Daily Ideator
TODAY
Institute without Boundaries
A new kind of Education The Institute without Boundaries (IwB) was founded in 2003 by the School of Design at George Brown College, Toronto. It is a graduate program that emphasizes collaborative design in a studio environment. Each year, a small group of students are selected to work together on real problems with real clients. With diverse backgrounds in design, the arts, sciences and business, they collaborate to research, design and realize social and environmental projects. The Institute was launched as part of the Massive Change initiative. Developed with the Bruce Mau Design Studio, Massive Change explored design’s potential to affect positive change globally. A communications project, Massive Change became a highly successful exhibition and book. The Institute is now working on the multi-year World House Project.
The World House Project
The Institute is both an educational and research institution and functioning design studio working on social projects. At its core are the faculty and students, working and learning together. In this way, the Institute seeks to eliminate the boundaries between designers and other professionals and champion design that is collaborative and holistic. All projects take account of ecology, social equity, cultural values and economic feasibility. “Design is too critical an endeavour to be left to designers alone,” said Luigi Ferrara, Director, Institute without Boundaries, Centre for Arts & Design, George Brown College. “Our approach at the Institute is to catalyze students and faculty and apply whole systems design to major problems our world is facing. Our work doesn’t result in objects but typically in systems that enable others to design for themselves.” Each year there is a primary project (Massive Change, World House) that the students and faculty collaborate on. This is supplemented by additional activities such as workshops, exhibitions and publications. Every project has a client to whom the Institute is accountable.
Learn by doing
Students learn by doing and by researching and developing original ideas and solving complex, real-world problems in a high-stakes community context. The Institute provides an opportunity to work with thinkers, industry experts, international organizations and communities around the world. Students are encouraged to share their expertise amongst themselves and take advantage of the unique inter-professional environment at the Institute.
No boundaries
If Massive Change was about exploring the potential for design, World House is about testing this potential. The project proposes new ways of living and then explores their impact in a real world context.
Markos Teshome Photography
The World House Project is structured in phases. In the first year it developed systems that enable a richer understanding of the home. Complex structural, social, historical and economic factors were distilled into a systems approach. This provided tools to create holistic and integrated designs that take account of different ways of living. The current phase of World House is applying these ideas to a real life case study. In 2007, the Government of Costa Rica asked the Institute to create models for the development of sustainable communities in the rapidly developing province of Guanacaste. Focusing on the small town of Matapalo, the students’ work provides a blueprint for similar communities in Costa Rica and around the world. The next phase of the World House Project investigates the role of intentional communities in society. Such communities are formed to bring about a common vision, yet are often considered a retreat from the
world’s problems. By contrast, the World House Project will focus on the potential for intentional communities to engage and transform the world around them.
Curriculum
As the Institute’s projects change, so does the curriculum. Each year the program is redesigned to meet the needs of the new project and reflect the knowledge gained from the previous year. No two years are the same. Yet, at the heart of the program, is an emphasis on systems design and a set of high-level skills that can be applied in any context. “The Institute is an experiment,” said Silvio Ciarlandini, Associate Director of Design, Construction and Logistics. “We improve it each year but want to keep its essentially experimental nature. Joining the Institute means leaving your comfort zone. The faculty and students have to be flexible.”
Daily Ideator Institute without Boundaries
TODAY
World House
Costa Rica In 2007, the Government of Costa Rica asked the Institute without Boundaries to create models for sustainable communities in the rapidly developing province of Guanacaste. Focusing on the small town of Matapalo, the students’ work provides a blueprint for similar communities in Costa Rica and around the world. World House Costa Rica was initiated by Giorgiana Penon, a former student of the Institute without Boundaries who now works at the Costa Rican Ministry of Culture. It is the second phase of the Institute’s multiyear World House Project that generates systems to create new ways of living. Guanacaste is a region of Costa Rica that is increasingly impacted by tourism. Traditional ways of life are being disrupted and communities are already seeing negative social consequences in the form of substance abuse and prostitution. In addition the resource demands of the new resorts result in water shortages and blackouts in many towns. Tourism is not the only cause
of environmental degradation in the region, however. In earlier years, cattle farming reduced lush rainforests to grazing land, resulting in land erosion and water contamination. World House Costa Rica has three deliverables: a community renewal plan, a town square design and a social housing concept. The students work in multidisciplinary teams, sharing knowledge and practices, and seek to provide innovative and practical answers that are appropriate to the region. It is however hoped that the ideas developed will be applicable outside of Costa Rica. “There are many communities like Matapalo around the world. While these communities are culturally very different, they are facing similar issues,” said Luigi Ferrara, Program Director at the Institute. “These are problems like loss of identity, resource scarcity and environmental degradation. We therefore hope World House Costa Rica will generate ideas that can be applied to other parts of the world.”
