Expressions of Interest sought: pro bono design services for the Ligingi Community Learning Centre, Uganda

UPDATE: The deadline for EOI's has been extended until 14 December 2012 due to the silly season...we know things get a bit crazy this time of year, so thought we'd give you an extra week. Thanks to everyone who has already expressed interest - we'll review all applications after the extended date.

 

Architects for Peace, in partnership with the Ligingi Community Learning Centre (LCLC), are excited to invite Expressions of Interest for pro bono services to design a new community centre to house LCLC operations  in the village of Ligingi, Uganda.  

Views of the existing brick building on the LCLC site

The LCLC is a not-for-profit community based organisation, that aims to foster community knowledge and competencies to adapt, thrive and actively engage in a rapidly changing world. The LCLC was co-founded by Ugandan, Dennis Obel and Australian, Anna Trembath in conjunction with the Ligingi community. Dennis, a highly-experienced international development professional, is ancestrally of Ligingi village. Some of his immediate family members still live in Ligingi, and he calls all the people of Ligingi his kin and Ligingi his true home.  Anna is an experienced researcher with particular expertise in gender and development, an international development practitioner and a writer. Dennis and Anna travel regularly to Ligingi and will be the primary conduits for communication between the architect/s engaged for this project and the Ligingi community.

Ligingi is a small and beautiful village, located in eastern Uganda, around 45 kilometres from the Uganda-Kenya border. The village is primarily a subsistence farming community, in a remote location with no electricity or water and sanitation infrastructure, and very little service provision or outside organisational presence. Ligingi is home to a number of different clans who are all J’opadhola people, a Luo-speaking tribe associated with the Nilotics who migrated from Sudan in the sixteenth centry. A recent survey revealed the village population to be 2,959. 

The proposed Centre is planned to be used as the organisational premises for the LCLC, including a community space for learning, training and other programmatic activities, and accommodation for staff, volunteers and visitors.

The new premises will allow the LCLC to develop and expand the programs offered, and to better involve and inspire both Ligingi community members and international volunteers and guests. The LCLC represents a unique initiative to facilitate meaningful, community-driven change over the long term on a sustainable scale for a community whose members have limited future opportunities.

For further details on the LCLC project, please download the design brief and supporting documents here.  You can read more about Ligingi Community Learning Centre here.

Please email expressions of interest and CV detailing relevant project experience to
Katherine at probono@architectsforpeace.org by Friday 14^th December at 5pm Eastern Standard Time (EST).

 

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.

   Community meeting at the Primary School, with the existing LCLC brick building behind

   

Arch Peace The Big Issue Ad

Check out the latest edition of The Big Issue for the Architects for Peace Pro-Bono ad (towards the back of the Mag). The ad aims to promote our Pro-Bono services to Not-for-Profit organisations.

LIGINGI COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTRE UGANDA

Call for Volunteer Assistance to A4P members and friends in Uganda for the Ligingi Community Learning Centre- Tororo District, Eastern Uganda

Architects for Peace are working with Ligingi Community Learning Centre (LCLC), a not-for–profit, community based organisation located in Ligingi Village, Tororo District, Uganda www.ligingi.com

We are calling on our international network of members and friends to assist the architects for peace pro-bono team, and the pro bono architect (this role has not yet been appointed) with contextual information. The project is in its preliminary stages: we are currently reviewing the project brief and an expression of interest for a pro-bono architect will go out in the next couple of weeks.

Your experience of working within the Ugandan context, and knowledge of local culture will assist us and the pro-bono architect in understanding the particular sensitivities and regulatory requirements in Uganda. Your local knowledge on specific planning and building legislation, budgetary information and other contextual/cultural issues arising from working in Uganda will be invaluable in understanding the context and designing the project.

If you are based in Uganda, or have worked in Uganda in the past and have knowledge that you would be willing to share with the architects for peace pro-bono team and the pro-bono architect, please get in touch:

probono@architectsforpeace.org

Call for Volunteer Assistance: Ligingi Community Learning Centre

Ligingi Village

Call for Volunteer Assistance to A4P members and friends in Uganda for the Ligingi Community Learning Centre- Tororo District, Eastern Uganda

Architects for Peace are working with Ligingi Community Learning Centre (LCLC), a not-for–profit, community based organisation located in Ligingi Village, Tororo District, Uganda www.ligingi.com

We are calling on our international network of members and friends to assist the architects for peace pro-bono team, and the pro bono architect (this role has not yet been appointed) with contextual information. The project is in its preliminary stages: we are currently reviewing the project brief and an expression of interest for a pro-bono architect will go out in the next couple of weeks.

