A view from inside the Caravanserai: a design and build internship by Caravanserai Canning Town

A VIEW FROM INSIDE THE CARAVANSERAI: A DESIGN AND BUILD INTERNSHIP

CONTENTS: 1. Introduction - What is Carvanserai & Flitched 2. The Team 3. The Internship: 25th March - 31st May 4. Photograph: Design meeting on site 5. Three reasons for joining the Caravanserai-Antoine Carrier 6. Highs and Lows - Antoine Carrier 7. Three reasons for joining the Caravanserai-Mitesh Chauhan 8. Highs and Lows - Mitesh Chauhan 9. Three Reasons for joining Caravanserai-Abigail Connor 10. Highs and Lows - Abigail Connor 11. Three Reasons for joining Caravanserai-Paolo Damone 12. Highs and Lows-Paolo Damone 13. Three Reasons for joining Caravanserai-Ogaga Izirein 14.Highs and Lows- Ogaga Izirein 15. Three Reasons for joining Caravanserai-Maria Lubreras Arcos 16. Highs and Lows- Maria Lubreras Arcos 17. Three Reasons for joining Caravanserai-Elissaveta Mainova 18. Highs and Lows- Elissaveta Mainova 19. Three Reasons for joining Caravanserai-Haleema Malik 20. Highs and Lows- Haleema Malik 21. Three Reasons for joining Caravanserai-Philip Morris 22. Highs and Lows- Philip Morris 23. Three Reasons for joining Caravanserai-Kieran Murray 24. Highs and Lows- Rebecca Nakimuli 25.Three Reasons for joining Caravanserai-Rebecca Nakimuli 26. Highs and Lows-Jason Palmer 27. Three Reasons for joining Caravanserai-Jason Palmer 28. Highs and Lows-Krupali Patel 29. Three Reasons for joining Caravanserai-Krupali Patel 30. Highs and Lows-Alessandro Penna 31. Three Reasons for joining Caravanserai-Alessandro Penna 32. Highs and Lows-Amy Rene 33. Three Reasons for joining Caravanserai-Amy Rene

34. Highs and Lows-Veronica Roccaforte 35.Three reasons for joining the Caravanserai-Veronica Roccaforte 36. Highs and Lows-Miriam Rodriguez 37. Three reasons for joining the Caravanserai-Miriam Rodriguez 37. Krupaliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Diary 96. Photograph- The team 99. Flitched sketch 100. The Fltched column 101. Photograph- The flitched column

Canning Town Caravanserai is a welcoming oasis hosted by locals, open to all visitors. It is a locally-driven public space bringing together trade, training, performance, a community garden, and a place to eat, drink and play. Mixing a cafĂŠ with art workshops, food stalls with performance spaces, and enterprise units with allotments, it will be hosted by locals and open to all. In short, a community space run by the community. The internship was a challenge to flitch together, and find a way to design and build a making space for the Canning Town Caravanserai, using recycled and donated materials, within 10 weeks. Along the way, we encountered time pressure, material shortages, the English weather, bemused locals and curious onlookers, and an evolving programme, This book looks into the journey through the Internship of the Spring wave, the highs and lows and in general is an eye into the Caravanserai.

INTRODUCTION

The Architect/Client Cany Ash

Flitched Team

Site Supervisor Alex Scrivens

25th March - 1st May

Architect Tina Patel

Engineer Roberto Mirabella

Local Client Valerie Segree

Antoine Carrier

The Interns Derek Irwin

Amy RenĂŠ

Alex Richardson

Paolo Damone

Ivaylo Petrov

Alessandro Penna

Kieran Murray

Rebecca Nakimuli

Lubaina Mirza

Miriam Rodriguez

Krupali Patel

Veronica Roccaforte

Mitesh Chauhan

Ibrahim Buhari

Jason Palmer

Abi Connor

Elissaveta Mainova

Haleema Malik

Philip Morris

Ogaga Izirein

Ex Interns/Supporters

THE TEAM

1) I am determined to get involved with the constuction of an architectural project!

Antoine CARRIER

2) During my engineering degree, I developed the ability to lean and work quickly, in a strong technical environment, which I think will be benificial traits during the internship. 3) During my last year of Architectural studies, I learned how to express and communicate design sensitivity,, which I feel I can demonstrate through all the planning and drawing stages of the internship.

Antoine CARRIER ‘‘The ‘flitched’-French-Homme.” Birthday: Background: Highs & Lows This internship has challenged my perception of what it means to be an architect, with focus on the value of design and ingenuity. We had to build with what was available as this was the ethos of the project, and this meant that the designs were ever changing. A year ago, I would have never pushed so far to implement changes in design, questioning the number of columns, height under beam, entrance door etc; but now I push for design development when there is room to do so. It is a subtle science because I have to deal with time, energy and workforce; but I know this investment is worth making for the long run. As long as there is an energy and good reason underlying the action, design challenges are possible; and the Caravanserai is the perfect ground for me to put these actions into practice. My biggest frustrations whilst working on the Caravanserai was when people who are not from a desgin background fought against a change without understanding the interest and the positive impact that change could have on the design. Similarly, when people from a design background who are not interested in design are just happy to make things without drawing or thinking. Caravanserai is a trading post where people are meeting, learning and improving one aspect of their personality or interest. Mine is design and build, and I am very pleased to think about this experience as a learning curve but also as a legacy that I will leave for the next volunteers and for the community.

FIRST TWEET

1) Graduating with a degree in architecture, I amkeen to develop my skills which I am positive I can do through the internship.

Mitesh CHAUHAN

2) I am situated near Canning town and have spent several years working in the area; it would be a pleasure do do something productive for the community. 3) I have varied onsite/ consturction experiene. Ive worked on several secret cinema builds, the University of Brighton pavilion and am currently working for an events company. I believe I can bring the skilled developed in my work to enrich the Caravanserai team.

Mitesh CHAUHAN ‘The Key-man.” Birthday: 1st February 1991 Background: BA Honours in Architecture Highs and Lows The Spring wave of Caravanserai interns started with a workshop at Ash Sakula before commencing on site, which was extremely useful and gave me a good understanding of the project. It also gave me a chance to meet and discuss with the rest of the team who pulled together well during the first fortnight under extremely cold conditions. It was so nice to see the determination people where willing to give to CTC from the get go! Early on I was announced to be the ‘keeper of the keys’. I was glad to have the responsibility as it got me on site everyday and on time so I could make the most of the opportunity. This commitment, which I enjoyed was later hounoured when I was offered a place as a Trustee for CTC. I was able to really portray the experience of being a design and build intern to the rest of the board, which would help communicate any issues or problems on the Caravanserai. On a personal level, it has allowed me to develop how to portray designs persuasively (vital for architects), as well as the added bonus of discussing ideas with other very experienced people. There is a list of things I have gained from the internship; skills, friends (which I learned much from), a very useful CSCS qualification, and the reward of seeing my dedication and commitment form into an amazing space. It has also given me a local place where I can enjoy bands & good food, learn skills & trades, and embrace a community spirit in Newham.

FIRST TWEET

1) I am a keen volunteer which keeps me very aware of the importance of community projects both in social and architectural terms. I currently volunteer as part of a soup kitchen team and a crĂ¨che on Sundays.

Abigail CONNOR

2) My classmate and I both found the competiton attractive because of its importance to the local community in a social sense but also what it demonstrates to wider society as a purely recycled project. I would love to be a part of physically realising the project. 3) In my second year of university I received a scholarship award from the faculty of architecture; which demonstrated my hardworking attitude and underlines how I relish opportunities to see the positive results of my hard work.

Abi CONNOR ‘Always with her best friend Sanjeev.’ Birthday: 6th January 1991 Background: BA Honours in Architecture Highs and lows. It has been an interesting few months; the more I sat as part of discussions on site, the more I admire the role of an architect; from practical organisation like that I saw whilst working alongside Morgan Sindall with Alessandro , to the more social, artistic side of projects, like trying to challenge a space like a public toilet. Obviously, I am quite disappointed ‘Flitched’ isn’t further progressed but hopefully staying on I will get to see it emerge from the piles of timber and the markings of a setting out engineer. I think there are many unanswered questions on site; are we, the interns, really equal designers? Is the client Canning town locals or an architect? Is the Caravanserai self indulgent on the part of designers and architects, and in conjunction do the locals understand, appreciate or desire the role of the caravanserai? I think it also needs to be clarified to everyone involved what a ‘design and build,’ internship is, and maybe time needed to be allocated somewhere warm and dry in the day to pursue the ‘design’ part. Overall, I have enjoyed the experience; I hope to see ‘THE FLITCHED BUILDING’ before its time for me to leave the project. I feel like I’ve been part of a great team of like-minded, talented and thoughtful people and future designers, who I will hopefully keep as friends in the future. I also think I am less naive to the workings of a real project, never being part of something like this at University, and understand the challenges I will face as a potential architect.. I hope I will learn to become a valued professional in the field of architecture and I do believe my journey to that goal has started here at the Caravanserai.

FIRST TWEET

1) I have always appreciated the use of recycled materials in architecture.

Paolo DAMONE

2) I think this internship would be a great start for me to develop a career in London, and think it would be great to be outside and pratical rather than in front of a screen. 3) I have a positive attitude and love to work as part as a team. I feel I could bring the knowledge I have gained from my vast experience in the working world to the team at the caravanserai.

Paolo DAMONE â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Loves to plant a palm.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Birthday: Background: Highs and Lows I have spent the last two years, since completing my degree, looking for a new reason to be an architect. During the internship I had the chance to implement the skills that I developed during my studies and work experience, and essentially tried to do a nice job for a great reason. I focused my work on tasks such as gardening, upcycling and designing. If I were to point out any negative points with regards to this experience I would say I felt there was a lack of management on site which made me feel a bit lost, however this did mean that I had to learn a lot about self-discipline when it came to initiative and work ethic. I also understand the expense involved in hiring a project manager, and appreciate the role so much more in the hierarchy of a design team. Being part of the Caravanserai family has been an amazing experience and now I know in which direction I want to focus my career as an Architect.

FIRST TWEET

1) I enjoy working with my hands and being physical

Ogaga IZIREIN

2) I think the caravanserai is a great way to reflect to the community the importance of recycling and reusing. 3) I understand the importance of community, and how a space like the caravanserai can nuture and celebrate it.

Ogaga IZIREIN ‘The Sprinting G.’ Birthday: 22nd September 1989 Background: Beng Honours in Civil Engineering Highs and lows Being a part of the Canning Town Caravanserai project has been a very challenging yet enjoyable experience. It has been great to be on site and put into practise all I learned at University. As a civil engineer graduate amongst architecture graduates I’ve discovered the importance of sketching. At university, I must confess, we didn’t do a lot of it and being on site I have come to learn that it is so much easier to pitch a proposal with the aid of a designer’s scribble. One of the many tasks I enjoyed was converting an empty space into a bicycle work shop with a fellow intern. It gave me a sense of achievement as we did everything from the ground up. We used available earth, felt, sand and paving slabs to transform a fairly large ditch in the ground to a raised level walking surface with a ‘crazy paved’ finish. We also extended he existing shelter (for more space in our work shop); designing and making single bracing timber members for lateral stability to for our columns. As an aspiring athlete training full time, combining both working on site through the day and then training in the evenings has been extremely challenging. However, I do feel like this has improved my time management skills and prepared me for the future if I decide to carry on as a sprinting-engineer. All in all I’m glad I took part in the internship as I have seen my ideas materialise and have met great people along the way. Most importantly I will take away a deeper understanding of the building process with all its highs and lows and a better understanding of what it means to design space.

FIRST TWEET

1) This is a uniique oppertunity to gain experience in being part of a live project. I love that it is so focused on the community and have studied a similar project back home called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Matadero Madrid.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

MarĂa LUMBRERAS

2) I have come to the UK to study a masters in Sustainable design which starts next september and I strongly feel that this is the best oppertunity to gain experience in this feild. 3) I have always been interested in construction and construction management .

María LUMBRERAS ARCOS ‘Loves a cuppa.’ Birthday: Background:

Highs and Lows When I applied for this experience, I was looking for an exciting experimental project related to sustainable design and recycled materials. I was looking forward to live an innovative experience which could bring me the opportunity to build what we design, to be on site and be part of all the construction process and not only the design phase. It brought me a practical insight into the entire architectural process from investigation and planning, to design and construction. This experience also provided contact with inspiring people from different backgrounds and, what is more important, the true meaning of teamwork. Additionally, I have learnt the meaning of social commitment and its importance in the development of cities and communities. But the most rewarding aspect has been the human connection hat has grown up with the other interns. We have become a big family; I have always felt at home when I arrived to the Caravanserai. Thank you all because the best thing I am going to pack back home is your friendship.

FIRST TWEET

1) I want to contribute to community projects as I believe they are a great way to engage with people and there is never enough of the.

Elissaveta MAINOVA

2) I like getting involved in sustainable projects and particularly love exploring the use of recycled materials. 3) Finally, having been involved in the building of three timber pavillion exhibitions, I have a bulding knowledge I wish to expand.

Elissaveta MAINOVA ‘The girl with the long commute.’ Birthday: 23rd October 1990 Background: Highs and Lows Coming from a degree that tends to be quite conceptual, I found myself lacking knowledge of how to build from scratch and physically make it stand. I am not naïve enough to pretend that after 9 weeks, I now master the art and engineering of it all, but I certainly have come a long way. The biggest challenge we had to face was easily the weather. Although making a fire in a broken wheelbarrow made for a great gathering point, I wish we could have somehow had Caravanserai under skies that were less grey; but that would have of course meant moving countries. It might not be on a great scale, but I can now take my friends around Canning Town, point at the Oasis Café sign with its bright orange colours and tell them, I was part of this. I can walk in, meander through the oak forest and tell them, I built these planters. I saw them being filled with life. I can get them a cup of tea and tell them the story of it all, under the wistful fluttering of the Oasis Palm table and tell them, I helped make that. Overall, my expectations were met from this internship and I cannot deny how much I have learnt. Also, the ‘temporary’ nature of the Caravanserai brought plenty of other issues to consider - issues that led to concepts such as regeneration and clever upcycling which gave the process of learning a new, deeper and more meaningful curve.

FIRST TWEET

1. I absolutely love the concept of Caravanseria, and what it has to offer the our community.

Haleema MALIK

2. I have a lot ot offer, I can teach and learn and be a part of something big in the making. 3. The Caravanserai will provide a single platform where people with common interests will be united. They will explore, experiment, and learn. Such a platform is lacking in London at the moment and is definitely needed

Haleema MALIK ‘The story-teller.’ Birthday: Background: Highs and Lows The key challenges whilst working on the Canning town Caravanserai were definitely the extreme weather conditions and restricted resources. As summer approached, the weather got better and we started to manage ourselves more efficiently as a team dealing with our limited material supply. ‘Twitter’ became our collective voice, a true storyboard of our highs and lows whilst on site. The high points would be the satisfaction I got being part of this whole process, from the start, right to the end. Our endless discussions and brain storms at ‘The Oasis Cafe’ and warm Jacket potatoes at ‘The Place’ are some memories that always bring a smile to face. I learnt a lot, regained my self confidence and realised the fact that, all you need to progress is passion, the right attitude and a little common sense. . It has not been an easy journey, although, I would say, it was definitely worth it.

FIRST TWEET

Phillip MORRIS

1) This internship will be a great way for me to get an idea of how things work on a builidng site. 2) I love the community aspect of the project . 3) I look forward to being on a team of likeminded designers going through a trial and error design process.

Philip MORRIS ‘The turbine guy.’ Birthday: Background: BA honours in Architecture/ MSC in digital architecture Highs & Lows I was attracted to the Caravanserai internship mainly because I believe as an Architecture Student it is vital to get on-site experience before completing training and beginning full time work. It provides invaluable experience of how buildings are constructed in the real world and how important certain tolerances are, as well as learning about structural common sense, teamwork and health and safety. One of the key challenges I faced was the fact that the Caravanserai internship is not just a design and build environment, it is a design, ‘find’ and build environment. Many times I have known exactly what needs to be done, but the material or part that is required needs to be sourced. With a tight budget, this meant asking local building sites, phoning scrap yards, and creating links with the local police who provided us with old bicycles for the making of the wind turbine. This always added large chunks of time to normally quick tasks, which at the beginning I found very frustrating. That said, it is so satisfying to complete a project which has been designed and built from discarded material; bringing value to waste . The Caravanserai encourages people to design, build and develop rapid prototypes which is an exciting way to do things. I loved the way a sketch could be drawn in the morning, and by the afternoon it was in full physical swing! I enjoyed meeting like minded people from different Universities –Architecture Students of a similar age and position hoping to gain invaluable experience. This was important for morale and confidence as the job market is increasingly tough. It is rewarding to see how other people in similar situations are so resilient and determined to better themselves for when work is available.