Institute on Tour The Institute’s students and faculty travelled to Costa Rica in December 2007. The purpose of the trip was to research the community of Matapalo, which is the case study for the World House Costa Rica Project. The research started in San Jose, the capital, and then continued in Guanacaste, which is in the north east of Costa Rica.
San Jose
Veritas University is a partner in the World House Costa Rica Project. Both Veritas and the Institute without Boundaries had been working independently to research and design concepts to enable community renewal in Matapalo. A workshop
was held in San Jose to let the two teams share their ideas and inspire one another. Running over two days, the workshop benefited both schools. The Institute learned from Veritas’ local insights into the community and their architectural perspective. Veritas gained knowledge of the Institute’s systems approach to design and were very interested in the school’s multidisciplinary approach. Students were mixed into groups and asked to develop new concepts the combined the best ideas from both schools. After a long day, these concepts were presented in the auditorium of Veritas attracting a large crowd of students from other departments of the university.
Daily Ideator Institute without Boundaries
“The Veritas students had some very strong ideas that has since inspired our thinking,” said Connor Malloy, student at the Institute. “One Veritas student had developed concepts on how Matapalo can be more self-sustaining and her ideas have influenced our work when we returned to Canada.”
Matapalo
The Institute without Boundaries later held a workshop in Matapalo to gain a better understanding of the issues facing the region. The workshop included participants from the community of Matapalo, NGOs, the government of Costa Rica and Reserva Conchal, a major tourist resort located nearby. The day started with a presentation from
the Institute without Boundaries of their initial thoughts and concepts. They proposed three town square designs and different designs for social housing. The school also presented ideas for how the town of Matapalo could develop. These proposals included developing Matapalo into a service town for villages in region, focusing on family life and the provision of good amenities and harnessing the iconic power of the local cowboy culture to generate opportunities to benefit from tourism. “We were very nervous presenting our ideas to the community of Matapalo,” said Mark Watson. “We are working at such a distance and we’re concerned that our assumption about the situation there were incorrect. But our ideas were well received. Somehow we had managed to come up with proposals that were a good fit for the communities needs.” Stine Lauberg Hansen, student at the Institute without Boundaries said: “Presenting different options worked well. It gave the community something to discuss and through their choices we got a better idea of what they are looking for. So, in terms of a community masterplan, we learned that they didn’t want to be a service town but much preferred developing their cultural heritage.” The visit to Matapalo also gave the opportunity for ethnographic research. The students studied the daily life of Matapalo and the surrounding communities. Their findings were compiled into a research report that is available from the Institute’s website. The Institute is now developing their initial design concepts. An exhibition of the students’ work will be held in Costa Rica in 2009.
Pura Vida Fundraiser
TODAY
To help pay for the trip to Costa Rica the students held a fundraiser at the Institute without Boundaries studio in downtown Toronto. Themed Pura Vida, a Costa Rican phrase that means pure life, the students transformed the studio to reflect the different aspects of Costa Rican life. The party included a rainforest made from repurposed green yoga mats, a village constructed from cardboard boxes, a beach, and audio/visual presentations. The event also included a surreal auction in which guests were invited to bid on a coffee bean and a glass of pure water. The Pura Vida Experience also provided an opportunity to present new work from the studio.
Daily Ideator Institute without Boundaries
TODAY
SUPER Charrette
Students learn sustainable design and creativity In early February, the Institute without Boundaries hosted the World House Design Charrette for architecture technology students from George Brown College. Held over four days, the charrette generated social housing concepts for World House Costa Rica. 150 students were formed into 11 teams each lead by a student from the Institute without Boundaries and supported by an industry expert. Each team was asked to design a house that took account of the environmental, cultural and economic stresses in the Guanacaste region in northern Costa Rica. The students were encouraged to flex their creative brain muscles and produce a unique concept that was affordable, sustainable and aesthetically pleasing. “The Insitute’s students really pushed us to be creative and think about the houses in a holistic way,” said Gabriel Asselin, Architectural Technology student after the Charrette. “It was extremely hard – one of the hardest things we have ever done – but the results are fantastic. We’re really proud of our designs and are still working to improve them even through the event is over.”