Your experience of working within the Ugandan context, and knowledge of local culture will assist us and the pro-bono architect in understanding the particular sensitivities and regulatory requirements in Uganda. Your local knowledge on specific planning and building legislation, budgetary information and other contextual/cultural issues arising from working in Uganda will be invaluable in understanding the context and designing the project.

If you are based in Uganda, or have worked in Uganda in the past and have knowledge that you would be willing to share with the architects for peace pro-bono team and the pro-bono architect, please get in touch:

probono@architectsforpeace.org

Laverton Community Centre and Neighbourhood House - one year on

A year after the project was completed at the Laverton Community Centre and Neighbourhood House we visited the to see what benefits the project has brought to its local community.


LCCNH is a not for profit and very proactive organization that runs several programs for disadvantaged people in the local area. According to Michael Pernar, CEO at LCCNH, the pro-bono services provided were instrumental in obtaining State Government funding to finance the project. The design proposed included an office space that accommodates 5 workers and a new classroom that meets the current standards. A relatively modest reconfiguration of the interior has resulted in a greatly improved space for staff to continue to deliver key services to the community.

Read more »

Celebration at the Fitzroy Learning Network

The Architects for Peace Pro bono team was delighted to be invited to a BBQ held recently at the Fitzroy Learning Network in celebration for the completion of their renovated kitchen and staff room.

The Fitzroy Learning Network (FLN) is a not-for-profit Neighbourhood House, offering a range of services, support and training courses for newly arrived refugees and migrants.

FLN approached Architects for Peace after they received a grant from the Department of Planning and Community Development in 2009 which allowed them to refurbish their facility, of which a new kitchen was their priority. We were happy to assist as we recognised that their old kitchens did require upgrades and the project was for the benefit of the community. Kalli, the A4P pro bono coordinator for the project at the time, then met and discussed the initial brief with staff at FLN and arranged for the advertisement of an Expression of Interest for the provision of pro bono architectural service.

Read more »

Bulleen Pre School pro bono project - finally an update!

Some time has passed since we called for expressions of interest to provide pro bono design services for the Bulleen Pre School (BPS) some months ago. A lot has happened behind the scenes since then – and we thought we'd share a bit of the action with you.

As we mentioned back in July, the pre school was hoping to apply for funds from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development to extend its premises, so as to accommodate more children and improve its service to the local community. Two days before our call for service providers closed, the funding application deadline was announced. Surprise! Instead of the anticipated 6 months to prepare an application (based on the time frame allowed for the previous funding round), there was going to be 6 weeks! Architect Ajith Kuruvilla (Gray Space Architects) had submitted an EOI and, with extensive experience in schools, looked like a perfect match, but we weren't sure how he would take the news about the time frame. To our relief, Ajith was relatively unfazed. It was decided to form a design team, led by Ajith (being a registered architect), with Kamil Muhammad (interior designer and a4p member) and Paul Cooksey (architect) undertaking design and documentation.

Read more »

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.

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

Laverton Community Centre + Neighbourhood House - Works complete!

We are very excited to report that an Architects for Peace pro bono project has recently been completed!

We were approached in 2010 by the Laverton Community Centre and Neighbourhood House, a not for profit group managed by the local community, that was operating from cramped and inadequate premises and in need of design services and funding for refurbishment. After advertising the project, we successfully matched architect Brad Hooper and interior designer Brooke Thorne with the LCCNH.

Brad and Brooke worked collaboratively to prepare a schematic design for refurbishment works to the facility. This work was instrumental in enabling the LCCNH to secure funding for construction. Planning and building permits were obtained early this year and the client acted as owner-builder to carry out the works.

All of us at Architects for Peace extend our thanks and congratulations to the two dedicated pro bono service providers who made this project happen!

Stay tuned for images of the completed works...

Asylum Seekers Resource Centre - Architect Appointed

We are pleased to announce that Kendall Strong Architects have been engaged to provide pro bono services for the ASRC for their project to upgrade the Melbourne headquarters.

Kendall Strong Architects is a young dynamic practice with experience in commercial projects and a focus on social justice and environmental architecture.

Briefing and measure-up have been completed

and we look forward to seeing the exciting

Sketch Design outcomes shortly.

Thank you Kendall & Fernando for your enthusiasm!

East Timor Weaving Centres - Sketch Design completed

The Sketch Design of this project has now been completed.

Architects for Peace has received 2 design proposals and they are now exhibited online. To view them, just click on their names below.

