feed back at the residency desk when it is unmanned. It is possible to record comments under the themes on the wall, which will be collated and incorporated into the discussion evenings.

Open Charter Agency Discussion Forums:
Over the course of five events we will be inviting speakers and guests to participate in critical conversations surrounding alternative modes of architectural engagement within the built environment. We invite you to join us to offer ideas, criticism and support for the OCA and play an integral part of forming and informing this way of working.

The four themes for the evenings have been established in response to the thousands of submissions we gathered on our research trips and through the installation at the Venice Biennale.

25th March – Opening Discussion - Open Charter Agency

9th April – Architects in Residence

16th April – Knowledge exchange and modes of learning

20th April - Empowerment

23rd April – Activism

Please check http://open-charter.net/ for research upto Venice Biennale

RIBA, 66 Portland Place London W1B 1AD 
26 February 2013 - 27 April 2013 
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM 

Posted February 20, 2013 20:03 by Andreas Lang

one (out of focus) day at a time .... taken on High Street 2012, Stratford, London.

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR COLLABORATORS, SUPPORTERS,
HELPERS AND FRIENDS FOR A PRODUCTIVE 2013.

WISHING YOU A WONDERFUL X-MAS BREAK AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

FROM ALL OF US AT PUBLIC WORKS

Posted December 19, 2012 12:12 by Andreas Lang

A VISIT TO CHARLIE SEBER'S COMFREY FIELD IN LEYTON MARSHES

WHEN: Sunday 2nd December 2012, from 1 - 3pm
WHERE: Car park outside the Lee Valley Riding Centre, 71 Lea Bridge Rd., London, E10 7QL
RSVP: Places are limited, so please book in advance: mail@household-knowledge.net

38 years ago Newham resident Charlie Seber adopted an overlooked piece of land in the Lee Valley. Ever since, he has used it to cultivate masses of comfrey. Charlie will give us a guided tour of his field, talk about comfrey' s unique qualities and his many different experiments with the plant.

The walk will set off from the Lee Valley Riding Centre car park, where a workshop will be set up within Wick On Wheels – our mobile project space made from a specially re-purposed milk float. The workshop will feature various experiments from Charlie’s home laboratory, ranging from plant regulated growing systems using recycled bath tubs to a cure for blight using garlic pulp.

This event is part of our Experiments in Household Knowledge – a series of collaborations with East London ecological and environmental innovators. The project will explore and showcase unusual and inventive ways of making and experimenting. From new gardening techniques to alternative forms of energy production or innovative recycling methods, we’ll be sharing a range of unique and often self-taught skills through walks, talks and hands-on workshops.

Experiments in Household Knowledge is a public works project commissioned by the London Legacy Development Corporation anticipating the opening of the new North Park Hub building in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the summer of 2013. The project is also part of R-Urban, a two year long project establishing practices and networks of urban resilience supported by the EU Life+ programme on environmental governance.

Posted November 26, 2012 09:39 by Andreas Lang

Posted November 17, 2012 23:38 by Torange Khonsari

works we like to show - questions we ask ourselves

We are exicted to have self published a collection of our projects in a print on demand book. 12 selected projects, "works we like to show", illustrate and explain our take on spatial production, accompanied by an interview with us - "questions we ask ourselves". You can order a print on demand copy of the publication via LULU.

Graphic design by Villalba/Lawson

Posted September 29, 2012 07:01 by Andreas Lang

Public works will be taking part and running a workshop at BOTTOM UP! Independent Culture and its impact on policitcs and society initiated by Trans Europe Halles, a european network of independent cultural centres. The meeting will take place in Gothenburgh on the 27th-30th of September 2012.

Independent culture can be a powerful lobbying force in political discourse and in various processes of change such as urban planning, unfortunately it is not always on the agenda. Through a number of workshops and presentations at this meeting, we will investigate and develop new, far-reaching methods and approaches aiming at creating an impact on audiences, policy-makers and the public. This may involve mobilizing advocacy campaigns, learning about public policy and decision-making or how to use artistic expression as a means of attract public attention. All these action initiatives come from the Bottom Up, instead of from the Top Down, where free culture must adapt to the decisions made from above. Through examples and lively discussions, the conference will illuminate the value of culture. It will also inspire independent cultural operators to engage in direct action.

Posted September 25, 2012 09:38 by Andreas Lang