The George Brown students used the Institute without Boundaries matrix system to focus their ideas. This system was developed in 2006 and is a now major part of the Institute’s systems approach to design. The matrix enables people to create designs that take account of complex issues of climate, terrain, economy and culture in a simple way. The students were encouraged to understand this tool and use it to take an unconventional approach to their house design. “The matrix system made me think more broadly about architecture, “ said Jeremy McAlister when asked what he gained from the experience. “I am now thinking more about lifestyles in other parts of the world and how architecture should take account of local materials.” The students were each given defined roles in the groups (product manager, chief designer) and had to work to a very strict budget. The entire construction cost could only be $8,000 including labour. “It was very interesting to try and design sustainably with a very low budget. We had to think very hard about our material choices and produce a design that could be
easily built,” said architecture technology student Sina Makvandi. “It was a really great experience to work on a project to such a tight deadline. We designed a great building but more importantly learned what was possible through cooperation.” For the World House Costa Rica project, the results of the charrette provide a resource of ideas and knowledge. “The quality of the ideas was very impressive,” says Luigi Ferrara, Director of the Institute Without Boundaries and George Brown College’s School of Design. “Each design contained a strong concept that will inform the World House Costa Rica project.” Architect and charrette advisor, Daniel Karpinsky, said: “The important thing is to work together to solve these real world problems. The charrette was a great way to engage youth about to enter the work force to believe in their ability to generate innovative solutions.” The results of this event will be published in a special issue of Building Magazine, and showcased as part of the World House Costa Rica exhibition at the National Gallery of Costa Rica in San José in 2009.
Images from the World House Design Charrette, February 2008. The charrette was attended by architecture technology students from George Brown College, students from the Institute without Boundaries and a team of professional advisors.
Daily Ideator Institute without Boundaries The Designs All the designs produced by the charrette contained insightful and appropriate ideas despite the short amount of time available. The advisors and charrette administrators were all extremely impressed with the conceptual understanding the students showed.
Description: With small lots and an area prone to flooding, the unit is constructed in a tree. This unit has a total floor space of 150 sq. ft, which contain a living/sleeping area and a washroom with a composting toilet.
Team 4 Concept: Take advantage of the high rainfall during the rainy season to overcome water shortages in the dry season. Team 1 Concept: Filter harvested rainwater for domestic consumption and use. Description: Rainwater is captured from the roof and processed with a bio-filter before entering a cistern. This cistern can hold a two-month supply of water for a family of four. With heavy rainfall filling the cistern for six months of the year, the system lowers the dependence on the municipal water supply.
Description: The team created an inwardly sloped concrete roof to collect and store water directly into the home. Additionally, this butterfly style roof allows for more natural light to enter the home and directs airflow though the unit.
Concept sketches produced by the 11 teams at the charrette. Team 9 Concept: Create a house that does not require 4 walls.
Team 7 Team 5 Concept: Encourage airflow through the structure to produce comfortable living environments. Team 2 Concept: With a conservative footprint of 400 sq. ft, maximize the use of space. Description: Inspired by the Anasazi Basketmaker homes of 500 AD, the design uses the space beneath the floor for innovative storage.
TODAY
Description: With the structure raised off the ground and vents placed around the perimeter of the building, breezes enter the building at floor level and exit through the roof thus removing hot air and cooling the structure.
Description: The team delivered an innovative concept that created shade in the outdoor living spaces of the home to make a cooler more livable environment.
Concept: A low cost design that can be expanded. Description: The team selected a ‘u’ shape that eliminated the need for a corridor. Concentrated water and waste services, creating a single wet wall. Possibility for expansion at rear of unit.
Team 10 Concept: Create positive social interaction between family members and neighbours. Description: The design creates a pattern for social interaction which is saleable, and can be applied to a single unit, a group of four houses or a whole community.
Team 6 Concept: A home with highly effective water management systems.
Team 3 Concept: Create an accessory unit to the main dwelling that could be used for additional income, or to house other family members.
Description: Grey water is collected and processed with a bio-filter for use in foodproducing gardens. The bio-garden contains plants that break down the phosphates in grey water harmful to other plants so that it can be collected for reuse.
Team 8 Concept: Use porous materials for interior walls that consume a minimal amount of space but still provide privacy for family members. Description: The team opted to construct the walls from woven bamboo mats. These walls are breathable, thin, and made from a local, renewable material.
Team 11 Concept: Use natural materials in exterior walls to act as breathing blocks to ventilate the space. Description: Then design uses straw bale construction for exterior walls with many windows and vents to draw air in and create cross ventilation in both directions.
Daily Ideator Institute without Boundaries
TODAY
Redesigning Design
ous identical houses that don’t necessarily understand the needs of the occupants or the relation of the house to a particular environment,” says Karl Johnson, another student at the Institute. “With The Housing Manual, we are hoping to create a generative system that can help design a nearly unlimited number of appropriate houses.” Says Institute without Boundaries director, Luigi Ferrara, “Generative Design is about empowering everyday people to create designs that suit their lives. It’s about designers finding new ways to solve problems. It’s about moving design into the next century. It’s the next big thing.”