We would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation and say thank you for the effort and excellent work from our service providers ,

Webb+ Architects and Greg Burgess Architects.

Timor-Leste's weaving centres - EoI CLOSED

Since calling for expressions of interest from registered practices and/or practitioners to the proposed two weaving centres in two villages in Timor Leste, we have received overwhelming response! We take this opportunity to say thank you for your support.



The Design Brief can still be viewd by clicking on the image above.

Culture House, Timor Leste
photo courtesy: Alternative Technology Association

Our client, East Timor Women Australia (ETWA) is a Melbourne based, not for profit organisation and run by volunteers. Please come back for more updates on the project.
To see our previous post regarding information on this project, click here.

Carlton Primary School Renewal: by WEBB+

The Architects for Peace pro bono team is committed to supporting and promoting built environment professionals working for the good of the community. We sincerely believe that good design is a right rather than the privilege of an elite few. The pro bono service was set up with the aim of providing a network for those many of you out there - architects, engineers, designers - either having already provided your services free of charge to a deserving cause or seeking a way to do so. The following project - a facelift for a disadvantaged primary school - is just such an example. Recently undertaken by WEBB+ (formerly NHWEBB) on a pro bono basis, it came about independently of the arch-peace pro bono service. We are delighted to welcome WEBB+ as a business member of Architects for Peace.

The story of Carlton Primary.....

In line with our social responsibility commitment, WEBB+ (formerly known as NHWEBB) approached Carlton Primary School with the intention to initiate a community exchange program. WEBB+ hoped that the school, one of Melbourne’s demographically most disadvantaged, would be able to utilise our skills in a way that would enhance School Life in some way.

We met with the Principal of Carlton Primary School, Julie Large, and the Environment Teacher, Chris Burgess, and learned that the school, initially designed to accommodate 700 students, was originally developed from remnants of the neighbouring Housing Estate.

Vesna Rak-Dusanovic of Webb + writes:

The school now has a population of only approximately 90 students, 100% of whom live in the neighbouring Housing Estate, and a vast majority (95%) being from a non-English speaking background. Many are refugees from African nations such as Somalia.

Julie felt that one of the major issues contributing to low enrolment was the common perception that the school was a part of the Housing Estate. There was a strong desire to visually separate the school from the Housing Estate by altering the appearance of the building so that it could be clearly identified as a school.

As a result of early discussions, design options were prepared by WEBB+. The most affordable option, involving painting the facade, removing metal screens from the windows and screening rubbish bin enclosures, was implemented by the school. Further improvements (potential Stage 2 works) could be achieved through strategic introduction of landscaping to “soften” large concreted areas and structures (for example, locating planter boxes in between concrete columns on the ground floor), provision of opaque natural material screening to the existing transparent wire fence around the site perimeter, facing the neighbouring housing estate, and incorporation of decorative graphic panels (scaled photographs of school activities) to be applied to the face of the building to display the rich “internal life and activities” of the school to the “outside world”.

The project has been a great experience for the WEBB+ team. The enthusiasm of students and staff was inspirational, and the results we achieved together gave us great pleasure and a real sense of achievement and contribution to the community.

The School has already received very positive feedback about their “new look”. We are hopeful that these and further improvements will raise the School’s image in the community and result in higher enrolments in the future.

Testimonial from Julie Large – Principal of Carlton Primary School:

"Working with Webb+ has been a really positive experience for the school. It enabled us to think differently about our school building and grounds and to employ the expertise of WEBB+ staff to discuss our particular challenges and needs. The changes that have been made to the school building and surrounds have received positive comments from all sections of the school community as well as members of the general public."

Download more information and images here

For more information about the school: http://home.vicnet.net.au/~carlcomm/index.html
And about WEBB+: http://www.webbplus.com.au/ - Intro

STAFF INVOLVED:

Kathy Hoar – Office Manager
Vesna Rak-Dusanovic - Project Leader
Tim Webb – Graphic Design

This project was not faciliated by the arch peace pro bono service but represents the experience of one of our members. Do you have a pro bono experience to share with us? We'd love to hear from you! Please direct enquiries to probono@architectsforpeace.com.au.

Timor-Leste's weaving centres

East Timor Women Australia (ETWA) is a Melbourne based, not for profit organisation and run by volunteers. They provide and organise community oriented programs to support East Timorese women, particularly in the handcrafts industry. They aim to give women the opportunity to make real the benefits of sustainable handcrafts enterprises and, through the richness of weaving, help them maintain cultural integrity.