FIRST T

1) I really enjoy making and building things.

Kieran MURRAY

2) I would really like some live project skills and to get stuck in to the many different layers of the project. 3) Since moving back home I have wanted to work closly on a project that impacted my local community; I feel this would be a fantastice oppertunit to use all of my skills and gain a even more.

Kieran MURRAY ‘Health and Saefty officer.’ Birthday: 20th May 1991 Background: BA honours in Architecture Highs and Lows Although I couldn’t tell you exactly how many nails I put in, I could tell you haw many trusses I worked on with others, I couldn’t tell you how many pieces of plywood I cut out, but I can tell you where almost all of them went. Its not for me to decide the weight of each of my contributions each day I was on site, but I can tell you the areas I have worked on over the past few hard but rewarding weeks. My main expectation from this internship was that we were going to have a building up by the end of it. I think the internship would have worked better if we had stuck with the divisions between ‘Caravanserai’ and ‘Flitched’ from the start. Everything would have been prefabricated, everything would be set out, and the contractors could have come on site ready to go. Instead we had a gap where we were all occupied doing a mix of things. I feel as no matter how disjointed it may have seemed at times we developed together as a team and grew. As a team everyone has accomplished something, even if it is learning how to use a drill properly, learning how to dig and fill foundations for a building, everyone has managed to develop and progress; and I feel that building this team has been one of the most successful parts of the internship. Together we have stood strong and made a wave of development. For me, the development was not materialistic like using a jigsaw; I gained a lot being part of this team. It has been a worthwhile and productive skill to learn and the practical element of this internship has made it as strong as it is.

FIRST TWEET

1) I am a fan of working with my hands more than a computer and I am particularly interested in the idea of using recycled materials to design and build.

Rebecca NALUMANSI-NAKIMULI

2) Though my architectural experience within a practical setting is limited, I have working knowledge of the architecture, planning and construction industries. This makes me confident in my ability to provide assistance in designing, coordination and conceptualising of design for the Caravanserai. 3) I keen to learn and grasp skills quickly. I think my attention to detail and excellent problem solving skills will be a great bonus too the Caravanserai team.

Rebecca NALUMANSI-NAKIMULI ‘Queen Catwalk in her heeled boots.’ Birthday: Background: BA Honours in Architecture High and Lows The Caravanserai internship has proved to be a highly unique experience. I would not class it as a single project but as a mixture of tiny projects. I was mainly excited by the Flitched building because it involved the design of a type of structure I can familiarize myself with from my days at university. Not to mention once again working with technical drawings and construction detailing which lead to physically making its pre fabricated elements ; of the best parts of the program. I also loved getting together as a team, discussing, designing and trying to solve design problems. Memory shows a Saturday afternoon with the rest of the interns sitting around for hours, and what went from a table of scattered papers, sketches and pencils to the design of the façade for the entire Flitched building – Incredible. The making of the toilets was also an interesting part of the project because it acted as a practice run for working on the Flitched structure. The fun part being that we were designing while constructing. If an idea did not work, we would have to sketch a new one and try it again. It was structured disorganisation, but it worked! I do not think there was any negative aspect about the Caravanserai project, other than the unpredictable weather. However it was factors such as this and material shortages that caused there to be one too many pauses in the project process. One thing I did not enjoy was the absence of a project manager on site. That said, I do think this challenged as all, encouraging us to take initiative within the team and help out in other areas of the Caravanserai if Flitched wasn’t progressing on a particular day. I think this is what made the internship something great; you could contribute you abilities to every task and even acquire new skills, something invaluable in any context.

FIRST TWEET

1) I am enthusiatic to have the opperunity to be involved in my first design and build project. To be able to be involved in such a development as the Canning town Caravanserai, right from the initial designs through to its completion would give a great sense of achievement,

Jason PALMER

2) Through completing my part one degree in architecture I gained many skills in which I am eager to apply to a real project. 3) Simply being able to work alongside architects and designers from Ash Sakula would be greatly benfeficial and the ability to formulate a design for the immediate benefit of a community is on of the realson that drove me into the field of architecuture.

Jason PALMER â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Likes the occasional bikeride.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Birthday: 29th July 1991 Background: BA honours in Architecture High and Lows The internship came with the expectation that we would be building the Flitched space designed by Tina of Formed Architects. With the supervision of Roberto the engineer and other external hands to provide help and insight in areas where we interns might lack knowledge. There may be a slight regret that the Flitched project was unable to progress as quickly as everyone would have hoped. To have even seen the structure erected, would have been a great achievement and given a sense of satisfaction. I am happy to have had a hand in many other aspects of the site however, the completion of the toilet being a major factor. I can happily say working throughout this project has been a benefit to me. Not only has it given me knowledge and experience in areas to do with engineering and architectural design but I have managed to also gain connections with a collection of interesting people. The hands-on approach throughout these past weeks has given me an insight that sitting behind a computer screen fails to do. Such experience is invaluable in knowing how buildings come together and structural techniques are achieved. The push towards environmentally friendly design is admirable and the use of recycled materials throughout the project truly emphasises sustainability in it truest form. Ultimately I wanted to leave this internship with skills and knowledge gained which I undoubtedly have. My aim was to have a hand in the legacy of the Caravanserai and to help create an area of Canning Town which promotes and encourages l local connection and exchange.

FIRST TWEET

1) The Flitched project is live and would be a great ay to put my design an construction knowledge from my degree into action. I have had past experiene with the open city scheme and I believe I could bring good sketching skill and model making skills to the scheme.

Krupali PATEL

2) I have always been inspired to play a role in influencing peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives through engaging spaces. 3) This project is encouraging the resuse of materials and I think it is a creative challenge in itself to produces an environmentally friendly structure. I would like to take on this challenge and strive to construct a solution that will be beneficial to the community in the long run.

Krupali PATEL â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Mary Poppins.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Birthday: 17th August 1990 Background: BA Honours in Architecture w/ interior design Highs & Lows I have learnt a lot about the building process whilst on the Caravanserai internship; all that is involved with health and safety, risk assessments of tasks and the organisations of equipment and time. I have also learnt, more specifically, about the practicality of upcycling design; how ideas have to change due to material shortage, or miscalculations as well as developing new techniques on building and paving. I can officially say that I am confident in paving and making foundations. Apart from the skills and knowledge gained on the internship I got the chance to meet interesting people from all around the world, with different design backgrounds and I will cherish the experience I got to share with them. The internship has been great for me to meet others in my field, or those in a similar position as me and I hope we keep in contact in the future. .I faced a lot of challenges on site, the first one being dealing with the British weather.The internship started with snow and rain and it was quite difficult to motivate and prepare myself to work outdoors on a day to day basis. Secondly was the physical challenge in general; I do not do much physical labour work, so lifting heavy timber, digging, and handling paving slabs was quite draining for me. However, I can definitely say it was a challenge that helped me build stamina and to a certain degree, muscles too. The other challenges faced were the obvious ones I was prepared for ; not having enough tools, or the relevant skills to carry out some of the tasks. That said, I do believe we all managed to do our best with the equipment provided and I think we have generally done a good job of trying to meet deadlines. I am proud of my contribution so far on this project and glad to have expanded my design and build knowledge here.

FIRST TWEET

1) This internship is very different from others because it gives you the opportunity to learn and to see how the things are done in a very practical way. It would be a great chance for me to excercise my Architectural design skills as well as technical knowledge.

Alessandro PENNA

2) I am very interested in the idea of building with recycled and reused materials because I think it is one of the main challenges for sustainable architecture. As you can see from my portfolio, I am very interested in urban and landscape regeneration. 3) Since my Erasmus at the University of the Basque I have been given the chance to work and live in a multicultural environment. I have loved working abroad and facing new challenges. If I had the possibility to work for a studio like yours I would give you all my best because it would be a great chance to improve my skills, my culture and make me grow as an Architect and as a person.

Alessandro PENNA ‘Loves a flagpole.’ Birthday: Background: MA Architecture and building engineering Highs & Lows The most interesting tasks for me were the ones regarding ‘the Flitched building.’ Firstly I had to design and build a big workshop table needed to build the trusses from scaffolding and scaffold boards, I then spent a few days tidying up the building site, organizing the material storage and checking up the timber quality. After that, I had the luck of being involved in the project planning of “Flitched” and for that reason I spent a couple of weeks at Morgan Sindall Offices. With their help, I have learnt how to organize the construction of our building in different phases, splitting them in the related tasks on a Gant chart and, being aware of all the health and safety rules, and organising the building sequence and the building site layout for every phase. In those weeks, I was involved in sourcing recycled materials, drawing construction details of ”Flitched“ and liaising with Morgan Sindal contacts for resources like scaffolding. My last period on site I was involved mostly in the construction of the trusses and other prefabricated elements. All these activities were so rewarding because in the end I had the opportunity to see my job contributing towards the ‘The Flitched Building.’ I believe the down side of the Internship was not having a proper site manager, which lead to a lack of communication. In some cases the design was decided without submitting the drawings to the office for feedback and the building process started without it. As a consequence of this, on numerous occasions we had to demolish and rebuild our construction, which was a waste of time and materials. In spite of this, I think that these aspects have been part of our learning experience. This Internship has been a big challenge for everybody and I am proud of having been part of it.

FIRST TWEET

1) Head: The skills I acquired during my degree course will be highly valuable when applied to your project as I learned how to innovatively solve problems while succesfully working under pressure, to articulate my ideas in an organised, clear and concise fashion and to rely on my strong interpersonal skills.

Amy RENE

2) Heart: I see design, art and landscape architecture as the most valuable tools we have to bring about the greatest change to our work in the most beautiful way. I am confident that my asthetic and graphic capabilities will be very beneficial to this project. 3) Hands: I have an intense love of model making, I see it as an excellent ay to understand spatiality and also how things hold together. Now I trust my model making abilities will translate nicely into a 1:1 scale at the Caravanserai.

Amy RENE ‘Ms Green Finger.’ Birthday: Background: Highs and Lows I have been thoroughly enjoying my experience at the Caravanserai and I look forward to continuing to contribute for the duration of this summer. I had no idea how this internship was going to play out for me coming all the way from Montreal but it has been tremendously rewarding so far. I have already built a rock garden, planted trees and have helped to build the structure for the toilets as well a series of allotment beds for our community garden and I’m just getting started! It is continuously a great learning experience as I am having to think about how to make a structure and all the steps required as well as their order. Although this can be very time consuming, it is an exciting challenge to work with recycled and reclaimed materials in this way. My gardening knowledge is expanding daily and I am really enjoying getting my hands dirty working with plants. Of course it hasn’t always been easy. The first few weeks were quite trying because of the harsh weather conditions and getting acclimatised to being outdoors eight hours per day. Then there were delays because of a lack of tools and fixings which was frustrating because waiting to borrow or use a tool generally killed any momentum. The lack of a project manager also played a big part in certain delays but it was definitely a negative aspect which encouraged us to exercise our own initiative at work. I am very pleased and thankful to be part of the Caravanserai. I came to this internship mainly because I wanted hands on experience in creating the type of projects that I hope to be leading in a not too distant future and to complement all my academic pursuits. I look forward to continuing to fill my knowledge and experience bank this summer.

FIRST TWEET

1) I enjoy the process of creating and inventing spaces for both functionality and inspiration. Working on the flitched project would be a great opportunity to learn more about practical construction but also how disparate disciplines can work together towards a common goal.

Veronica ROCCAFORTE

2) Together with my passion for art and architecture, I possess the ability of sketching ideas, solving problems and creating objects to materilise thought processes. I think this project would be a great way for me to continue excercising these skills. 3) Finally, given this project is about learning, I am hoping it will inspire my graduation thesis and lead to another initiative of scalable ambitions where I live.. Sicily, like many other places in the world, need to take up this adventurous spirit to inspire young generations to lead the way.

Veronica ROCCAFORTE â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Best cake-maker ever!â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Birthday: Background: Highs & Lows Whilst a part of the team at the Caravanserai, I have learned a lot about the building process and the challenges faced when in process of making a drawing a reality. I now know what it means to build something and I am more aware of the practical problems and the great importance of commitment amidst these difficulties. While I achieved personal improvement, this wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t reached alone because I always worked within a small team of colleagues who have now become friends; a network of amazing people I strongly hope to stay in touch with. That said, I have seen the value of a design committee when trying to find wholesome and practical solutions. We all learned from one another despite our different backgrounds, cultures and education, which created a rich experience for us all. My only negative experience would be feeling a little lost in the beginning because there was not always a person present on site to guide us. Consequently, the other interns and I had to find our own way to manage tasks on site and organize ourselves. Nevertheless this had positive aspects as I learned to take the initiative and step forward, which is definitely a desired trait for my role as an architect

FIRST TWEET

1) I am interested in public space as they have the potential to acheive environmental and sociobehavioural outcomes. For me, being involved in a project that talks about the interaction among people and the ways to promote exchange of ideas and social harmony as the Caravanserai does, would be the most satisfying work I could do.

Miriam RODRIGUEZ

2) I think the internship would be a great way for me to contribute all of my architectural skills as well as learning from different proffessionals and cultures who are also developing the Caravanserai. 3) Finally, I think it is important to consider the way we has human beings relate to the natural world. Working with recycled materials should be a pratise that every designer considers to keep and harmonious balance between the two.

Miriam RODRIGUEZ â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The petite planter.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Birthday: Background: Highs & Lows I was involved in the construction of benches, tables and planters for all the plants we had on site, We designed triangular planters to organize an oak forest at the entrance of the Caravanserai. It was a hard job, as we did not have many nails, and had to look on the floor for them from time to time; a glamourous part of the recycling process! However, we managed to build the planters just with wooden pallets and some boards. As well as building furniture and planters, I had a chance to work on other tasks; such as improving the oasis cafe and arranging the entrance of the site. I loved the way the works of a group on one task was always enhanced by another. For example we made a palm tree table which linked with the name of the cafe and the idea of the ancient caravans going through the dessert. The outcome is an icon you notice from the entering the site, which also reminds us all of the main inspiration for the project. There are several things that could be improved, for instance the organization of the tasks in advance, as we felt sometimes we were wasting our time on site, trying to figure out what is next. But maybe this a learning curve which will nurture us and help us grow as architects. Nevertheless, in my opinion, this internship has been a good experience and I enjoyed creating things from the limited resources we had. We have been working within the fields of improvisation and adaptation, something very unusual in the architectural world. We have also developed a strong and positive sense of group belonging which has been the driving force for everything we had achieved.