Generative designs allow the efficient creation of numerous, functional designs from simple premises. Still a very new idea, the hope is that generative design will establish a new paradigm, one that focuses more intently on how designs are created than on the designs themselves. Right now, visionary designers around the world are working to understand and develop these concepts. Generative Design means the redesign of design. At the Institute without Boundaries, the team is working on the problem right now. As the school has already had an interest in designing systems, it seemed valuable to apply their methods to the creation of generative designs. As with all their projects, this one is being carried out by an interdisciplinary team. “We believe that traditional design has reached an impasse,“ says Teresa Miller, student. “The problems keep getting harder, but the tools to deal with them aren’t getting any better. Instead of designing one chair, what if we designed a system that designed chairs? Instead of designing things, we are looking at the possibility of redesigning design itself.” Consider the LEGO block. Alone it is simple and static, but with just a few bricks a child can create an unlimited number of new toys. The same basic blocks, rearranged, can be used to easily create animals, machines, buildings, and people. Very quickly and easily, complicated forms arise. This is generative design. Likewise the building blocks of design are not complicated, but getting to a good design can be. The team at the Institute hopes to harness these processes and find methods of efficiently generating vast arrays of good designs from simple premises. Two projects that they are working on take this idea in very different directions. The first project is The Bench, a simple piece of furniture that can be arranged or combined with other Benches to quickly generate new forms, from shelves to beds to isolation chambers. Another project, The Housing Manual, attempts to find a good design for a house given different variables from the user. “We are currently working on a project in Costa Rica that involves designing low-cost, sustainable houses. Traditional housing projects tend to produce numer-
Stage Fright at IDS
Processing Process The Institute without Boundaries is as concerned with process as it is with solutions. Without a doubt it is seeking results, but the Institute believes the most important result is a better process. With a diverse interdisciplinary team and unusual projects, there is constant experimentation with different tools and methodologies to solve problems. So while the students and faculty are working, they remain very attentive to how they reach solutions. “We all come from problem solving backgrounds, it’s what we enjoy doing” says In-
stitute student, Mark Watson. “One of the biggest challenges at the school is that, independently, none of our backgrounds give us the skills to fully address the problems on our own. It’s only by working together that we really get results. In a single day, on one project, we might appeal to philosophy, mathematics, advertising, architecture, or a host of other disciplines for the tools we need. Working in this way produces innovative and well-rounded answers.” So if interdisciplinary design is so useful, why isn’t everyone doing it? “The reason, I think, is that it’s really hard,” says
Mark. “We often don’t know how to best to approach a problem immediately. So we divide our time between developing our process and actually using it to design. Sometime it works well, sometimes it doesn’t and so we need a better process.” By continuing to work in this way, the Institute hopes to provide new and better ways for others to design. “We’re are small group so there’s only so much we can do. But if can generate techniques for other to use, that’s really powerful. We’re not there yet but we feel like we’re heading in the right direction.”
In a single week, students at the Institute without Boundaries (IwB) designed and constructed an exhibition stand for the Interior Design Show (IDS), Toronto, Canada. The stand will be recycled and repurposed at the end of the event. The students’ brief was to create something fun, informative, visually interesting and environmentally friendly. Furthermore, since the school is not primarily focused on interior design, there was some concern its work could be a constructive part of the show. “We operate sort of like a big design think tank – we spend about as much time creating new designs as we do researching design itself,” said Mark Stevens, student at the Institute without Boundaries. “Trying to form this work into a traditional display seemed difficult. Then we hit upon the idea of a newspaper. Newspapers are put together in a single day and they are informative, fun and recyclable. It seemed feasible to do one in a week. To make it visually interesting we turned the newspaper into a structure.” Having one week limited the students’ possibilities but they claim that creativity often comes from setting constraints. “We’re very pleased with the result,” said Mark. “It shows what’s possible with a small budget and a tight deadline.” Last year at IDS the Institute without Boundaries presented their 12 systems approach to architecture.
IWB Launches New Websites Announcing the launch of the new Institute website (which can be found at www. institutewithouthboundaires.com), and the new World House Project website(www. worldhouse.ca). The new sites were created by a talented team of designers and writers including Kamilla Nikolaev, Priscilla Li and Alexi Parizeau. The websites contain up to date information about the Institute’s projects and events. Check it out.
