ARCH-PEACE PRO BONO SERVICE

PRO BONO NEWS...

10.7.10

Call for Expressions of Interest - Addition and Refurbishment to Bulleen Pre-School


IMPORTANT UPDATE! The Bulleen Pre-School has recently advised us that the grant application guidelines have just been released. Applications close significantly earlier this year than in 2009 - on Thursday 9 September 2010. This means design services are required URGENTLY. We ask that you please take the time frame required to complete the design into account if you are considering applying for this project. Please send your application and/or any queries to eleanor@architectsforpeace.org by this Friday 6 August.


Expressions of Interest are invited from members of Architects for Peace for the design and documentation of an addition and refurbishment to the Bulleen Pre-School, on a pro bono basis. The pre-school is a not-for-profit, progressive kindergarten offering structured programs to eighty-five children of 3 and 4 years old in the Reggio Emilia philosophy, an education philosophy that encourages children to discover themselves by exploring nature, material and friendships.

The pre-school is seeking to improve its service to the local community by accommodating a higher number of children and providing extended hours of services for the children, in line with the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreement made in 2009 which states that all Australian children should have access to 15 hours of a pre-school program in the year prior to starting primary school. An addition to the existing premises is required to facilitate this expansion of services. The current facilities consist of a single storey brick veneer building, with one play room, a staff room, store room, toilets and kitchen and the extension will primarily include an additional play room. A more detailed design brief can be downloaded from here.

The pre-School Management Committee plans to apply for a grant of $200,000 from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD). This grant has been made available by the DEECD to facilitate pre-school operators to provide ‘Universal Access to 15 hours of Early Childhood Education’. Submissions of concept drawings, written quotations and a cost plan are required to accompany this grant application.

Please email expressions of interest and CV detailing relevant project experience to Eleanor at eleanor@architectsforpeace.org or Pauline at probono@architectsforpeace.org before Friday 6th August.

The Architects For Peace pro bono policy, with important information for prospective service providers regarding the way the pro bono service works and the selection process involved, is available for download here. Please make sure you read over this document before submitting your expression of interest.

5.7.10

Pro bono project published in Green magazine


A client/architect match made by the arch peace pro bono service has popped up in quarterly magazine green (sustainable architecture and design).

The Bird Hide project in Westgate park was designed by MAKE Architecture Studio for the Friends of Westgate Park, after an initial design studio at RMIT to generate ideas, and was presented at words @bld50 in 2008.

Mel Bright (director of MAKE) tells us that they are currently obtaining structural engineering drawings to complete the construction drawing set and has been researching recycled plastics as an alternative to timber. We look forward to seeing what's next for MAKE and the Bird Hide!

...read the article here