FIRST TWEET

The internship: from the perspective of Krupali PATEL

DAY 1 - 25/03/13 We met the whole team of Caravanserai on site today. We exchanged numbers with each other and then the idea of being part of the three Guilds was introduced. Each Guild leader gave a quick introduction about their guild: Lubaina - Press Guild; Valerie - Plant Guild; Iman Pitch Guild. We were given a site induction and then managed to get away from the cold to be in a local cafe to swap skills with each other through postit notes. Each person took away five skills in exchange for their five skills via postit notes with twitter handles. After a warm drink we were given a tour

of the area by Valerie. We walked around Canning Town in the freezing weather conditions (in light snow), and were made aware of the local businesses and places we could collaborate with to create interesting projects, one of them being The House of Fairytales. This is a brilliant place for young children to be in as the space includes life-size games and narratives for them to be a part of. We mingled with each other over lunch at The Hub and then went on to get the Emirates Cable Car, to get a view of East London. We got an idea of what the area was like from above and even managed

to spot our site from up there. After to spot our site from up there. After reaching North Greenwich everyone went their seperate ways. It was a very interesting first day at Canning Town Caravanserai, Tweets of the Day Caravanserai (@CTCaravanserai) - #flitched manhole found! After ripping out our cafe and digging around the whole site following old drawings... http:// twitpic.com/cea4nz Abi (@AbiConnor777) - Enroute to Canning town!! Day one @ CTCaravanserai!! Elissaveta (@elissavetam) - Exciting first day at the Caravanserai...if it wasn’t for the crazy freezing cold! @CTCaravanserai #flitched Krupali (@Krupali_17) - Can just about see our site from emirates cable car on the far right @CTCaravanserai #flitched pic. twitter.com/J7Y5fBBZaq Jason Palmer (@JPalmerARCH) - A very cold but interesting day surveying the area of Canning Town. My first visit of many to the @CTCaravanserai was successful! #flitched

DAY 2 - 26/03/13 Learning from yesterday’s weather I decided to wear six layers today, but even that was not enough for the bitter British cold. We spent the morning with Lubaina discussing the Press Guild ideas under the Flying Carpet Theatre. We brainstormed who the potentital users of Caravanserai were: local traders, families, creative professionals, unemployed people. With that in mind we discussed how we could make the site appeal to these users, and whether or not ‘The New Trading Post for East London’ tag worked for the site. Tagging the site as ‘East London’ could mean

Top image: Location of Caravanserai to Canning Town Central and bottom image: The House of Fairy Tales: ‘making education fun inclusive, inventive and fun.’

that people from other parts of London would not feel welcome; or did East London now mean something creative and inspring after the London Olympics? After freezing ourselves from Press Guild discussions, Cany came to the rescue to introduce us to design ideas she had for the site. We split up into groups for the Toilet design and Oak forest design. I was part of the Oak Forest design with Abi, Kieran, Amy, Mitesh, Maria and Jason. Cany explained how she wanted the Oak Forest to be built up of 11 Oak trees she had and that it should be a feature of Caravanserai that could be taken away from site in 2017. As a team we brain-

stormed the Oak Forest which we have Forest which we have now called ‘The Enchanted Oak Forest’. The idea is to create an interactive game, inspired by The House of Fairy Tales, in form of a large scale board game. Children will be able to tesselate units in an S shaped arrangement, which will be made from pallettes and include mirrors and colours to add density and playfullness. We want the Enchanted Oak Forest to be an area where the public can also sit around and so the units will consist seating areas too. After lunch we were ready to mock up our idea in reality; so after gearing up in our high-vis jackets and gloves, we started to move pallettes around to try

and create our S shaped board game. This was the first time we all got to do some physical work and we all were quite excited and happy with our idea. We all then came back together with the rest of the team and huddled around a bonfire whilst Ibrahim gave us a Health & Safety talk on tools and equipment.

vanserai should be ‘tagged,’ in our morning chat.

So overall it was another cold day on site, but I look forward to physical work to keep me warm. We’ll be digging a trench for the toilets tommorrow!

Today we had to dig a trench for the toilet guttering in the hope that we could have flushing toilets rather than composting toilets. However the manhole was only a metre wide, meaning not all of us could fit in there. So we agreed to have rotation plan for the digging. Whilst a few of the guys dug,

Tweets of the Day Alessandro Penna (@AlePenna86) - Let start day 2!@CTCaravanserai Abi (@AbiConnor777) - Interesting to hear thoughts of East London and how the @CTCara-

Krupali (@Krupali_17) - Gear on! Bring on the physical work! @ CTCaravanserai #flitched pic. twitter.com/ZeNuRiFW40 Derek Irwin (@AtelierDID) - UK duo scoops Cambodia affordable housing contest. Well done #WIN @ArchitectsJrnl @CTCaravanserai http://ow.ly/jkv0f Jason Palmer (@JPalmerARCH) - A lot of potential for our oak forest it seems! @Krupali_17 @ ABITECT @MiteshChauhan91 @ kieranjm91 @moonshinemayhem #flitched

DAY 3 - 27/03/13

Top image: Krupali in gear Central image: Enchanted Oak Forest ideas Bottom image: Mocking up the Enchanted Oak Forest idea with pallets.

the rest of us went to The Hub so we could access the internet and discuss designs for the Toilet to enter The Up Hackathon competition. This involved with meeting the brief of designing a ‘technology solution that results in real-world change in terms of environment, local economy or local community.’ We discussed what being in the toilet meant for individuals, and each intern described what It meant for them. For some it was a place to get away from the family or flat mates to get some peace and quiet; for others it was a time to read or use the laptop to do some work. For me it was a time to check facebook, and other social networks; which led to

discussing the recent article stating ‘three quarters of people admit to using a mobile phone whilst on the toilet’. From this led onto the discussion of making the toilet a sociable place where people could interact with each other but also have privacy. We decided that using audio clips in the toilet would make it a private yet public experience and from this followed the idea of the toilet becoming a confession space. People could deposit their secret story, advice, or general facts before they left the toilet by recording a message into a microphone. This message could be a time-lapsed recording or just prerecorded and played out to another per-

son in a toilet in a different location, e.g in the city somewhere. We also talked about how public toilets are not always pleasant as they have foul smells and graffiti, but if from the inside the toilet was designed in a lavish way then people would respect the space and not vandalise it. In order to prevent the foul smells we discussed planting scented flowers in the toilet, or having peeling wallpaper that releases a lovely scent. We were later called back to discuss Flitched with Tina. This included talking about creating a tools inventory so we know what we have to work with and what we

need. We also need a materials inventory, to label which material creates the particular elements of the Flitched building , i.e which timber bits are used for trusses etc. With this discussion the plan for tommorrow was proposed. We have to move the hoarding and start to move and label materials. Which means the rocks and weeds need to be cleared from the area to create pathways for people to move and work around in. Lots of phsyical work tommorrow! Tweets of the Day Alessandro Penna (@AlePenna86) - Today trench digging!@ CTCaravanserai Caravanserai (@CTCaravanserai) - #flitched! http://wp.me/ s3jWq5-flitched via @abiconnor777

Top image: Gabions idea for toilet structure. Second image: Antoine digging for manhole. Third image: Phone use in toilet. Bottom image: Abi’s sketch on toilet idea.’

INITIAL TOILET SKETCHES

Alex richardson (@from_alpal) - gabions as a solution to our rubble overload/ toilet structure/ planting program? http:// bit.ly/YEHGiD @CTCaravanserai #Flitched Abi (@AbiConnor777) - Discussing how the toilet could be a confessional/quick info exchange @CTCaravanserai... rethinking reading a newspaper on the loo haha Miriam (@mrp_arch_land) #flitched more materials and ways to plant with them pic. twitter.com/POLndLK4vF

DAY 4 - 28/03/13 In the morning we had our introduction to Plant Guild by Valerie. She talked about the ideas she had for Caravanserai and how she had her own ideas for the Oak forest and wanted to combine it with apple trees. She wanted to have a vertical salad bar and possibly a roof garden on top of the orange container on site. She talked about growing lots of vegetables and flowers together so peo-

ple could pick what they wanted to eat from the site to compliment their meal. After the Plant Guild discussion we finally started physical work on site! Everybody was full of energy and split up into groups for carrying out tasks of: putting the hoarding down; moving rocks and clearing pathways; and continue digging the trench. It was a day of doing things for the first time for me today. I picked up a sledge hammer for the first time to smash rocks so they could be either used as rubble or stored more easily in the bags that we had. I also used a wheelbarrow for the first time to transport rocks and rubble into bags. I then picked up an axe for

the first time to dig into the ground and clear rocks from the area we wanted to build the toilets and bar in. I even cut weed for the first time to clear some of the Flicthed area. A long while after graduating, I used hand and power tools to cut some wood and drill holes in it for the bar area. My workshop tools knowledge was also put to test today; as I made an inventory for the tools and equipment in both the containers with Amy, Haleema and Andy. Some of the tools we had seen for the first time and had to get Alexâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expert knowledge on them. We even put some of the boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; knowledge to test,

only to find that they were as clueless as us. So we concluded that us girls were not too bad after all with naming and quantifying the tools. It was a lovely day on site today. All the tools were out, everybody was working together; and even the sun came out to play for a little while. The Flitched hoarding finally came down today, and the trench was dug to find the manhole! A day of many accomplishments, and hopefully more days like today to follow. Tweets of the Day Krupali (@Krupali_17) - A day of hard work and the sun decides to be a bit kind @CTCaravanserai #flitched pic.twitter. com/ASFv10gols Kieran Murray (@kieranjm91) #flitched hoarding down!!! pic. twitter.com/DAaUFizYrJ

Top image: Sunshine at Caravanserai. Central image: Flitched hoarding down. Bottom image: Preparing for Flitched and clearing site for toilets.

Haleema Malik (@haleemalik) - Our first day of sunshine @ CTCaravanserai !! Alessandro Penna( @AlePenna86) - going on with trench digging..but with the sun!@CTCaravanserai Rebecca Nakimuli (@Rebecca_ PN) - The suns out, no doubt awaiting my arrival @CTCaravanserai. Ready to get stuck in! #plantguilds #Flitched

DAY 5 - 29/03/13 Today is Good Friday so it is a Bank Holiday but a few of us voluntarily worked on site. Alex, Mitesh and a couple of other guys are worked on the toilet area to to some more digging. Whilst me and Amy helped clean and organise the Orange container. We also got some help from Lubaina and Valerie; and after a lot of rummaging, organising and sweeping, we managed to clean and organise the items and tools in the container.

Cany was also in and spoke to me and Amy about organising the Blue container and all the small errands that need to be done on site. E.g making sure site is kept tidy, how everyone should wear protective gear and the new high-vis jackets need to be labelled with Caravanserai logos. It was quite a casual and relaxed day on site today as not many people were in, but we still progressed in making the site a better place to work in. Tweets of the Day Krupali (@Krupali_17) - Mission accomplished of cleaning orange container! @CTCaravanserai #flitched @moonshinemayhem @cany_ash @LuMirza pic. twitter.com/n5BPYSx2XA Mitesh Chauhan (@MiteshChauhan91) - http://jubal.westnet. com/hyperdiscordia/library_of_ babel.html … a nice read and possibly a similar mirror effect for an ‘infinite’ oak forest? @CTCaravanserai #flitched

DAY 6 - 02/04/13 After a long Bank Holiday weekend everybody was back on site to prepare for Flitched and the toilet area. The team was already divided into two as people who were on the toilets from the beginning continued working on them and began to lay the floor out for the bar and toilets area today. The rest of us dealt with the Flitched posts and anything else that need to be done on site. I started off the day by trying to learn how carry a 25kg sand bag in the correct way. Alex was teaching me how to use my thighs instead of my back to lift the weight. After a lot of

struggle and some help from Abi we managed to move sand bags for the boys to fill up some of the floor for the bar area; and it was later going to be used to create concrete for the foundations of the posts. We then decided to work on digging holes for the posts for the Flitched hoarding to go up in its permanent position. We used Tina’s drawing she sent to mark up the position of the posts with a bit of an old and new fashioned technique to measure: string and tape. Once one hole was being worked on to be dug up, the rest of us started to dig up the other holes. So there was a team of diggers,

Top image: Clean Orange container. Central image: Mitesh and Ivo digging for Flitched hoarding posts.. Bottom image: Flitched hoarding down for measurements.

rock rock

movers, and smashers.

Because there were limited tools, a few of us found ourselves spectating and not doing much. So I got a few girls together and we started to draw on the Caravanserai logos onto the high-vis jackets. A less strenuous task... but not for long. The girls were then called upon to become the ‘Paving Angels’. Alex demonstrated how to safely handle the 50kg paving slabs. They had to be moved off from their piles from the Flicthed site and be moved with a tesselating action to the toilet and bar area. It was a difficult task with so many slabs, but the girls managed to get the slabs moved (with some help from a cou-

ple of the boys too). A few of started to lay the paving down by digging and levelling the ground behind the Bar. We used the crowbar to lift the paving slab each time it was unlevel and continued doing this for another two slabs. The area close to the site hoarding also had to be cleared and levelled, so a few of us helped with that whilst the others tackled the slabs. It was another tiring day on site and I feel like I am building muscles on site with all the digging and heavy weight lifting. Tommorrow we have to finish the paving behind the Bar and start with pathway paving for the toilets. Tweets of the Day Ivaylo Petrov (@IvayloVP) - So proud with my hole....@CTCara-

vanserai #Flitched pic.twitter. com/XjOG2icNpr Krupali (@Krupali_17) - Dig dig dig day @ABITECT @kieranjm91 @MiteshChauhan91 @moonshinemayhem @CTCaravanserai #flitched pic.twitter.com/ Vk1J8t4q21 And we’re all set to build..building muscles too! @lucymanski @ Urbanschizo @lumbreraslimon @CTCaravanserai #flitched Caravanserai (@CTCaravanserai) - Top 10 Things To Do In The Borough Of Newham | Londonist http://londonist.com/2012/10/ top-10-things-to-do-in-theborough-of-newham.php … Haleema Malik (@haleemalik) - They expected a grey day today, and it was rather sunny! @ CTCaravanserai British weather,

DAY 7 - 03/04/13 I got onto site today to be summoned as head ‘Paving Angel’. Alex taught me how to level out the ground with the Pick Axe and then the Rake. (I used the Rake for the first time). Lucy and Maria then joined me in digging

the ground to make it level. There were a lot of rocks behind the Bar area so we found ourselves digging quite a lot. We managed to lay our first paving slab after a lot of trial and error with the ground level. If the ground was slightly unlevelled the paving slab would rock up and down, and this was tested by us standing on the slab. We used the crowbar like we did yesterday to lift the slab slightly and shove dirt and soil underneath to make it level. This trial and error process continued with the rest of the paving slabs behind the Bar, but our estimation of how level the ground was got better each time.

Top image: Caravanserai Logos on High-vis jackets. Second image: Foundation for Flitched hoarding posts. Third and bottom image: Paving Angels paving for toilet pathway.

Ellie and Rebecca also joined us and together we were assigned the task of doing the paving for the pathway of the toilet area. We used string to measure out how much we had to dig/add to the ground to make it all level. For this we had to also had to collect soil and dirt from the bags we had created and use it to flatten the ground. With some help from Antoine and Alex we all laid the paving down. We also had to create a step down from the pathway to the paving behind the Bar. For this we created a step using a thick timber piece which wedged into the ground, and then added more earth and soil to secure it into place and create a level. Paving slabs were then add-

ed to the steps and we ended the day by completing all the paving around the Toilets and Bar area. The guys working on the Bar floor needed to fill it up with rocks and rubble so we made a human chain of transporting the rocks from the bags to the guys at the Bar. The chain was made up by Jason, Rebecca, Me, Veronica and Amy and it was great team work to get the floor filled up and end the day on a high! It was a great accomplishment of the day to have the paving in place, because the site began to look and feel ready for public access. It felt good to step on a concrete slab than the bare earth.; and this progress was all made in one week!

Tweets of the Day Krupali (@Krupali_17) - Pathway paving in! yay paving angels! @ lucymanski @lumbreraslimon @elissavetam @Rebecca_PN @ CTCaravanserai #flitched Elissaveta (@elissavetam) - ‘The paving angels’ team: productive day of laying down slabs: looks better than soil... @CTCaravanserai #flitched I have a sudden urge to build a swing for kids (and fun grown ups)? @CTCaravanserai @archiTina @LuMirza #flitched We can cut giant #Caravanserai letters to be seen from the Emirates! @CTCaravanserai @ cany_ash @archiTina #flitched http://goo.gl/WKBhb

DAY 8 - 04/04/13 Unfortunately I had the Norovirus during day 8 and 9, but here is what happened meanwhile: by Abi Connor... Today saw more progress with the toilets as wall frames and roof beams began to make an ap-

pearance. Once again, with quite a few people on a fairly small task we had to efficiently arrange ourselves in the cold. Strangely, this was all happening concurrently to a little bit of gardening which would line the paving slabs outside the imminent toilet doors. Due to limited space, the ideal way of prefabricating the timber frames away from foundations on the floor, wasn’t really an option so it turned into a bit of an in situ-job. As we all remember from nights at University putting together a scaled model of our schemes, a lot of re-cutting happens when elements are millimetres off, which isn’t as easy as pull-

Top image: Paving for toilet pathway and steps behind the Bar. Central and bottom image: Building timber frames and setting the foundations for toilet walls.

ing out a fresh piece of mount board in this context. Realising how irritating it is to re-cut elements, and after a painfully, metaphor-based speech from Alex, progress seemed to happen really quickly. The timber frames seemed pretty fragile until the palette wood was hammered to it, and the walls started to look like they belonged to the patchwork of the Caravanserai. Pieces of string were tied to posts to line up Cany’s dipping roof and overhang, all the while a local gardener finished planting along the paving slabs. The wispy plants in freshly positioned soil lined with rocks, seemed to give this little corner of the site a touch of delicacy amidst the rawness of construction.