Daily Ideator Institute without Boundaries New Publication Coming Soon A new publication will shortly be available from the Institute without Boundaries’ website. The report contains an analysis of 11 different communities taken from around the globe and across the history of human civilization. Each community gives a different picture of humanity’s place in the ecosystem, offers different concepts of economics and gives a unique expression of social relations. The analysis was completed using the Matrix Exploration Kit, a tool developed as part of the Institute’s World House Project. The Institute without Boundaries has categorized the basic elements of housing design into 12 systems, which can be further grouped into the categories of terrain, climate, economy and culture. This matrix provides a framework for generating innovative ideas and auditing housing designs. The analysis has generated some interesting results. The students found that some of the most modern and radical communities contained aspects that were more prevalent in earlier civilizations. The utopian Arcosanti project in Arizona, for instance, has extremely modern concepts of community structure, yet an ancient, more communal understanding of ownership and property. The insights uncovered by the report will be applied to the World House Project which, this year, is targeted to community renewal in Costa Rica.
No typical day at IWB
Teresa Miller, asked to describe a typical day at the Institute without Boundaries claims that there is no such thing. Research has confirmed these findings. There is, in fact no typical day for an IwB student. While our roving reporter found that lectures are scheduled and meetings booked, the direction and outcome of these events is never predictable. Further with many visiting faculty new currents of ideas are constantly being stirred. Caught in a lyrical mood, Teresa commented: “The sun shines into the white basement. Coffee meets the lips of the IwB student, not a second too soon. Conversations about strawbale, drawing technique and cardinality now seem normal. Bonded through travels abroad and late night work sessions. A small family of new and experienced designers with varied backgrounds forage ahead into the unpredictable world of design.” The program is very varied. Architects and designers teach new sustainable techniques and ways to push design forward. Numerous projects are carried forward simultaneously. The students also regularly make additions to the program themselves. Depending on the day, students are found teaching each other sketching, graphic design, engineering or writing techniques.
TODAY
A selection of images from the new publication which examines: Dogon Village, Africa; Hakka House, China; Pueblo Neuvo, North America; Regent Park, UK; Rue de Rivoli, Paris; Radburn Garden City; Weissenhof Estate, Germany; BedZed, UK; IBA Berlin, Germany; Arcosanti, United States and Kowloon City, China.
Daily Ideator Institute without Boundaries Global Development Village
Last October, elementary and highschool students from around Toronto traveled to Downsview Park to participate in a unique education experience. Through fun events organized by volunteers, NGO workers, and design students from the Institute without Boundaries, the attendees were given the opportunity to explore some of the major issues facing the world today. The purpose of the entire event is to promote the Global Development Goals, a collection of objectives adopted by the UN’s General Assembly in September 2000. These goals describe a vision for a world with less poverty, hunger and disease, better survival prospects for mothers and infants, a healthier environment and accessible education for all children. Students from the Institute without Boundaries created a series of workshops that explored these goals. These workshops included: using recycled fabric in a fashion show, an experiment to clean water, and a session in which young people created design solutions to address resource scarcity and intolerance. There was also a workshop in which participants wrote rap songs based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Global Development Village is a partnership between Scouts Canada, the Institute Without Boundaries, and George Brown College, with support from the Canadian International Development Agency and Downsview Park. Another Global Development Village will be held this May at Downsview Park, for both schools and families. May 6 through 8 will be for school groups while May 10 will be open to all. For information about participation or attendance, see www.youthoftheworld.ca.
TODAY
A different kind of home
If we are to believe the experts, the future looks to be bringing a host of challenges; many that we have never faced before. Social and environmental problems on an unprecedented scale are regularly predicted. One of these challenges will be trying to find new ways for people to live – we need homes that reach a balance between the natural environment and the planet’s limited resources. Enter canühome, a model residence that helps people understand that they can use less while enjoying life more. Based on a partnership between Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and the Forest Stewardship Council of Canada, and built on research developed by the Institute Without Boundaries at the School of Design at George Brown College, the design team is re-imagining how we may live in the near future. The canühome is intended for young couples, seniors, singles and or small families as either a “starter or finisher” hous e. It has been designed to fit into rear gardens in the city, the suburbs, on rooftops of buildings or in the countryside, where amenities may not be readily available. The home itself contains numerous intelligent design choices. Built with an uninterrupted floor plan for universal access, it features transformable furnish-
ings that can meet its occupants changing needs over time. The home is constructed around principles of conservation and sustainability. Non-toxic materials are used to promote health. Solar, wind, and vibration energy collection further reduce its environmental impact. The house is also wired with an intelligent network of sensors, tuned to give the homeowner a better understanding of the relationship between their lifestyle and their carbon impact. The canühome advances the Institute without Boundaries’ design philosophies of whole systems holistic thinking. And, while many of the design concepts are futuristic, the objectives are well grounded. Silvio Ciarlandini, Institute without Boundaries Associate Director, said: “We are trying to create a design and design process that allows the public to reduce their impact on the environment. Why fight nature when you can work with her?”