Three community weaving centres are proposed on 3 separate sites in remote villages on the eastern tip of the island of Timor Leste. Two centres will be located in the mountainous sub-district of Iliomar, in the villages of Fuat and Cainliu, and one in the flatlands of central Los Palos. The Architects for Peace probono team was first approached in April 2009. Debra Salvagno and Taryn Lane, representatives of ETWA, embarked on their annual weaving tour shortly afterwards and at the same time gathered site and land information for these building projects. ETWA is now in the process of drafting a design brief including a design information package with maps, site photos and information on local building technology and materials, for the future architect's reference.

A video clip showing how the women weaves can be viewed here.

ETWA has received support for materials from Rotary and is also working with the Alternative Technology Association to raise funds for solar panels in the three community weaving centres.

The draft design brief will be ready by October and we look forward to proceeding to the next stage of this fascinating project.

Our next step will be to advertise for pro bono service providers with expertise in sustainable building design. Although we are only at an early stage in the process, this is an exciting project that we hope will ultimately help to start a new chapter in the lives of the East Timorese women in these remote villages.

Queries of this project can be emailed to probono@architectsforpeace.org



photos courtesy : ETWA

Rebuilding bushfire affected communities

Arch-peace pro bono services:

Our thoughts and condolences go to all those affected by the bushfires in Victoria as we share in a deep sense of sadness for what has occurred. Architects for Peace is committed to assisting communities in Victoria’s fire-affected areas.

Arch-peace Pro Bono Services has successfully operated on a community-driven (rather than top-bottom) approach, with community groups contacting us to initiate a project. We anticipate that this service may be able to play a part in the recovery process ahead, in conjunction with the action being taken by NGOs to identify areas of need and the individual offers of help that have begun to emerge from the industry.

Architects for Peace Offer of Assistance

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Articles Periodicals & Report archpeace pro bono

The Architects for Peace Pro Bono Team

discussion about the need to offer pro bono work

I found the following discussion about the need and, as argued by some, obligation to offer pro bono work--what do you think?
Find this discussion here

The Age: on one of arch-peace probono project

Photo: Roger Cummins
Carlton uni squat talks stall

Annie Lawson (The Age)
October 9, 2008

"NEGOTIATIONS have stalled between the University of Melbourne and students squatting in terrace houses the university owns in Carlton.

Fifteen homeless students moved into the Faraday Street properties two months ago, frustrated by soaring rents and a shortage of suitable properties.

Although vice-chancellor Glyn Davis has publicly lamented the student housing shortage, nothing has been done, according to the squatters.

The rental vacancy rate in inner Melbourne is 1.1% and the university's residential colleges, which house about 2300 students, are full.

According to the university's Student Housing Services, students are spending up to 40% of their income on rent.

The student squatters have installed fire alarms, repaired holes in the floors, patched leaking pipes and draped banners over the balconies promoting SHAC - the Student Housing Action Collective. The not-for-profit organisation Architects for Peace has agreed to plan a renovation so the terraces can accommodate 40 students. The Melbourne body wants to follow the lead of the University of Sydney co-operative STUCCO, which charges rents as low as $70 a week. The Melbourne collective's spokeswoman, Allegra Reinalda, said: "It's a public statement about what students want in terms of housing - they want the co-operative model that enables a community atmosphere."

But the university refuses to negotiate until the students move out. Student Housing Services manager Adrian Burrage said the university was exploring co-operative housing but declined to comment on whether it would consider the Faraday Street terraces.

The squatters get most of their food from supermarket rubbish skips."

Find this article here: http://www.theage.com.au/national/carlton-uni-squat-talks-stall-20081008-4wqz.html

arch-peace news and articles: Review of last month's words @ bldg50...

Review of last month's words @ bldg50...
Mel Bright and Tarryn Boden from emerging Melbourne practice MAKE architecture studio presented the Bird Hide design project that they are currently developing for Friends of Westgate Park on Thursday 7 August.

http://archpeace.blogspot.com/2008/08/review-of-last-months-words-bldg50.html

words@bld.50: Free public lecture .: August 7 .: Bird hide at Westgate Park .: pro-bono design in action

http://urbantalks.blogspot.com/2008/07/free-public-lecture-bird-hide-at.html:

When: Thursday 7 August 2008, 7pm
Where: RMIT building 50, Orr St (off Victoria St) Carlton

Melissa Bright & Tarryn Boden from MAKE architecture studio will present the Bird Hide Project at Westgate Park, Melbourne