Everyone seemed to be wandering up and down the walkway commenting on the ‘atmosphere’ the plants gave. This with the walls and roof starting to take shape, saw the birth of another area of the Caravanserai. Tweets of the Day Haleema Malik (@haleemalik) And our toilet wall goes up!! @ CTCaravanserai #flitched pic. twitter.com/bHLr2LtY5V Almost there with the toilets! Yayy @CTCaravanserai Although, I hope against all hopes its slightly warmer tomorrow #flitched Well done Us!! Kieran Murray (@kieranjm91) Toilet talk... #flitched pic.twitter. com/TSBZTNYpLN Dean Bove (@Deanwilliamgrey) - Check out: ‘Thinking Custom Build’ @ashsakula 17 April 9-11am http://www.greenskythinking.org.uk/programme13/ ashsak1.html … @OpenCityorg #architects #GreenSky @ cany_ash Retweeted by Jason Palmer Ivaylo Petrov (@IvayloVP 4) CSCS Test passed, now waiting for the card #Flitched

DAY 9 - 05/04/13 Today we continued on the toilet walls. The palette wood cladding started to climb from ground to sky. It was quite nice to delicately place one piece next to its discoloured suitor on the frame, after ravaging at a full palette with every muscle in your body to harvest its flat elements off of the wooden blocks. The afternoon saw the emergence of the baby changer; which protruded out of the timber frame like the toilets own white plastic, pregnant belly. The walls celebrated patchwork even more so, when panels of white plastic were placed in the walls, allowing a bit of natural light

into the toilet space inside. Large Wicks sand bags were gathered for their material and stapled along the panels in the walls, adding more variation with texture and light. The toilet was starting to look like something quite charming on the outside. The green chip-board lining the frames on the inside however, didn’t possess this charm, we all secretly hoped the aesthetics of this could be rectified later with the Caravanserai’s signature palette wood cladding. With a few pictures taken on our phones, we all jumped on the tubes to head to Ash Sakula for the evening meeting. Conversations of the day, comparisons of

Top image: Plants lined up outside the toilet area. Central and bottom image: Flitching together walls for the toilets withe pallet wood and plastic sheets.

Europe’s metro system to London’s own fabulously archaic one and different attitudes to architecture in Spain, Italy and the many regions our new Caravanserai family were attributed to, made time pass as we got into Farringdon. We gathered around the table that evening at Ash Sakula, eating melon and drinking tea, as we were introduced to the already established Alex as Site manager and assigned roles ourselves according to how we were currently working on site. Roles such as maintenance co-ordinator, first-aider, keyholder and materials scavenger were created, for the existing tasks on the caravanserai as well as the approaching work on the Flitched project.

Roberto joined us later on to discuss his meetings with Morgan Sindal with regards to us the interns and the building process of Flitched, which saw high spirits quickly sink. We were told of Morgan Sindal’s insurance worries and the sorts of costs involved in insuring a project like this with so many participants. As much as we all understood their worries, the costs and the possibility of accidents with many untrained students, we all left hoping Flitched could find a way to happen by separating the site with hoarding, allowing prefabrication of the elements to happen off site and a few interns, with Morgan Sindal representatives, to put it all together inside

the hoarding. It wasn’t the best way to end a fairly productive day; nevertheless the whole programme was a learning curve for everyone involved. The fate of Flitched seemed a bit shaky, but with the desire to see it built by so many people it definitely was not defeated. Tweets of the Day Haleema Malik (@haleemalik) - Toilet up! Such a piece of art it is! So proud of us! @CTCaravanserai #flitched pic.twitter. com/hEXV6A9CK2 Go team!! @MiteshChauhan91 @kieranjm91 @CTCaravanserai #flitched pic.twitter.com/ XPAzEa7nbv Kieran Murray (@kieranjm91) - The great british tradition of queueing!! pic.twitter.com/BFJmSx3lOO Jason Palmer (@JPalmerARCH) - Nice meeting with the #flitched family this evening! We were able to plan out the next few weeks at the @CTCaravanserai! A lot happening

DAY 10 - 08/04/13 I came onto site not wanting to do too much labour work as I had just recovered from the Norovirus and still felt a little weak. Somehow the heavens granted my wish and I spent the day cleaning the Blue container with Kieran. We organised all the tools and equipment by labelling sections for them. We drilled and screwed into the container walls to hang some tools and drew around them so people could identify their exact positions. We organised the stationary and filing area in the conatiner, sweeped the floor and also managed to get the Blackboard ready. We cleaned and drew

Top image: Baby changer produting out of timber frame. Central and bottom image: Queing to use the jig saw to cut sheets of chipboard for toilet walls.

on the Blackboard to have it ready for tasks set out by the six leaders: Amy, Alessandro, Ivo, Kieran, Antoine and Derek. We had an area for the sign in sheet, known absenses, accident and emergency report, broken tools/ equipment, equipment requests and materials request. I then helped Haleema and Maria with making the Design Temple. The Design Temple was what we renamed The Cube to discuss any ideas we had, or things that needed to be done. We planned to have a meeting there every Wednesday morning so we could be updated on what everyone was planning to design; think what needed to be designed; or anything inspirational that could be used in CTC. Hal-

eema and Maria were working on the sign for the temple and I later joined them to help fix the sign onto the cube. Me and Haleema then stuck Cork board tiles inside the four walls of the cube so people could use them to pin up work and ideas. We also recieved our steel toe capped boots today. We have everything set out to work on site now: all health and safety gear and two accessible and organised containers! Tweets of the Day Ivaylo Petrov (@IvayloVP) Week 3 of #Flitched @CTCaravanserai starts now. I feel that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to be a very productive day. Krupali (@Krupali_17) - Blackboard ready for action! Another productive day organising blue container @CTCaravanserai #flitched pic.twitter.com/ hlgh4Et1ao Kieran Murray (@kieranjm91) - Nice clean blue container!!!

#flitched @CTCaravanserai Alessandro Penna (@AlePenna86) - Mantainance and refurbishment of the site has started@CTCaravanserai Haleema Malik (@haleemalik) Our design temple in the making @CTCaravanserai #flitched pic.twitter.com/HqE7NYg0v2

DAY 11 - 09/04/13 I had my CSCS Test today, and I passed! But here is what happened meanwhile on day 11: by Abi Connor... Today saw us all split up into teams; the Flitched hoarding needed a door so work could commence behind it , Cany wanted to see some ingenious containers for growth, kiosks needed refurbishment and the toilet needed some inside cladding. Some of the boys got to work on the hoarding

doors, made by creating a timber frame faced with plywood; the first attempt not as successful as the second! I think seeing the door propped onto its hinges created a bit of excitement amongst the interns for the hope of Flitched in the space behind! Jason and I had the glorious task of cladding the innards of the toilet frame with a not so tastefully coloured set of chip board, whilst Alex dreamed up an uncanny idea about making the toiletâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s belly double up as a puppet theatre, inspired by the shadows made against the concaved white plastic. We questioned weather a mother would like the idea of their child

Top image: Clean Blue Container. Second image: Blackboard organising tasks. Third image: Design Temple signage. Bottom image: Steel toe capped boots.

sitting on a bench in a public toilet watching a silhouetted puppet show on the lining of a baby changer; I think the aesthetic idea of framing the inside like a theatre with red velvet curtains was greatly outweighed by the practical issues of hygiene and the simple fact of it not being a desirable setting for an entertaining show. Most of the other interns got on with refurbishing the existing kiosks on site; everything on the Caravanserai needed a safety check; splintered wood needed sanding down, broken glass needed to be cleared off the ground, and weeds needed clearing. The site needed to portray its online description and the desires Cany and us all had

for its potential as a valued space on East London’s frontage. Tweets of the Day Ivaylo Petrov (@IvayloVP) - One afternoon of hard work and the door for the hoarding @CTCaravanserai is ready .... almost ready... pic.twitter.com/sUKnfD3IaA amy rene (@moonshinemayhem) - exciting new planter behind the flying carpet theatre. what deliciousness should we plant? @CTCaravanserai pic. twitter.com/qi4BJPydGf Abi (@AbiConnor777) - @CTCaravanserai toilet is coming along. Can’t wait to start on the beautiful #flitched structure though! Veronica Roccaforte (@VeronicaRocc) - @VeronicaRocc: Hard work at @CTCaravanserai, almost finishing the refurbishment of the kiosks with @ AlePenna86 pic.twitter.com/ ZrdrX9x2b4 Derek Irwin (@AtelierDID) - 50 great life hacks #sometimes the simplest ideas are the best. It’s good to #dothingsdiffently #flitched @ctcaravanserai

DAY 12 - 10/04/13 Today we had our first Design Temple

meeting. It was an interesting discussion. Amy made a model for her planters, and Alessandro was also explaining his design for the planters and palettes with which he wanted to make into a seating area. I also brought in some images as ideas for furtniture/ enchanted oak forest. Derek showed us a few designs he had in mind for the graphics of the Cafe. Antoinne talked about the resourcing of materials, he had a list of what we have and what we needed; and he specified which dimensions are needed. After the meeting I decided to help Amy with creating a plant area in front

of the Cafe using the sleepers we had. We decided on how we wanted to orientate the sleeprs and decided to have them horizontal and in line with raised platform. We had to dig to secure timber into the soil. Miriam and Ellie also helped us with this. A couple of us were digging whilst the other two sawed timber for the frame of the sleeper planters. I was then asked to help Derek with the Cafe, and so I helped him sand the chip van to prepare it for paint. The van was already painted and had some rough areas with bumps, which had to be sanded in order for the paint to stick on to its surface. Once sanded the surfaces had to be cleaned to

Top image: New planter behind Flying Carpet Theatre Central image: Alessandro working on Kiosks. Bottom image: Antoine and Valerie at Design Temple meeting.

get rid of any sand dust; and so I spent the rest of the day sanding and cleaning the van for it to be painted.

a storage cupboard next to the Bar and behind the toilets. The cupboard had to be cladded so me and Haleema worked on this together.

Tweets of the Day Krupali (@Krupali_17) - First Design Temple meeting @CTCaravanserai #flitched pic.twitter. com/wwrAhIfxRm A beautiful day on site today. planters for cafe in. van being prepared for paint :) #sunpleasestay @CTCaravanserai #flitched Cany Ash (@cany_ash) - Here is the evidence of that ray of sunshine outside the Cube @ CTCaravanserai pic.twitter.com/ 02Yp7BlBBx Jason Palmer (@JPalmerARCH) - Guys we need a name for the @CTCaravanserai bar! Any suggestions are welcome to be shared at tomorrow’s design temple meeting! #flitched

DAY 13 - 11/04/13 I was supposed to finish sanding off the chip van today but due to the rain that wasnt possible. I helped out on the toilet area instead. We are having

We had to fist find the timber pieces from the piles in the flitched area; denail them and then cut them down to size with the hand daw. We marked the pieces and whilst one person was cutting them, the other cladded the cupboard by nailing them in with a hammer. Sometimes it would work better if one of us held the timber piece down whilst the other sawed; so we had our own technique and momentum going with the cladding, which was great. After a while we got tired of sawing the timber, and decided to nail them on first

and then cut the timber pieces with a jig-saw to size later. Once we finished cladding we designed the door for the cupboard. We made the frame of the door in a similar process to the cladding. We had to look for suitable timber from the piles we had and then saw them down to size. We then screwed the pieces together to create the frame. Once the frame was built we took it back to the cupboard to make sure it fitted; only to find that it did not fit. We realised that the pieces we used for the frame were rectangular in section; and so we ended up flipping some of them whilst screwing, which gave us a

door that was too big. By the time we realised this, it was the end of the day. So we have to correct our door tommorrow

Tweets of the Day Krupali (@Krupali_17) - Clad clad clad away! more progress on toilets @CTCaravanserai #flitched Alessandro Penna (@AlePenna86) - The tea garden it’s growing like it’s plants! @CTCaravanserai #storify Expand Abi (@AbiConnor777) - If I had to be a door, I’d be one of the two being made for the @CTCaravanserai toilets. #Flitched Toilet/cupboard doors will be on tomorrow @CTCaravanserai ! Yes @JPalmerARCH @carrier_antoine @from_alpal @ Krupali_17 @haleemalik !! Landscaping tying in seamlessly @CTCaravanserai !! pic.twitter. com/pWe0N5RdyG

DAY 14 - 12/04/13 We had to remake

Top image: Design Temple meeting discussing sourcing Flitched materials. Central image: Building planters for cafe. Bottom image: Planters ready for cafe.

the door frame today. We took it apart to mark it up again. Alessandro and Veronica also decided to help us with it. The cupboard space itself was not at all right angles. The top part of the door frame had to be at and angle so we struggled to work out the angle and make the door accordingly. But Alessandro managed to calculate it correctly today and we managed to make a door frame that fit! We had left the timber overhangs from cladding around the cupboard yesterday, and the pieces were still left to be cut down. The jig-saw was in use by the other â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Toilet Teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; members and so we were left with the option of hand sawing them. The cupboard was

quite tall and with me and Haleema being short, we found it difficult to hand saw at a height. To put us out of our misery tall Alex came to help us. He cut the higher bits of timber for us and then me and Haleema finished the rest off. After lunch, Me and Haleema started to clad the door in a similar fashion to the doors in the toilet. The toilet doors were designed so that they were half cladded and half covered with a white plastic sheet. We decided to clad it in a diagonal fashion, and again we went through the process or finding the right bits of timber and then denailing them. Once we had the door cladded we had to cut out the plastic sheets to

finish the rest of it. Maria and Veronica decided to help us with the cutting of plastic sheets and fixing it on to the door. We had to make the plastic secure to the frame with staples first and then nail it in. Whilst we were fixing the plastic, the top angled part of the frame was beginning to move out of place from where the timber bits had been nailed in. We had to rebuild it but this time with screws. Only again to our misery and disadvantage the drills ran out of battery; the generator had run out of petrol and it was nearly the end of the day. So we hand screwed the frame together with the help of Kieran.