Daily Ideator Institute without Boundaries
Urban density in Toronto The students at the Institute without Boundaries are designing laneway houses and exploring their feasibility as a way to increase urban density in Toronto. The laneway house concept has already been attempted in locations throughout the city but there remain issues about how to connect them to amenities and how they relate to the urban environment. The students have worked with a series of industry professionals to develop and improve their concepts throughout the academic year. Right now there are 10 designs which each explore different issues,
resulting in a diverse series of homes. Varying levels of self-sufficiency and or reliance on the urban infrastructure are being explored. In one scheme the laneway is converted into a street and directly connected to the city’s amenities. In another, a laneway house using recycled shipping containers is fitted into the existing urban environment. All the designs are exploratory concepts and are not planned to be built. Instead the student’s work will contribute to the debate about whether laneway houses are a realistic way to increase urban density.
TODAY
Daily Ideator Institute without Boundaries Lonely Hearts So Cal lad looking for sun Bradley Schnell: A single Californian man, bathes when necessary. Passionate about design and using an exacto knife. Bradley believes his most valuable education comes from his life experience, relationships and research outside that of his traditional schooling. As an installation artist, he has pursued many fields of study through various approaches and techniques. Formal education gave Bradley a BA in Art from California State University Channel Islands, where he curated several art projects, films and installations. Recently Bradley has worked in fields of advertising and design in Los Angeles. He joins the Institute without Boundaries with an enthusiasm for architecture, an appreciation of interdisciplinary work and a real desire to make a difference. Contact Brad at IWB2007/8 Limey wants a squeeze Mark Stevens: English boy looking for creative satisfaction. Deadlines must be strict. There are no boundaries. Offer ends in June. Mark has a background in philosophy and communications. In his professional career, he has worked across different communications fields and has developed projects with, amongst others, IDEO, Interbrand and McCann Advertising. Mark has a BA in philosophy and is a graduate of the European Graduate School’s Media and Communications MA program, which seeks breakthroughs in media theory from a cross-disciplinary perspective. An interest in design and its transformative potential brings him to the Institute without Boundaries. Contact Mark at IWB2007/8 SWM seeks intersection for union Mark Watson: Creative Computer Theorist seeks supportive environment. Must love cartoons, numbers. Do the math: I’m the 1 (one) 4 (for) you! Mark has a Masters in Computer Science and a Bachelor of Science with High Honours in Computer Science and Minor in Philosophy, both from the University of Saskatchewan. He has worked as a researcher at the University of Saskatchewan’s Interaction Lab and GroupLab at the University of Calgary, while working primarily in the fields of Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Human Computer Interaction. As an avid writer and cartoonist, Mark’s work has been published in various weird, alternative newspapers since 1999. Currently, he contributes copy and comics for the Albertabased music and culture magazine, Beatroute. Mark comes to the Institute with a deep interest in design, interdisciplinary research and sustainability. Contact Mark at IWB2007/8
Teresasaurus Rex
Costa Rican Chica seeking Agriboy
Teresa Miller: Evolution at its finest. Reformed biochemist seeks design position. Can’t draw yet, but makes a mean list. Must love hair twirling.
Ana Hindelang: Tica with an obsession for waste materials seeks associate with a heart of golden straw. Must hug trees and work during daytime hours.
With a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Waterloo and an MSc in Molecular Toxicology from Leicester University, England, Teresa understands the delicate balance of natural systems. Teresa has always been environmentally aware and her scientific background is an asset with the technical requirements of the Costa Rica project. Prior to joining the Institute, Teresa worked in autism research, documentation pharmaceutical research. Her creative side includes a passion for architecture and photography.
Ana was born in San Jose, Costa Rica. Growing up, her parents’ idea of family time was taking the entire family on weekend nature trips or to farms where they would learn about the environment. These childhood adventures helped spark Ana’s deep fascination and attachment to the environment, which lead her to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Biological Science with an emphasis on sustainable development and ecology from the Universidad Latina in Costa Rica. Ana went on to work as part of the Environmental and Community Relations team at Reserva Conchal, a residential development on Costa Rica’s North Pacific coast. Her experience and desire to work with communities on environmental issues inspired her to join the Institute without Boundaries.
Contact Teresa at IWB2007/8. Will design for food Connor Malloy: Have an old sandwich and a design problem? Look no further. Hungry designer will work for your casserole mishaps and mystery stews. Call Talented grumbling tummy if interested. Born in London, Ontario, Connor received his undergraduate degree from the School of Interior Design at Ryerson University, where he also completed an exchange in Adelaide, Australia at UNISA. In addition to this formal education, his personal work with Habitat for Humanity on international builds has helped shape his understanding of global needs, and gain perspectives on design. Having grown up with a father owning and operating a successful residential construction company, Connor has experience with the realities of constructing buildings and working with clients. His desire to communicate and establish a sustainable standard for design has been strengthened through his experience with the Institute’s diversified team. Connor’s keen understanding for the built and natural environment, and the relationship they share, has further solidified his commitment to designing ethically and with purpose.
Contact Ana at IWB2007/8. Duet waiting to happen Melissa Amarelo: Interior designer, likes eating seeds, jelly beans and other small food types. Seeking musicians to form super group. Influences: musicals, gangster rap and Portuguese folk song. No time wasters please. Melissa graduated from the Interior Design program at Sheridan College and studied Multimedia Design at Ryerson University. Prior to joining the Institute, she worked as a project manager for Toronto’s Figure3 design studio, using her knowledge and talent for branding interior spaces. Melissa has a passion for the arts - she also has a background in theatre and has studied art history and design process in Italy and cooperated with the Art Gallery of Ontario doing manual drafting and model making. She’s partial to creating interactive spaces, vivid graphics, poignant poetry and music, and keeping things fresh.
Contact Connor at IWB2007/8.
Contact Melissa at IWB2007/8.
Warm and fuzzy
Need not apply
Michael McMartin: Young bearded designer seeks similar. Romantic dinners and shipping container conversation. Strictly platonic, no loonies please. Reply with photos of your beard. Born and raised in Toronto, Mike spent his childhood summers in rural Quebec where he developed a great appreciation for nature. This appreciation, coupled with a keen interest in fine art and sculpture, led him to pursue a degree in Landscape Architecture at the University of Guelph, where he completed an exchange at the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland. Mike has a Masters of Interior and Product Design from the Academia Italiana di Arte Moda-Design, Florence, Italy. He has run a small landscape design-build company and is also a talented photographer and practicing interior designer with the Element Group in Toronto. Contact Mike at IWB2007/8.
TODAY
Contact Stine at IWB2007/8. Delirious in Toronto Karl Robert Johnson: Youthful architecture grad seeking new and innovative methods of seasoning his microwaved potatoes. Bored of the same old shredded orange cheese. Looking to spice things up. Willing to discuss ideas over tea next week at 207 Adelaide. Bring money for cab. Karl Robert Johnson received his Bachelors in Architecture from the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Karl believes that the role of architecture is to serve as a cognitive and sensual liaison between the human body and soul and the natural world. He considers the idea of home to be a psychological establishment of security and relative predictability, and sees the World House Project as an opportunity to introduce regenerative and interdisciplinary design and construction at a new level. In addition to his experience working in architecture and planning, Karl is also a talented model maker and artist with the ability to communicate visually through graphic design and drawing. Contact Karl at IWB2007/8. Why can’t we just be together? Krista Palen: Twenty-something girl looking to join Mr. Creative Design and Mr. Environmental Engineering in an unconventional union. Haters need not apply. Krista joins the Institute with a diverse range of insights into the fields of engineering, environmental issues, and programming. She has worked as a volunteer junior engineer for Engineers Without Borders in the Community Water and Sanitation Agency in Tamale, Ghana. In the past, Krista has been fortunate to work on projects with CIDA, Health Canada, the City of Toronto, Guelph Environment Leadership and GE Ecoimagination. Krista is inspired by Ghanaian hearts and Japanese designs, and believes that a better world can be created through innovative and thoughtful design. She wishes to design homes that reflect the occupants’ needs, which are flexible, sustainable and beautiful.
Stine Laurberg Hansen: Attached Danish, steve…steeeenuh…um like stIne girl with hard to pronounce name seeks challenge. Must hate dogs.
Contact Krista at IWB2007/8.
Stine brings a Danish open-minded and democratic perspective to the Institute. She has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Aarhus School of Architecture Landscap and Urbanism, which had her involved in several projects that sought to improve living conditions for vulnerable groups. As a result, Stine co-founded a group in Aarhus that focused on how architects could play a more significant role in global social problems, and worked on a major project in the Pearl River Delta on providing housing for migrant workers. Prior to joining the Institute, Stine finished an internship at the artist group Superflex located in Copenhagen, developing small biogas systems for families in Zanzibar, Africa. She has also done additional studies with the Bergen Architecture School and the Copenhagen Vocational Academy.