We also had the task of cutting off the overhangs of timber from the cladding of the door. Me, Haleema and Kieran took turns in sawing them; and luckily the man with the power came to our rescue..Jason. Jason was quite a pro at hand sawing timber and so luckliy he hand sawed the overhangs whilst the rest of us cleaned up on site. Jason managed to saw off all the overhangs and we finally had a complete door that fit to make the storage cupboard! It was such a relief having the door complete and it was great team work to have it ready by the end of the day. Tweets of the Day Krupali (@Krupali_17) - Finally the door is ready! Good ef-

Top image: Finished door positioned in place. Central image: Cutting plastic sheets and timber pieces for cladding the door. Bottom image: Angle of storage cupboard.

fort from everyone in the rainy weather :) @CTCaravanserai #flitched pic.twitter.com/ DwpuNUKZYc Abi (@AbiConnor777) - @CTCaravanserai...our roof lights? DIY Skylights Plastic Bottles Become 55 Watt Natural Light Bulbs in Sha...: http://youtu.be/ TSQ8LXXtv6w

DAY 15 - 15/04/13 Today was the warmest day on site so far. It was a lovely day and I had to delayer for the first time! In the morning we had a meeting about health and safety rules and how to make Flitched safe. We dicussed what procedures need to be followed to make Flitched a working site, i.e sign in and out sheet for flitched; having a break area where people can smoke and eat. We were also made aware by Alex that we had to risk assess everything we did. We made a list of all

the things we needed to do and have on site to have a safe working environment. We all then got back to our working duties. Me and Rebecca finished off sanding and cleaning the rest of the van and then began to paint it Black. We used rollers for most of the van and had to use a brush to get into the edges and small areas. It was a fun day painting and we managed to get most of the first coat onto the van. By the end of the day my thumb was hurting from pressing on the roller; and the roller even gave me and Rebecca paint splashes on our face when it was windy. More painting tommorrow! Tweets of the Day Rebecca Nakimuli (@Rebecca_ PN) - @AbiConnor777 @JPalmerARCH @Krupali_17 @CTCaravanserai love the new palettes

bar design! Ivaylo Petrov (@IvayloVP) - 3 cups of coffee for the past 5 hours, one more and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be ready for the new #Flitched site rules Krupali (@Krupali_17) - First coat on for van - painting away with @Rebecca_PN @CTCaravanserai #flitched pic.twitter. com/Y2OV2yXUHu Yaaay one facade done :) we did well @Rebecca_PN more tommorrow! @CTCaravanserai #flitched pic.twitter.com/coqyluQbQT Caravanserai (@CTCaravanserai) - Join our Silk Road #Feast @ #CanningTown Caravanserai this Sat 20/04/13. For great #Food & #Music book: http:// caravanserai-estw.eventbrite. co.uk #Newham

DAY 16 - 16/04/13 We did the second coat of painting on the van today. It now looks black and nearly finished. Just have the flap at the front of the van to paint and a few finishing touches to do. Painting is actually a tiring job when you

have to cover a big area at a height. Its basically like painting a small room! Tweets of the Day Rebecca Nakimuli (@Rebecca_ PN) - http://www.architizer.com/ en_us/blog/dyn/83321/checkout-this-sexy-kitchen-by-giorgio-armani-for-dada/ â&#x20AC;Ś sliding kitchen counter. Would be cool to pull this off for #flitched adjustable workshop table Alessandro Penna (@AlePenna86) - Promoting the saturday event while painting thehoarding!@CTCaravanserai Elissaveta (@elissavetam) - Our beautiful oasis Palm tree table in the process of making. #flitched @paolodamone @ mrp_arch_land @CTCaravanserai pic.twitter.com/T89eSXp3Yu Kieran Murray (@kieranjm91) @CTCaravanserai #flitched Hey guys we need a name for our fantastic palm tree table, maybe a little pun in there? suggestions on a postcard! OffgridWind (@PE_Morris) New site for the black box cinema and workshop #bicycleworkshop #lorry-container #exciting @cany_ash @CTCaravanserai pic.twitter.com/5l6tl9vQZ9

Top image: Front facade of chip van painted with double coat. Central image: First coat of paint. Bottom image: Side of van complete with black paint.

BAR DESIGN

DAY 17 - 17/04/13 There was an urgent call to organise the timber piles on the Flitched site today. A few of the guys learnt how to identify structural timber on the weekend with Roberto; and so we confirmed with them when we decided to organise the materials into useful and non useful piles. There was quite a lot of timber that we had to go through, but there were also tasks that needed finishing. So me and Maria tried to finish painting the van to add the finishing touches. We managed to paint the flap on the front of the vam; however we ran out of paint before we could add the second coat. Because we could not paint I decided

to help out Paolo and Ellie with the Palm Tree. The palms had to be made for the tree and so we tried designing them with the materials we had. We initially wanted the entire palm tree to be made of green silk but we didnt have enough fabric, so we had to make a choice between a bright orange or a jamaican print fabric. We decided to try the orange fabric out. We had some large blue pipe that had to be cut so we could use it for the mid ribs of the palms. We cut one midrib to test the first palm. We needed some sort of wire to hold the fabric around the tube. After a lot of scavanging we managed to find some wire which we

wrapped around the tube with the fabric and twisted it to tie the fabric into place. We also had a shortage of scissors but because I am the ‘mary poppins’ on site I managed to find a pair in my bag which we then used to cut the fabric up in a palm style. We concluded that the orange fabric did not look great and so we decided to go with the yellow printed fabric. The palm tree team were in action but sadly I had to leave them to paint the blackboard outside. Alessandro kindly bought more black paint which I could use for the blackboard and the van. I spent the rest of the day painting the blackboard outside

to find myself being questioned by several people passing by. I managed to advertise Caravanserai to a lot of the public out in Canning Town. One guy thought I was doing community service; whilst another foolish teenager attempted to scare me to knock me off the ladder. He obviously failed as I was the one with the paint in my hand; but it was an interesting experience of seeing the public of Canning Town and spreading the word of Caravanserai. Tweets of the Day Krupali (@Krupali_17) - All blacked out and ready for some colour :) @Rebecca_PN @lumbreraslimon @CTCaravanserai #flitched pic.twitter.com/FZI4f0euoe Alessandro Penna (@AlePen-

Top and second images: Blackboard and chip van painted black. Third image: Palm tree erecting with table. Bottom image: Veronica’s idea for solar water heater.

na86) - hoarding and letters repainting:done,varnishing the drawings:done@CTCaravanserai María Lumbreras (@lumbreraslimon) - green table! Great idea #flitched family! @CTCaravanserai pic.twitter.com/ EjyMQxkL6D Ogaga Oje Izirein (@OIzirein) At the office getting our creativity on with this short video for the project! @ashsakula @ CTCaravanserai pic.twitter.com/ bt3zq9Q4tj Veronica Roccaforte (@VeronicaRocc) - Check out A DIY Solar Water Heater From Plastic Bottles @ http://www.connectgreen.com/a-diy-solar-waterheater-from-plastic-bottles/ … @CTCaravanserai

DAY 18 - 18/04/13 I started off the day by finishing the blackboard off. I painted the ‘Coming Soon’ sign on with white paint. It was quite windy today so I found it difficult to make the font look neat as I ended up flicking white paint around. I managed to finish it and decided to help Rebecca and Veronica with the

signage for the Oasis Cafe. We found some plywood and stapled the ‘oasis cafe open’ letters that Derek had printed, so we could cut around them. We all had to find shelter under The Flying Carpet Theatre for a while today whilst there was heavy rain. This is one of the only times everybody gets together on site besides lunch time and have a chance to socialise with the other interns. After the rain cleared I let Rebecca and Veronica carry on with the signage whilst me, Mitesh and Derek looked for timber for the signage structure and posts. Derek had to help finish the butterfly roof for the toilets so me and Mitesh began to make the posts to hold up the sign. I helped cut the

smaller lengths of timber which would sit in the ground and act as the foundation for the posts. Mitesh had dug out holes for the posts earlier in the day so all that was left to do was to make the concrete for the foundations. Whilst he finished off building the posts, I made a concrete mix for the first time. I collected rocks, dirt and some rubble and added sand, cement and water to create the concrete mix. After some trial and error and some help and advice from Paolo and Alex about the consistency of my mix, I managed to get it ready to put up the posts. Me, Mitesh and Derek managed to put up two posts by the end of the day,,

we aimed to get the sign up for tomorrow but a lot of work still needs to be done. Tweets of the Day Kieran Murray (@kieranjm91) Hiding from the rain!!! @CTCaravanserai #flitched pic.twitter. com/xWWRr3h4GN Abi (@AbiConnor777) - Done the CSCS test, now for a 10hr shift. #bestdayever -__- ...missing my #Flitched/@CTCaravanserai family today. OffgridWind (@PE_Morris) Ready to film the second part of our fundraising video #makeyourrideeasier @CTCaravanserai pic.twitter.com/3z4l2sCvTu

DAY 19 - 19/04/13 I started off the day by organising the timber for the last post of the sign with Mitesh. We denailed the timber and then cut the pieces to size. We had to wait around a bit for a drill as most of them were being used to make the toilets. In the

Top image: Alex hiding from the rain. Central image: Rubble and rocks for concrete mix for doundations.. Bottom image: Filming second part for fundraising video.

mean time we helped Veronica and Rebecca sand and paint the letters for the sign. Mitesh and Derek put up the last post and started to build the rest of the signage structure; whilst I marked and cut out the batons for the letters to sit on. The jig-saw was in high demand today so I started cutting a few of them with the hand saw. Once I managed to get hold of the jig-saw I was ready to cut with it; but because it was my first time using it, Veronica and Rebecca helped me and we managed to cut all the batons to size. Once the batons were ready we had to paint them. Derek wanted us to make some patterns on them so me, Rebecca had some fun with

the paint and started painting the batons in orange, red and blue. We tried mixing the colours as we had a limited palette; but we decided to stick with the ones we had and painted the batons in our own style. Veronica decided to have a Jackson Pollock approach with the painting and this seemed to work very well. By the end of the day we had some vibrant batons ready for the sign structure, and we decided that a few of us would help finish the sign on the weekend. Tweets of the Day Caravanserai (@CTCaravanserai) - RT @cany_ash: #ff @ grub_club and @CTCaravanserai everyone welcome to come to the village dinner tomorrow http://caravanserai.eventbrite. co.uk/ Dean Bove (@Deanwilliamgrey) - RT @Stacey8830: Great piece on @meanwhile_space @ CTCaravanserai is thriving part of East London! @cany_ash @ ashsakula http://www.proper-

tyweek.com/news/news-by-region/london/lost-gardens-oflondon/5053520.article … Cany Ash (@cany_ash) - @ CTCaravanserai READ http:// www.propertyweek.com/news/ news-by-region/london/lostgardens-of-london/5053520. article … Lets keep planting our floating oaks, meeting neighbours, making a place with rootless roots Derek Irwin (@AtelierDID) Good morning london ur looking pretty gorgeous today. Can’t wait to get to the @ctcaravanserai for some graft #happy pic. twitter.com/bcT6ZFykos

DAY 20 - 20/04/13 I went in to finish off painting the rest of the sign today so it could be put up before the event. It was a beautiful day on site because the sun was shining and it felt like a relaxing morning because we were painting. Me and Mitesh painted the rest of the batons in colourful patterns and then Veronica came in to help me finish them all off.

Once the batons were finished, Derek finished screwing the letters onto the batons and the sign was ready. We were trying to decide which colour to paint the oasis cafe letters, because it was currently blue and we did not think it would stand out from a distance to the public from the station. We tried flicking the red and orange paint on it, again in a Jackson Pollock style to see if it looked any better. I didn’t mind the way it looked because it tied in with the rest of the signage structure but I was not too sure if it would stand out. I left the site as Cany entered for the event, so I did not get to hear her verdict on the sign.

Top image: Sanding and painting Oasis Cafe signage. Central and bottom images: Details of butterfly roof over toilet and bar area with drainage system.

Tweets of the Day Krupali (@Krupali_17) - What a beautiful day. Enjoyed painting signage for our oasis cafe @CTCaravanserai #flitched @ MiteshChauhan91 @VeronicaRocc @AtelierDID Caravanserai (@CTCaravanserai) - What a fantastic day! Head down to Canning Town and join us in the sun @CTCaravanserai - always something going on :) #communityspirit Cany Ash (@cany_ash) - #Beautifulday! why don’t you come down @CTCaravanserai, help plant trees & stay for dinner 710pm tonight - let @cany_ash know if you can!

DAY 21 - 22/04/13 I came onto site to see that the sign had to been put up, and it had been repainted. Cany did not like the blue on the letters so they had been spray painted in an orange colour. I was not too happy about the painting being a trial and error process because it was a waste of time. However a decision had been made for the better and we

were sticking with it to put the sign up today. Me, Maria and Rebecca finished repainting the batons and the structure in blue; and the rest of the letters were finished with the orange spray paint. Ibrahim was on site today to help with the flags to go up on site and with the sign. Once we had the sign painted I went to Wickes to buy more black paint because we still had one small side left to paint on the van. Me and Rebecca added the finishing touches with the paint whilst the guys put the scaffold up for the sign. Me and Rebecca had to assist Derek, Ibrahim and Mitesh whilst they put the sign up. We had to make sure we had our safety helmets on because the guys were work-

ing from a height and we were both below holding the ladder, lifting the sign, passing tools; and so we had to be prepared if something fell from a height. The guys did a great job and we managed to have the sign up by the end of the day. The Oasis Cafe is now visible to public and will be up and running very soon! Tweets of the Day Caravanserai (@CTCaravanserai) - Fantastic new signage going up @CTCaravanserai pic. twitter.com/pXYsSp7sIl @Ibrahim_Buhari Alessandro Penna (@AlePenna86) - just finished the flag pole with @Ibrahim_buhara @ CTCaravanserai Abi (@AbiConnor777) - Another week @CTCaravanserai !! Let’s get ‘stuff’ done! #progress Ibrahim (@Ibrahim_Buhari) - ... and here it is! The “oasis café” at the @CTCaravanserai. Come and check it out! pic.twitter.

DAY 22 - 23/04/13 Flitched needed an urgent push today so I helped Kieran and Antoine remove materials from the scaffold and organised the plywood and chipboard into piles. Me, Rebecca and Kieran worked as a team to get most of the materials removed from the scaffold. It was quite a lot of heavy lifting as we were dealing with big sheets. We also had to make sure the materials were safe before we organised them into piles; so we denailed and removed any screws from sheet materials to they were ready to be used. There were a lot of sheets to go through and by the end of the day my fingers and wrist was hurting from all the

Top image: Oasis Cafe signage up to welcome public. Central image: Repainting and sanding signage. for finishing touches. Bottom image: Flagpole up .

ROOF TOPS

unscrewing we did. We finished from site early today as there was a meeting in the office to have a media workshop and discuss how to use twitter in a better way for the benefits of Caravanserai. We discussed how we all need to tweet more to reach out to the wider public, make connections and network that will benefit us as individuals and Caravanserai. We mentioned how we should use hash tags more to promote different parts of Caravanserai. i.e #CTCGrow could be used for homegrown food or the Oasis Cafe. We also talked about blogging more; and so if we sent across blogs to Dean maybe on a weekly basis then this would help promote messages of Caravanserai

across to the public. It was an interesting workshop, we got to fully understand how to use twitter and the benefits of it. Tweets of the Day Veronica Roccaforte (@VeronicaRocc) - Building triangular planters at @CTCaravanserai with @elissavetam @ paolodamone pic.twitter.com/ 46zcfMzzqB Antoine Carrier (@carrier_antoine) - Found the bottom of the foundation of the brick wall behind #flitched @CTCaravanserai pic.twitter.com/UNePlqkH3m building site layout @CTCaravanserai #Flitched @cany_ash pic.twitter.com/DndMLg1sNy OffgridWind (@PE_Morris) Making good progress towards the competition entry for New London Awards @CTCaravanserai #Flitched #progress pic. twitter.com/p9CaMeNDf0 Caravanserai (@CTCaravanserai) - Thanks @PropertyWeek! @CTCaravanserai described as “thriving part of East London” http://www.propertyweek. com/news/news-by-region/ london/lost-gardens-of-london/5053520.article … #communityisthekey @PWNews

DAY 23 - 24/04/13 We

continued

remove materials from the scaffold and organised the plywood and chipboard into piles. Ivo, Alessandro and Antoine helped as well so the job was done much more quickly. We found a few interesting creatures behind some of the materials, lots of insects and bugs, and a whole heap of snails. Whilst the guys took down the scaffold; me and Rebecca continued to denial and remove screws from the sheet materials. Antoine introduced me to the nail puller tool and this made denailing much easier. There were a lot of sheets to get through and the rest of the day was spent doing this. Tweets of the Day Caravanserai

(@CTCaravan-

serai) - Have any ideas for the summer or would like to host an event @CTCaravanserai? We welcome all types of #cultural activities! Get in touch! Alessandro Penna (@AlePenna86) - Clearing the site!the faster we are the earlier we start the flitched!@CTCaravanserai Krupali (@Krupali_17) - The scaffold is down. Preparing to build #flitched @CTCaravanserai @carrier_antoine @AlePenna86 @IvayloVP @Rebecca_PN pic.twitter.com/HKkHHXCXC6 Ivaylo Petrov (@IvayloVP) Scafold reassembling @CTCaravanserai Veronica Roccaforte (@VeronicaRocc) - Our bright new outdoor sink at @CTCaravanserai pic.twitter.com/e3V4JQQB1O

DAY 24 - 25/04/13 Today was supposed to be another day of organising materials and removing nails and screws. We discussed with Antoine and Alex that there was a lot of material that was not going to be used so it would be better to burn it as

Top image: Clean Ellie and Paolo building planters. Central image: Plywood and chipboard sheet piles for Flitched. Third image: Competition entry for New London Awards.

the piles were increasing. We started up a fire in the fire pit Valerie had made and tried getting rid of waste material. I was in charge of looking after the fire as well as continuing to organise sheets. After lunch me and Rebecca decided to go back to helping Derek with the van. We had to scrape the lettering off the chip van in order to paint the flaps that came out from the two sides. Me, Rebecca and Mitesh scraped the letters, sanded the surface and then painted it black. Mitesh, Rebecca and Jason decided to finish off a few things in the Bar and Toilet area; whilst me and Veronica decided to paint over the menu flap on the side of the van. Dur-

ing this time Cany came onto site to see the progress of tasks and we then had a meeting with her about the work that had to be done on Caravanserai. Cany was upset about the sink area because the curvy table was not her idea and she said nobody looked at her drawings for the toilet area when they built it. She is not happy with the finishing of the toilets because the water just falls down from the roof onto the ground. She did not like the yellow in palm tree and wants it to be taller so it can be viewed from the station. She did like the concept but was not pleased that she was not a part of making decisions for it. She did however like the pav-

ing behind the toilets and the pathway. She discussed with us how she wants the entrance area paved and wants to design the raised platform to be an area paved and wants to design the raised platform to be an area where people can learn about the Caravanserai through a notice board, buy tickets, and see people doing creative tasks. She wants the paving to have white strips on it like a zebra crossing and have bunting above going across the two containers. She said she wants everyone to design more so they have something nice for their portfolios at the end of the internship; and this is something every-

body wants from the internship. She wants to be a part of making decisions on site and so if we had an idea she wanted the sketches to be sent to her. It was a lot to take in because we had to make changes in the way we dealt with design on site. But it finally feels like we will be able to design things that Cany will be pleased about and we wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to follow instructions through a middle man; because a lot of things get lost in translation. Tweets of the Day Rebecca Nakimuli (@Rebecca_PN) - #teambuilding @ JPalmerARCH @AlePenna86 @IvayloVP @carrier_antoine @ CTCaravanserai #flitched pic. twitter.com/aITgBu9bXV amy rene (@moonshinemayhem) - Definitely need to think vertical @CTCaravanserai! Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 8 Most Inspiring Urban Farms http://www.farmxchange.

Top image: Scaffold down for Flitched. Central and Bottom images: Antoine, Jason, Alessandro and Ivo working as a team to move I-beams for Flitched site clearance.

TOILET AND BAR SKETCHES

/ 2 01 3 / 0 4 / 1 8 / to p - 8 - u r b a n farms-in-the-world/ … Antoine Carrier (@carrier_antoine) - @IvayloVP master scaffolder! Did it in 2 hours while we had great meeting with Jane Monahan! @robmir86 @CTCaravanserai @AlePenna86

DAY 25 - 26/04/13 Today we had a very long meeting with Alex about tasks on site; how we should go about designing and organising ourselves better and this discussion lasted nearly up until midday. We discussed how we need to know what tasks are supposed to be prioritised on site and for that we need weekly meetings with everyone together. We also discussed whether or not sketching and discussing ideas would work, or whether we should continue having a trial and error process with building because that is how

things progressed. In the end we concluded that we had to have Cany’s approval on things before we start building; especially if it is a task on Caravanserai. After the meeting everyone got back to what they were doing and a few of us got together and surveyed the entrance area. We discussed how we could design it and sketched ideas. We also emailed Cany to give us a brief specification on what she wants us to do on the entrance; and the day ended discussing ideas for it. Tweets of the Day alex richardson (@from_alpal) - going to visit these guys tomorrow, lots to discuss! remakery brixton http://remakery.posterous.com/ @CTCaravanserai #Flitched Caravanserai (@CTCaravanserai) - @from_alpal We look forward to it!

Sam Brown (@samuelbrowninfo) - @cany_ash @CTCaravanserai should participate in @superuse harvestmap beta http://www.oogstkaart.nl/oogstkaart/ connecting upcyclers to broker material Retweeted by Caravanserai

DAY 26 - 29/04/13 Today we wanted to get started with the entrance area. A few of us got the paving slabs from the Flicthed site and loaded them onto Alex’s trailer so he could bring them to the entrance for us to start paving. We sent our ideas on the paving slab layouts over the weekend to Cany but did not manage to get a clear answer on which one she preferred. Me, Abi and Veronica started digging up the entrance for the paving; we made our own assumption based on what we recalled Cany saying

and clarified with Alex. We marked out the gradient of the paving and how it will slope using string to indicate how much we had to dig. There was quite a lot of digging and levelling to do as the entire entrance area was on a slope and we had to try and get the paving slab to match the level of the pavement outside the site. We decided that the left door of the entrance would be used as the disabled access, as it was larger in width than the right door. We had to basically pave for a shallow ramp for the disabled access. We managed to lay the first paving slab so that it was flush with the floor outside. Veronica

sketched

Top image: Clean Orange container. Central image: Mitesh and Ivo digging for Flitched hoarding posts.. Bottom image: Flitched hoarding down for measurements.

PAVING SLAB SKETCHES

paving layout ideas and sent them to Cany. We wanted to know if she wanted them to be staggered, because we were having issues with them aligning to the platform. If we cut the first slab at an angle and have the rest of the slabs aligning to the platform then this would be easier. Amy was working on a rockery which could also be brought forward to the door. Cany replied concluding that we should lay them out and see what looks better. We also had to leave more room for plants, and she said we have to cut around the lamp post. By the end of the day we had an idea of how we should space out the other paving slabs but we had to go through a trial and error process tommorrow.

Tweets of the Day Krupali (@Krupali_17) - Digging for the caravanserai entrance! @VeronicaRocc with @ AbiConnor777 @CTCaravanserai #flitched pic.twitter.com/ ievKjqQTn1 Kieran Murray (@kieranjm91) Table at the ready!! #flitched @ CTCaravanserai pic.twitter.com/ Q0tw9X4wpx Caravanserai (@CTCaravanserai ) - RT @AbiConnor777: ...scribbles/ideas needed for our entrance space @CTCaravanserai/ #Flitched family. #mondaymovements Labour day, transporting the rubble from the flitched site to level our work area @CTCaravanserai pic.twitter.com/Ved5mmYQk8 RT @OIzirein

DAY 27 - 30/04/13 Today we acted upon yesterdays discussions about the layout of the slabs. We first decided to mark out the gap from the platform with string, so we had a boundary to work by to lay out the slabs. We then spent most of the day going through a trial and error process to see which

layout looked best. Maria and Rebecca also helped us today so the trial and error process was quicker; as we had more hands to dig and level out the ground. We tried the staggered paving look and then also tried having the paving slabs line up to the platform. Which we thought was the better option. We emailed Cany photographs of the two layout options and she also agreed with having them line up with the platform as it meant less cutting. We did not have the equipment and tools to cut the slabs ourselves so it would be the better option. She also suggested that we could fill out the ragged edges with plants/rocks; and that

we should reflect a similar layout on the other side and leave a gap from the concrete blocks. It was a day full of lots of paving and I think ‘the paving angels’ have gained more expertise today on how to level and prepare the ground for paving. Tweets of the Day Krupali (@Krupali_17) - Good job paving angels! Aim for more 2morow! @CTCaravanserai @ VeronicaRocc @AbiConnor777 @Rebecca_PN @lumbreraslimon pic.twitter.com/uifiz2lidS Ogaga Oje Izirein (@OIzirein) New working area in progress, levels checked with spirit level ..almost good to go!@CTCaravanserai pic.twitter.com/ L71ILlvS50 Ibrahim (@Ibrahim_Buhari) - @ OIzirein: New working area in progress, levels checked with spirit level ..almost good to go!” @CTCaravanserai Looking good!

DAY 28 - 01/05/13 It was a lovely day

Top image: Digging entrance for paving. Second image: Flitched table ready. Third image: First paving slabs at entrance. Bottom image: Bike workshop area.

on site today because we made good progress with the paving. It was Alexâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s last day so he gave some advice on how to cut the paving slabs if we did not have his saw. Jason decided to join the paving angels team today and with this help we managed to get a signigicant amount of paving slabs laid down. We went through the same procedure of laying down the slabs. Digging the ground first and then flattening it with a rake. Raising slabs with the crowbar and then physically when in need to shove dirt out or underneath the slabs. Positioning the slabs phsycially and assisting them into place using a crowbar. We worked in two teams. So whilst

for its potential as a valued space on East Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s frontage. two or three of us helped lay a slab, the other two or three would dig ahead and level out the ground. We had a rhythm going for the paving and managed to have one column of paving complete, which was quite a big achievement for the day. Tweets of the Day Krupali (@Krupali_17) - Brilliant paving by the angels! @CTCaravanserai @VeronicaRocc @AbiConnor777 @lumbreraslimon @JPalmerARCH @Rebecca_PN pic.twitter.com/IU4c1APhaC Mitesh Chauhan (@MiteshChauhan91) - Light voids in the toilets particularly enjoying the sunshine @CTCaravanserai #flitched pic.twitter.com/CnHeDF1zUY Caravanserai (@CTCaravanserai ) - Have any ideas for the summer or would like to host an event @CTCaravanserai? We welcome all types of #cultural activities! Get in touch! Elissaveta (@elissavetam) Along with an incredible allday sun, May 1st also brought a new planter. @CTCaravanserai

#ctcmake #lovemyjob pic.twitter.com/lzguitLYBN

DAY 29 - 02/05/13 Today the entrance area looks near enough to complete! In the morning we had to deal with the issue of the post and lamp post an how we would cut the slabs around them to make it look neat. We all discussed and Abi sketched out the solution and we emailed it to Cany. We wanted to see if the solution worked so decided to test it out. We marked on the slabs where they had to be cut and Alessandro kindly cut them for us using a circular saw. Whilst the slabs were being cut we decided to lay out the rest of the slabs and figure out where which an-

gles needed to be cut for the slabs to fit around the other entrance door. We also marked out a gap from the concrete blocks, which was going to be used as a seating area. We tried to create a similar gap to what we had on the opposite side of the platform. Jason cut out the slabs for us whilst we marked and layout the slabs; however the saw him and Alessandro were cutting with broke so not all the marked slabs were cut. By the end of the day we have the second column of slabs laid down and even a few of the third column. We all then had a meeting about Flitched and tasks on site because we did not having a site

Top image: One column of paving down for the entrance. Central image: Light voids in the toilet. Bottom image: Triangular planters ready for the Oak Forest.

supervisor after Alex left. Antoine was appointed as our new site manager and Alessandro and Abi agreed to work on Flitched and sort out tasks with Morgan Sindall. The rest of us discussed what tasks we were happy with doing; and I said I was keen to work on Flitched but happy to help on Caravanserai and finish the Oasis Cafe. Tweets of the Day Caravanserai (@CTCaravanserai ) - First of the oak forest planted! Excited @CTCaravanserai! pic.twitter.com/aJIqKC6PiU RT @moonshinemayhem #CTCGrow amy rene (@moonshinemayhem) - The oak forest has just doubled in size! #growingfun @CTCaravanserai http://instagram.com/p/Yz37NjjE4k/ Ogaga Oje Izirein (@OIzirein) Jason on the angle grinder cutting out slabs for the entrance @CTCaravanserai pic.twitter. com/XiQ0EgcpEh Krupali (@Krupali_17) - Nearly done! @CTCaravanserai @AbiConnor777 @lumbreraslimon @JPalmerARCH @Rebecca_PN

@VeronicaRocc @haleemalik pic. twitter.com/Tu65HaCgLY Caravanserai (@CTCaravanserai ) - Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re plumbed in! Light voids in the toilets particularly enjoying the sunshine @CTCaravanserai pic.twitter.com/1VbptXSxVK RT @MiteshChauhan91

DAY 30 - 03/05/13 We could not do any paving today because the saw for cutting the slabs was not working. We decided to work on designing the rest of the entrance instead. Jason had and idea about having the entrance covered in a canopy style with materials; so we tested it out with the materials we had on site. It was Antoines birthday so we celebrated at lunch. Antoine also asked us to design the boxed beams so we tried sketching for that. Whilst Veronica, Haleema and Maria were sketching for furniture designs. We were all sketching today.

DAY 31 - 07/05/13 After a lovely Bank Holiday weekend, today was another warm day. When I got to site me and Derek decided to help Mitesh and Rebecca to get Pallets from the pallet yard Simbian Ltd, which was 10 minutes under the flyover from Caravanserai. We needed more Pallets for furniture; planters; Flitched and just generally needed good quality timber. Simbian Ltd, kindly lent us their pallet truck to transfer the pallets from their yard to the site. We all loaded the truck with pallets and whilst Mitesh and Derek pulled the truck, me and Rebecca held the pallets in place to make the transfer safe as it was

quite a heavy load. The journey from the yard to the Caravanserai site with a load of pallets was quite tough as the roads we travelled on were going up and down hill. We did not have enough space for all for of us to travel on the footpath with the pallets so had to stop some traffic whilst we manouvered the pallets from the middle of the road. The warm day and heavy load did not feel like a great combination, and to add to it, we got a few funny looks from bypassers too. Once we got to the site unloading the pallets was another task.We had to organise them in piles as some of them were broken and would be easy to work with

Top image: Entrance paving nearly complete. Central image: First of the oak forest planted. Bottom image: Jason cutting paving slabs for entrance.

ENTRANCE SKETCHES

for the group working on the Planters. After two rounds of loading and unloading pallets we managed to have a good number of them on site. The physical work in the heat made lunch come early today and we took a break once the pallet truck was delivered back to Simbian Ltd. After lunch Me and Rebecca helped organise the materials in Flitched with Antoine. He proposed the idea of making a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Magic Boxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; which would hold all the pieces of plywood together. The box would incorporate a door we had on site as the lid for the box, giving it a mysterious yet fun look. The box should have a window so everyone could see the contents of the box so

they would not have to rummage through and dig deep to find specific elements. Rebecca and I started to measure the door and then tried finding timber for the correct height of the box. We used other storage boxes in Flitched to get an idea of how high we wanted the box, because we had a lack of measuring tapes on site. We had to keep asking to borrow tapes off people and so we had a model on site for us to work by instead. We had to rummage through a lot of timber to find the right lengths for the box. There are numerous days on site where you have ideas, but trying to source the materials is the challenge. So you have to do the best you can with

with the materials provided, and today was one of them days. Once we had some timber I denailed it whilst Rebecca started working out how we could lock the lid of the box. Mitesh had made the locks for the toilets and we were thinking of having a similiar lock system for the box. She made some sketches and before we knew it, it was the end of the day. It was a day full of lots of material sourcing and organising. Tweets of the Day Abi (@AbiConnor777) - On route to meet @AlePenna86 at Morgan Sindal to get the project build stage sorted for #flitched !! #progress @CTCaravanserai Mitesh Chauhan (@MiteshChauhan91) - 1st ply beam in construction for #flitched , @ CTCaravanserai #CTCMake pic. twitter.com/mPr6wpWgWJ

Detailed material preparations! Every piece has great intensions when up cycling! @CTCaravanserai #flitched pic.twitter.com/ vdM0VKOA5s

DAY 32 - 08/05/13 Today I was working on the Magic Box. I sketched ideas on how it should be built and how many elemts we will need. I clarified my ideas with Jason and he decided to help me build it as Rebecca was away. We decided to make the frame for the box first with the timber pieces we had. We tried looking for better pieces of timber as well because the ones we had were different widths. After being happy with all the elements we started building the frame. We were building the frame with nails but the nails we were working with were too

Top image: Organising timber pieces. Central image: Constructing the plywood boxed beam. Bottom image: Pallets stacked up to bring onto site for more design and build.