FOR SALE
100 VITRA office desks available. ‘L’ shape. 65”x65”. Only $200 each including filing cabinet. Call Silvio @ 416.943.0303
Daily Ideator Institute without Boundaries
TODAY
Horoscope Aries We get it. You’re stubborn. Stop fighting with everyone and move your hydrogenpowered car. It is blocking the fire lane. Taurus With the Moon waxing this morning and then waning again by mid-afternoon, your carefully laid beach plans are likely to fall into disarray. Don’t worry, it’s just the tides.
Joke of the Day
Gemini As a Gemini, you are broad-minded. Come two o’clock, that’s going to come in handy, believe you me. In other news, you are pretty flexible, too. The yoga classes are paying off. Cancer I hope you like crab. Leo This time you are right to be so nosey, your neighbour ISN’T using recycled toilet paper. Before you head out tonight, a word to the wise: “There is a reason there are bars between us and the animals at the zoo.” Virgo Virgo, we all love you but we have our concerns. Couldn’t you plan to be a little less spontaneous, for a change? Just once I want to come over and the walls be the same color as last time. Libra Today you will be full of noble intentions, but if you aren’t careful, they might run aground. Example: as noble as it might be, a serf is hard to find these days. Scorpio The planets aren’t helping you much today. Even Pluto had something planned for you, but he’s having trouble getting out of bed. Maybe it’s because you are a scorpion. Sagittarius It’s a day of two halves, in the morning you will be shooting arrows at things and in the afternoon the arrows will be shooting at you. I don’t know what you expected at the archery range. Capricorn Money and love are in the cards today, just try not to max them out. Again. Aquarius The planets are nudging you in the wrong direction for much of the morning. Try to ignore them. You don’t need another coffee. Pisces I tried, but things are just plain hazy today. You’re on your own for once.
Q: How many designers does it take to screw in a light bulb? A: Why unscrew a light bulb, when you can unscrew a whole house.
Interior Design Show Weather THU
FRI
SAT
MON
SUN
Fluorescent, Dry Fluorescent, Dry Fluorescent, Dry Fluorescent, Dry
23º C
23º C
23º C
23º C
Dark, Dry
23º C
Crossword
Across
1
2. alley, in U.S. english 4. in-the-know, or "understand" in Pirate 5. marty's "building ________ thinking" 6. the host of this booth! 7. delicious raw fish consumable 10. be sure to catch mark _______'s lecture from the CMHC 12. the world at capacity must transition to this kind of economy 14. world ____ project: a three year endeavor 15. institute without these 17. the IWB believes that all disciplines can benefit from this process 18. Ô ______ ! Terre de nos aïeux ! 19. _______ change: the IWB's first project!
2
3 4
5 6
7
8
9
10 11
12
13
14
15
Down
1. a kind of cooperation involving people from diverse and disparate professions 3. concrete production tosses a lot of this in to the air 6. housing solution in northern snowy climates 8. watch out for ____wash! 9. host country of the WHP (2 words) 11. an intense period of design activity 13. george _____ college, our partner and sanctuary 16. charismatic founder, bruce ___
What We’re Reading Building Green Clarke Snell, Tim Callahan
The Design of Everyday Things Donald A. Norman
Biomimicry Janine M. Benyus
Buddy Does Seattle Peter Bagge
Show How It’s Done Alejandro Bahamon
Warped Space Anthony Vidler
The Barefoot Architect John van Lengen
Silent Spring Rachel Carson
16
17
18
19
Online Charrette Registration On February 7-10, the Institute without
ta Rica exhibition at the National Gallery of
create housing solutions for the province of
tion is open to all professionals, students, and
Boundaries is hosting an on-site charrette to
Guanacaste, a region of Costa Rica that is
stressed by housing and water storages for its working residents.
Winning designs will be published in a
special edition of Building Magazine and showcased as a part of the World House Cos-
Costa Rica in San José in 2009. Participadesign enthusiasts from all over the world.
Registration is free for students and $75 for professionals. Find out more information on www.worldhouse.ca/onlinecharrette.
Daily Ideator Institute without Boundaries Enlightenment
TODAY
INSTITUTE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES
Partners: George Brown College • Government of Costa Rica • Canada Costa Rica Foundation • Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation • Blue Moon Foundation • Harbinger Foundation • Canadian International Development Agency • Downsview Park • Building Magazine • Partners Magazine • Reserva Conchal • Scouts Canada • Forest Stewardship Council of Canada • Green Enterprise Toronto • Veritas University, Costa Rica • Waterfront Toronto • Town of Port Perry • Mount Dennis Community Association • ACEPESA • Matapalo Development Association • Ontario Centres of Excellence