TRUSS SKETCHES

too small. When we fixed one side and hammered the other, the side we already fixed would come undone. After realising the nails did not work, we went to Wickes to buy new nails. Meanwhile the Truss team had build their first truss and it needed to be tested against human weight. Roberto, Antoine and the Truss team built a testing rig for it so they could read how much the truss would deflect after adding human weight. Once we got back from Wickes we wer asked to help test the truss, and it was quite a fun task as every member on site took part in the test. There were twelve of us who were going to test the truss, and we all had to match up with who we thought

were similar to us in weight and height. I was matched up with Mitesh in weight and Miriam and Juliana in height. We all had to spread our weight equally by sitting close together on the truss, The person you were paired with would sit on the opposite side of the truss to balance out the weight. We tested the truss in two ways, both sitting and standing. The standing method was a little bit more tricky as we all had to balance our feet on a thin ledge of timber, and try to stay as close as possible to each other as we could. Our total human weight of twelve people put together was rougly 850kg, and we measured the truss to have deflected

by 12mm. According to Roberto, we were not heavy enough. After the fun task me and Jason got back to our box. We tested out our nails and unfortunately they did not work either. The connections were not secure enough so we had to use screws instead. The nails and screws together worked better. We realised we bought too many nails and because they were quite big they would not be too useful for everyone else on site, so we decided to return a packet. Phil also wanted us to pick up a few things for the wind turbine from Wickes so we made another journey there and back. By the end of the day

we had the frame ready and the screws worked better than the nails. We had to build the side frames and add the plywood sheets tommorrow to finish the box off. Tweets of the Day Krupali (@Krupali_17) - Testing out first truss @CTCaravanserai #flitched @carrier_antoine @ robmir86 @IvayloVP @kieranjm91 @AlePenna86 pic.twitter. com/5ruhTBhARA Veronica Roccaforte (@VeronicaRocc) - Maximus deflection 12mm with 850kg weight! Our 99% recycled truss is tested! @ CTCaravanserai pic.twitter.com/ AkkIwTENAC OffgridWind (@PE_Morris) - @ CTCaravanserai @ashsakula Wind turbine is getting closer... 2 blades on, 6 to go! pic.twitter. com/oHom725BZX Ogaga Oje Izirein (@OIzirein) - Initial stages of @PE_Morris wind turbine from used bicycles and gutter @CTCaravanserai #upcycling pic.twitter.com/ ns5cDCcX43

DAY 33 - 09/05/13 Today we got a lot

Top and central images: Testing the truss with human weight following Robertoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s instructions, by standing on the truss. Bottom image: Two blades on the Wind Turbine.

THE CARAVANSERAI WIND TURBINE

the joy of a phased project, and how to make facade welcoming. The aim of this workshop was to come up with drawings that could be included in a pecha kucha for the London Festival of Architecture. The agenda for the meeting was:

a seating area; a step up to the platform; a notice board and plants hanging from the container. Samantha from Verbal Context had come to interview the Caravanserai team and so she was talking to a few of us about the internship.

- how do we host a school group of 30 to explain the importance of upcycling - how do we host an adult training session for say 10 on tools to make a piece of furniture for their balcony - how do we promote the opportunity; it looks like a fun place from the outside

Due to heavy rain we got together under the Flying Carpet Theatre and discussed with Tina what needs to be done on Flitched. We discussed how we could promote the importance of upcylcing to people and how we would be able to host workshops in Flitched. We also discussed with Cany how long we were all willing to stay on the internship, because she said it would be nice to have people work-

I got to the site late. and a few of the interns were sketching and surveying the entrance. Cany proposed how she wanted there to be

ing on the site who already knew it well and were in touch with the project. Maybe we could come on weekends to help run events? After being disturbed by the weather and moving from the FCT to one of the kiosks, we decided to seek shelter inside the cafe in Pelene Ltd. Once settled into the warmth of the Cafe with a nice hot drink courtesy of Cany, we all discussed ideas for the Flitched Facade. We thought about how we could make it look fun and welcoming, and from this thread we lead onto thinking about how children could use the facade to play games. The sand pit and children’s play area is

very close to the Flitched site so we thought about how it could be accessible to both children and adults. We discussed the idea of having naughts and crosses as a game at different heights for adults and children. We also thought about having natural coloured water tubes on the facade of flitched i.e betroot would give the water a lovely magenta colour. We also raised a discussion about signage for Flitched and whether it should be called ‘The Flitched Yard’, ‘#Flitched’ or ‘The Flitched Building’. We chose the latter. It was a very productive afternoon with lots of designing and an intresting dicussion. It was great hearing everybody’s ideas. .

Top image: Tina, Kieran and Rebecca discussing Flitched facade. Second image: Cany and girls discussing entrance ideas. Third and bottom images: FCT and Cany on site.

done on the Magic Box. We managed to build the entire frame structure and managed to find the plywood sheets to clad the box too. Finding the plywood was quite a task as we had to go through a big pile and try and to find something appropriate so it would look aesthetically pleasing too. The sheets also had to be denailed. Me and Rebecca marked out all the pieces and Jason cut them out. When making the box we forgot to make a window to look into the box; Antoine had to remind us that that was one of the main features of the box. So we had to denail and screw some parts and redo them. We worked well as a team. We are nearly finished with the box and have to make

the locks tommorrow. It was a productive day on site today. Tweets of the Day Antoine Carrier (@carrier_antoine) - #CTCMake ground survey for #Fltiched foundations @ haleemalik @CTCaravanserai pic.twitter.com/Pa0CdMhf8x Alessandro Penna (@AlePenna86) - On the way to Morgan Sindall! @AbiConnor777 @CTCaravanserai #Flitched Abi (@AbiConnor777) - Morgan sindal w/@AlePenna86 talkin through schedules&finding recycling plants who will help fill our wish list for#FLITCHED @ CTCaravanserai Caravanserai (@CTCaravanserai ) - Would anyone like to take advantage of the great space @CTCaravanserai for @LFArchitecture ? #Architects Open to ideas... @Deanwilliamgrey

DAY 34 - 10/05/13 Today the Magic Box was complete. We re made the parts we did not finish yesterday, made the locks and finished the box. Once it was made we had to choose the right location for it to

be placed; and after a lot of reorganising piles of timber and pallets, we made space for the box. We had to clear away a lot of plywood that we had used for making the box and organised the materials to be stored inside it too. The rest of the day was spent organising materials again and clearing the site as there was a lot of timber under The Flying Carpet Theatre. Tommorrow we are having a meeting with Cany on the entrance, Flitched and discuss tasks for Caravanserai. Tweets of the Day Abi (@AbiConnor777) - Morgan Sindall guys just sourced us some extra steel left over from a site for our #Flitched-columns! #welikethis! @CTCaravanserai Caravanserai (@CTCaravanserai ) - First sketch (by @PE_Morris) using bicycle parts for the creation of green energy. pic.twitter. com/Mvnxr08JAQ RT @Julian-

aMejia31 #FF the team! @carrier_antoine @IvayloVP @kieranjm91 @ AlePenna86 @Krupali_17 @ abiconnor777 @Ibrahim_Buhari @PE_Morris @Olzirein @robmir86 Cullen Irish Dance (@CullenAcademy) - @CTCaravanserai #Irish #Dance Class Starting 28/5, 6pm @ St Lukeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Com Centre #CanningTown http:// cullenacademy.co.uk for more info Retweeted by Caravanserai Roberto Mirabella (@robmir86) - @CTCaravanserai anyone else keen to join team? Tweet if interested! We have a tight schedule for trusses and ply beams!

DAY 35 - 11/05/13 Today we had a review of tasks on Caravanserai and had a workshop run by Cany & Tina on the entrance and Flitched. We discussed the design parameters to the Flitched Yard in terms of garden connections, storage imperatives,

Top and second images: Magic box in Flitched site. Third image: Philâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first sketch of wind turbine from bicycle parts. Bottom image: Ground survey for Flitched columns.

FLITCHED FACADE SKETCHES

Tweets of the Day Tina Patel (@archiTina) - @ cany_ash @CTCaravanserai @ kieranjm91 we have a fun sensory interactive facade that will work with the elements and be playful at same time! Samantha Watson ‫@‏‬peeksawa - @cany_ash @CTCaravanserai Thanks! Looking forward to seeing the good work you all are doing! Retweeted by Caravanserai

DAY 36 - 13/05/13 Me, Rebecca and Jason worked with Antoine and Roberto on trying to design the boxed beams today. We sketched and discussed how we would make the plates for the beam. We were trying to negotiate the design of the beams with Roberto because me and Antoine believed that the beams could look better if they were designed using smaller plywood plates, and maybe had a random pattern in them. But

Roberto explained that the beam would not be strong enough this way and it was better to make a full boxed beam or have plates with 150mm max gap in between. It did not make sense to cut out plates for only a 150mm gap, so in the end we had to compromise with keeping the beam boxed with only one cut from the plywood. We then decided to sort out the timber that could be used for the beams. After moving some timber, Roberto discovered that we had some good quality timber which would work structurally well for the beams. The timber pieces were marked with grades on them: S16 was average and S24 meant it was structurally better. We went through a few

piles of timber playing the guessing game of if it was S16 or S24. Me, Jason and Roberto organised the timber whilst Rebecca recorded it. This organisation lasted up until lunch time. After lunch Antoine and Roberto had to leave so we all went back to working on the entrance. We levelled the ground more by digging and then I left site earlier today. Tweets of the Day Krupali (@Krupali_17) - Our magic box in use - storing plywood @CTCaravanserai @ JPalmerARCH @Rebecca_PN @carrier_antoine #flitched #CTCmake pic.twitter.com/ nt1msQYe84 OffgridWind (@PE_Morris) Some of the mathematics for the perm mag motor for the wind turbine #offgrid #green @ OIzirein @CTCaravanserai pic. twitter.com/IbbdiOZK45 Ivaylo Petrov (@IvayloVP) Christmas came early this year @CTCaravanserai .We got new

tools. Caravanserai (@CTCaravanserai ) - RT @Julian_Sayarer: CanningTown @CTCaravanserai making a new building for £0. Waste materials+donated time&services @3Spaceorg @ kathhibbert Great meeting to discuss future @CTCaravanserai events! Growing, cooking, building! @moonshinemayhem @AtelierDID @ cany_ash @Deanwilliamgrey

DAY 37 - 14/05/13 I went back to working on the entrance area today. I started the morning by moving paving slabs in their position to finish laying them out. There were a few slabs which had to be remarked and cut. Jason helped me with moving the slabs into place and cutting them. We had an angle grinder now which could cut slabs, but had to be hammered to allow the cut to go straight through.

Top image: Central image: Bottom image: Mathematics for the perm mag motor for the wind turbine.

ENGINEER’S SKETCHES

Jason managed to cut a few slabs through this angle grinding and hammering process. We then managed to lay the slabs down after some more levelling. Veronica was also working on the entrance today, as her and Maria were building the seating area so we had to try and make sure that we did not come in each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s way. The weather put a stop to most work on site. The heavy rain meant we could not do much outdoors and all work had to be done under shelter. After lunch we had to wait around a bit more before work could start. We cleared up the mess we had made from cutting the slabs. The rain meant we could not finish tasks we were working on and

so a few people left to go home. I decided to help Derek with the Oasis Cafe and so I helped him clean the van and decorate it with florescent sticky back plastic. Derek had covered the splashback with the plastic, so we only had the fridge left to cover. We wanted to hide the schwepps and coca-cola sign. I marked and cut the plastic and then applied it onto the fridge. We had to be careful to ensure that there were minimum air bubbles. Unfortunately we found it difficult to avoid them but we did manage to get better each time. After covering the fridge we all decided to go home as the rain was getting very heavy. Tweets of the Day Derek Irwin (@AtelierDID) - @ CTCaravanserai New #CTCOa-

sis is born today. Watch this space for exciting eat/rest/play Pop-up in Canning Town. Coming soon!!! Abi (@AbiConnor777) - @ AlePenna86 and I have been calling companies this morning who might wanna donate us some materials for @CTCaravanserai #FLITCHED ! Krupali (@Krupali_17) - Paving+a bit of seating. entrance looking good @CTCaravanserai @JPalmerARCH @lumbreraslimon @VeronicaRocc @ Rebecca_PN pic.twitter.com/ NXRT9KqWIF Verbal Context (@verbalcontext) - RT @peeksawa: Hey @ MiteshChauhan91 was great meeting @CTCaravanserai The podcasts and pics will be on @ verbalcontext tomorrow! Retweeted by Caravanserai

DAY 38 - 15/05/13 Today me and Rebecca went back to working on the entrance area. The paving slabs we had marked out earlier had all been washed away by the rain so we had to remark them. We double checked the measurements we had

made for the slabs and found that some were measured wrong. So we remeasured and redrew. We had a new intern on site today, Leonidas. So me and Rebecca showed him around and told him what sort of tasks we were involved in. Antoine then gave him an insight into Flitched and he was helping out the Truss team. Once me and Rebecca had marked out the slabs, Derek kindly offered to cut them up for us. Whilst he cut, we got together some earth to use on levelling the ground at the entrance. Rebecca has injured her knee yesterday when she was helping out with the planters; so we had

Top image: Paving with a bit of seating. Central and bottom images: Details of butterfly roof over toilet and bar area with drainage system.

to be extra careful when manouvering the paving slabs. We managed to get more paving done by the end of the day today. Tweets of the Day Krupali (@Krupali_17) - Hammering away for truss number 3. Great work @IvayloVP @kieranjm91 #flitched @CTCaravanserai pic.twitter.com/85J0z09if4 Ivaylo Petrov (@IvayloVP) - Another truss done!!! #flitched @ CTCaravanserai @kieranjm91 pic. twitter.com/sn3itsiJS3 Mitesh Chauhan (@MiteshChauhan91) - The startings of Raised Allotments! @CTCaravanserai @ moonshinemayhem #CTCgrow #CTCmake Caravanserai (@CTCaravanserai ) - #Engineer @robmir86 Mirabella shares details of the community initiative #Flitched @ CTCaravanserai @Verbalcontext http://www.verbalcontext.co.uk/ site/?p=464 Alessandro Penna (@AlePenna86) - @AbiConnor777 we’ll have scaffold and carpenter on site to cut the steel columns! #Flitched @CTCaravanserai

DAY 39 - 16/05/13 I was sick today, but here is what hap-

pened meanwhile on day 39: by Abi Connor... With the Flitched project welcoming some progress through myself and Alessandro working with Morgan Sindall, the site now needed to reflect the layout plans produced in order to welcome the setting out engineers. One of the many challenges with the Flitched project was space, as unlike many other building sites the materials were stored adjacent to where we would be building the structure. Me and Alessandro (with the aid of some sketches from Antoine) had produced a site layout plan assigning materials to certain spots on the Flitched site; so today was spent painstakingly moving 60kg

paving slabs and tidying the floor area to comply to this. It was nice to sit back on the pre-fabricating table and see the site clear ready for the vertical to emerge. Tweets of the Day Kieran Murray (@kieranjm91) Site clearance!! Looking much better#flitched @CTCaravanserai @AbiConnor777 @AlePenna86 @oizirein Caravanserai (@CTCaravanserai ) - Have an event in mind? #Growing? #Building? Anything? Get in touch and make use of the great space @CTCaravanserai #CanningTown Listen to @cany_ash talking about the name of the project & hopes for the @CTCaravanserai’s future @verbalcontext http:// verbalcontext.co.uk/site/?p=464 Tina Patel (@archiTina ) - “@ southbankcentre: This weekend free gardening workshops on our rooftop garden, info here: http:// ow.ly/l6jcc “ good4 @CTCaravanserai?

DAY 40 - 17/05/13 Today was a day of great achievement as

we finished the paving at the entrance!! We managed to level out all the ground; had to redo some paving so there were no trip hazards and managed to have it flush with the floor at both doors. It was great to step back and look at what we achieved and it looked great! Me, Jason, Rebecca, Veronica, Maria and Abi had worked very hard on the paving and we were very proud of the result. After finishing the paving we had to do a big clear up on site becuase there was a photoshoot taking place on Sunday. There was a lot to clear under The Flying Carpet Theatre. The pallets, paving slabs, and lots of timber had to all be cleared and

Top image: Kieran, Ivo and Leo hammering away . Central image: Truss completed. Bottom image: More paving with seating completed by Maria and Veronica.

THE ENTRANCE

LAYOUT PLANS FOR FLITCHED

it took a few hours to do this. I left site early after cleaning as I was not feeling well again; but it was another productive day. Tweets of the Day Caravanserai (@CTCaravanserai ) - Morning #FF @CTCaravanserai @archiTina @robmir86 @ AlePenna86 @AbiConnor777 @Krupali_17 @Olzirein @AtelierDID @bexxyd @PE_morris @ haleemalik Krupali (@Krupali_17) - And its a wrap! Paving complete! @CTCaravanserai @JPalmerARCH @Rebecca_PN @VeronicaRocc @lumbreraslimon @AbiConnor777 pic.twitter.com/OlsuCvqZat

DAY 41 - 20/05/13 Me, Abi and Ellie were asked by Roberto to work on the guttering. We spend the morning looking for timber for the brackets. According to Tinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drawings and instructions the sizes of bracket members could go down to 50mm instead of being 75mm; how-

ever we were finding it difficult to find timber of this size. Roberto gave us an idea of which piles we could go through to find the timber, however we were not able to find the right sizes in them so we had to get timber from one of the piles under the tarpaulin which was supposedly for Flitched. Me and Ellie marked out the timber whilst Abi cut them using a hand saw. The jig-saw was in use for trusses and planters. Me and Ellie also organised the plywood that would be used for the gutters and labelled it and put it to a side. We all continued to mark and cut the timber until lunch time, when we had to stop working on the gutters. We recieved a huge delivery of timber which was dumped in front

of The Flying Carpet Theatre, and this needed to be organised. Phil and Ogaga were sorting the good and bad bits of timber from the pile, whilst Ellie was asked to reference and measure the timber with Abi. Roberto asked me to work on the trusses with Kieran as we needed a lot of them to be built and we had enough hands to make a Truss Team. Whilst Alessandro and Leo worked on cutting elements for the trusses and nailing them; me and Kieran worked on making the truss plates. We had to organise the plywood we would be using for the plates and started to draw out what had to be cut. It was fun working with Kieran for a change and we made a good team together.

Tweets of the Day OffgridWind (@PE_Morris) - Refurbished wind turbine wheel, getting close to generating some green electricity @OIzirein #upcycling @Teamupcyclers @ CTCaravanserai Chain is attached and we are producing some voltage, needs gearing up still. @OIzirein @ cany_ash @CTCaravanserai http://yfrog.us/mqjq9lxlhesgomsiufbibkiiz â&#x20AC;Ś Elissaveta (@elissavetam) Anyone master the art of telekinesis to move that beautiful timber for us? Pretty please? #ctcmake @CTCaravanserai pic. twitter.com/5DNr3AQlO5

DAY 42 - 21/05/13 Today was another day working on the truss plates. Kieran cut them out from the plywood sheets whilst I measured and drew them out. It was nice to see trusses being able to progress once we had the plates made. We had a good team for the trusses; once the plates were meas-

Top image: Paving for entrance area complete. Central image: Timber delivery. Bottom image: Truss plates cut out and and ready for more Flitched work.

ured for one truss, Alessandro and Leo would have the calculations for the other trusses ready for us. We would trade truss plates for truss drawings and we had a good momentum going. Tweets of the Day amy rene (@moonshinemayhem) - @CTCaravanserai. The oak forest continues to grow! pic.twitter. com/qclRGwyuQ0 Mitesh Chauhan (@MiteshChauhan91) - The Magnets enjoying a photo shoot @CTCaravanserai pic.twitter.com/KwCDMXLkHv Using Pallets as legs to raise our allotment beds, space for shelving between the legs?! @CTCaravanserai #CTCgrow Caravanserai (@CTCaravanserai ) - Listen to @cany_ash talking about the name of the project & hopes for the @CTCaravanserai’s future @verbalcontext http://verbalcontext.co.uk/site/?p=464

DAY 43 - 22/05/13 There was an event on site today for the preopening of the Oasis Cafe, so we had to make sure we finished

what we were doing and then help tidy up. Me and Kieran continued drawing up and cutting out truss plates, Phil helped us out cut the plates too and gather more 18mm plywood. We managed to finish the plates as Alessandro and Leo did not have a chance to make the caluclations for the other truss plates; they were busy building the trusses. We cleared up the site, again there was a lot of timber around The Flying Carpet Theatre and it had to be sweeped aswell. Amy, Valerie and Derek were preparing the food for the event whilst the rest of us cleaned up. After cleaning I left site to get ready for the event. People Bevan

from Nye Commons

(NBC) were coming to visit the site, and it was a great way to promote Caravanserai. I helped Derek a little preparing food in the van and doing some dishes. Soon the site was bustling with people and there was great vibe on site. It was quite a cool evening so we had the bonfire going and people were mingling around it. The event seemed to be a success. Tweets of the Day Krupali (@Krupali_17) - Plywood plates ready for trusses! @kieranjm91 @CTCaravanserai #flitched #ksquaredteam pic. twitter.com/X49di0VW4a OffgridWind (@PE_Morris) - Site is looking great, food prep has begun! @CTCaravanserai @gmguimera @moonshinemayhem #brushesupwell #hankmarvin pic.twitter.com/SsYvHDJhJk Ivaylo Petrov (@IvayloVP) - Perfect end of the day @CTCaravanserai . Great to see the place come to life. pic.twitter.com/ sOZXsmQp4w

Antoine Carrier (@carrier_antoine) - more timber from DSJV #Crossrail. Thanks @lianemendsacity Jack Day and Carmel Madden! @CTCaravanserai #Flitched ‘Banana’ timber. Trim where bend, and use it for #Flitched Thanks @lawsonstimber, transport by DSJV @Crossrail pic. twitter.com/eR50QS66MA

DAY 44 - 23/05/13 This week was Clerkenwell Design Week; so a few of us had decided that we would go today to view exhibits and go to lectures after lunch from site. Me and Kieran carried on working on the truss plates today. We finished drawing and cutting out plates from the calculations Alessandro and Leo had made; and there were enough plates ready for them to build a good number of trusses. It was forecasted for there to be heavy rain

Top image: Valerie and Amy preparing veg food for NBC event. Central image: More plywood truss plates. Bottom image: Banana timber donated by Crossrail for Flitched..

FLITCHED GUTTERING SKETCHES

today, so after having lunch, me, Kieran and Veronica left for Farringdon before we got caught in the rain. We went around to a few exhibits including work by Mobile Studio, BDP architects and a few other names before we went a lecture in Farmiloe Building. called ‘What’s the Future of Social Housing?’, The lecture was given by Sam Jacob (FAT), Paul Karakusevic and Andrea Klettner. It was great to enrich ourselves with design again with interesting discussions and exhibits at Clerkenwell. We even gained inspiration for furniture design and gardening for Caravanserai, Tweets of the Day Antoine Carrier (@carrier_antoine) - Setting out.Reference is brick wall. Thanks James Cram-

er-Roberts @morgansindall @ CTCaravanserai #Flitched #CTCMake pic.twitter.com/JoCdKm16Ra Derek Irwin (@AtelierDID) - @Ctcaravanserai Thanks to everyone who came last night for NBC visit and opening party of #CTCoasis Cafe. Thanks to all who pitched in x Alessandro Penna (@AlePenna86) - setting out started #Flitched @CTCaravanserai pic. twitter.com/5YBS1CV7pP five trusses in a day!not bad! @ CTCaravanserai #Flitched pic. twitter.com/foT8DKY9r4

DAY 45 - 24/05/13 Today was forecast for heavy rain with strong winds; and having previously experienced gale force winds on the Flitched site with sheets flying around, I decided it would be an unproductive day on site and did not go in. But here is what happened meanwhile on day 45: by Abi Connor... Today wasn’t a greatly productive day on site because of the strong winds and rain,

In the morning we tried to get on with all the prefabricated bits and peices for flitched, while some tidied up ( a continous duty on site.) The terrible weather quickly haulted activity, and today proved we had to have discussion about created some sheltered areas to work on site, Tweets of the Day Mitesh Chauhan (@MiteshChauhan91) - Public opening @CTCaravanserai on Monday 27th May! Worth a Visit! Another great timber delivery on site today! 4m+ beams! @CTCaravanserai #flitched Great boarding meeting @CTCaravanserai, looking for. ward to working with the vastly experienced and extremely interesting Trustees! OffgridWind (@PE_Morris) - 1700 columns cut and notched, ready for the steels. 2000’s to cut next week, exciting progress for #Flitched @CTCaravanserai @ ashsakula Veronica Roccaforte (@VeronicaRocc) - Tarpaulin! We really need

more at @CTCaravanserai to protect our upcycled wood from the rain, someone who could help us? #Flitched

DAY 46 - 28/05/13 After another long Bank Holiday weekend it was back to Flitched today. Kieran was now incharge of testing the trusses and building a test rig for it, so I was left to make the truss plates on my own. I continued draw and cut out the plates and Abi and Rebecca also gave me a hand. Once the required truss plates were cut out I decided to help Veronica and Antoine in designing the guttering for Flitched. Over the weekend Roberto and Antoine had made further progress in discussing the design for the gutters; and so today we tried to produce an exam-

Top image: Five trusses complete in one day. Central image: Setting out for Flitched with Morgan Sindall. Bottom image: Hailstones and rain on Caravanserai..

ple of a gutter bracket. I was given the task of cutting out triangular plates for the gutter brackets, as I was now an expert in drawing on plywood and using the jig-saw. After lunch a dicussion was raised about designing the Flitched facade. Antoine had come up with a design for the facade when a few of us had already designed it with Tina. We had to explain the design we decided on to the interns who were not a part of the discussion on the Saturday workshop; and after a few disagreements we made a decision to sit as a group tommorrow and dicuss and possibly redesign the facade together. I got called back onto truss plates duty

and so I had to leave the gutter brackets for later. Due to heavy rain again we left site early. Tweets of the Day Ivaylo Petrov (@IvayloVP) Now we are ready to test the #flitched trusses, thanks to @ kieranjm91 pic.twitter.com/ 4lgHmFThAK Antoine Carrier (@carrier_antoine) - The gutter area along brick wall. Not the easiest perspective to draw! @CTCaravanserai #Flitched pic.twitter.com/ xTXuBl7JF0 Caravanserai (@CTCaravanserai) - #Flitched tweaks to details of rear gutter.. Design for max load of 12l/s!! Will also form overhang pic.twitter.com/ 6MxDp30RBM RT @robmir86 View of gutter from garden @ CTCaravanserai for #Flitched @ carrier_antoine @VeronicaRocc pic.twitter.com/pPEQHzXiLo RT @robmir86

DAY 47 - 29/05/13 I got back to working on the trusses and once the calculations for the other plates were left to be done, I would jump back to

working on the gutters. I continued cutting out the plates for the brackets and tried being very resourceful with the plywood; as we had a limited stock of good quality ply which did not need much denailing. Veronica and Antoine started to build a gutter bracket and by the end of the day it felt like Flitched was making good progress. Trusses were near to complete, they were also being tested, work was being done for the columns and the guttering was being fabricated; it was just a shame that the progress happened at a time where everyone was leaving. Tweets of the Day Abi (@AbiConnor777) - Pavers on!! Half hour down, another 2.5hours untill the next load!

@CTCaravanserai #flitched pic. twitter.com/PzhPQAgcEY amy rene (@moonshinemayhem) - Wheelbarrow full of feet... for the allotment beds naturally! @CTCaravanserai http://instagram.com/p/Z5MHXcDE7G/ Kieran Murray (@kieranjm91) Truss testing stage 1: prepare the rig. @CTCaravanserai #flitched #ctcmake Truss testing stage 2: load the rig with 128kg. @CTCaravanserai #flitched #ctcmake @AbiConnor777 @IvayloVP pic.twitter.com/flpqQqp8h5 Caravanserai (@CTCaravanserai) - #Architect @lumbreraslimon shares how @CTCaravanserai has helped her profession @Verbalcontext @ashsakula http://www.verbalcontext.co.uk/ site/?p=464

DAY 48 - 30/05/13 Today was another day of working on the tuss plates; but it was the last because by the end of the day we had all the trusses complete! Abi helped me draw and cut out the plates today as we were un-

Top image: Preparing for truss testing on rig. Central image: 512kg in total on truss in form of paving slabs . Bottom image: View of gutter from garden on Flitched site. pg 26

TRUSS TESTING

der pressure to complete it all on time, as Alessandro and Leo were building them quite fast now. The truss plates were also getting bigger in size so it was nice to get a hand from Abi to deal with the plywood sheets, until she got called on to do another Flitched task. Tina had asked Abi to count the number of plywood sheets we had that could be used for the roof. This meant taking in account the quality of the sheets aswell as the size, and they had to 18mm thick. Everybody on site was very engrossed into their tasks and it felt like a factory of workers producing designs for Caravanserai and Flitched. Trusses were completed; allotments were completed by

Amy and Mitesh; there was new life on Caravanserai in form of plants by Valerie. The site was looking great and ready for tommorrowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s volunteers from Bank of America. Tweets of the Day Abi (@AbiConnor777) - G3-ing w/@Krupali_17...more plates for the #fliched trusses @CTCaravanserai ! pic.twitter.com/JeYNocBR64 Alessandro Penna (@AlePenna86) - All the trusses are done @CTCaravanserai #Flitched Mitesh Chauhan (@MiteshChauhan91) - All raised allotments ready to be used!! @CTCaravanserai #CTCmake #CTCgrow amy rene (@moonshinemayhem) - Wheelbarrow full of feet... for the allotment beds naturally! @CTCaravanserai http://instagram.com/p/Z5MHXcDE7G/ Leonidas Nassis (@Leo_Nassis) - Tomorrow morning itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time for digging sessions at @ CTCaravanserai with @morgansindall @carrier_antoine @ AlePe and me pic.twitter.com/ ovMg0Qz0TA

DAY 49 - 31/05/13 Today was the last of-

ficial day on site where everyone would be working together before the interns went their seperate ways. I came onto site to find a crowd of keen volunteers from Bank of America. Amy was leading a planting workshop with them today . I walked onto the Flitched site to see it all dug up by Danny the digger and it looked great! A few of the guys had come early morning to help with the excavation for the foundations and today Flitched looked like an actual building site with the digger. It was easy to picture the building to go up soon. My truss duties were complete so I helped Abi tally the plywood sheets. It was quite a streneous task as

we had to lift each sheet, check it for faults, measure it, mark it, and then place it in another pile. This task took up our entire day, as we finished earlier today to have a BBQ style lunch on site. I helped serve lunch to very hungry and hard working volunteers from Bank of America. The menu served sausages and burgers with salad and drinks. It was a great atmosphere on Caravanserai mingling with the visitors. There was a slight change in tasks after lunch as the volunteers got back to work by helping out on Flitched, whilst the rest of us interns cleaned up after the meal. It was strange yet nice to see the volunteers do

Top image: All raised allotments ready for use. Central image: G3 truss plates by Abi and Krupali. Bottom image: Marking plywood for Flitched Roof.

ROOF DETAIL SKETCHES

jobs that us interns would usually do; and it was from that moment onwards that we knew that our wave of internship was ending. Very soon there would be new volunteers coming onto Caravanserai and Flitched to finish off what we had left. A few people were ending the internship today as they had to go back home or working somewhere else in the design industry. Ten weeks had flown by and today was sadly the last time we got to enjoy each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s company on Caravanserai. I have met such amazing people through this internship and got to learn a great deal about the industry. I look forward to seeing a completed Flitched building and a bustling Caravanserai.

Tweets of the Day Abi (@AbiConnor777) - We love DannyTheDigger @CTCaravanserai pic.twitter.com/ 3V49eKEWCg Roberto Mirabella (@robmir86 ) - @AbiConnor777 @CTCaravanserai Great progress from this morning! 0755 - 0935: 1st trench along GL A Is that at least 3 square pads by 10? amy rene (@moonshinemayhem) - Bank of America volunteers working hard for @ CTCaravanserai! #ctcgrow h t t p : / / i n s ta g ra m . c o m / p / Z SqPGjE2e/ Working hard @CTCaravanserai! Thanks Bank of America volunteers! #ctcflitched http://instagram.com/p/Z-j3imjE5Q/ Alessandro Penna (@AlePenna86) - We have finished the foundation digging!@CTCaravanserai

Top image: Danny the digger excavating for Flitched. Central image: Bank of America volunteers filling allotments. Bottom image: Allotments after planting by volunteers.

FUTURE FLITCHED