We was commissioned to illustrate a piece for Vanguard’s cover story on how political accountability has affected our government's capacity to get things done. The writer posited that lobbyists were taking advantage of these checks and balances, making it more difficult for officials to draft and execute new reforms and public works.

A study of urban transformation along a new alternate highway between Colombo and Kandy, the CKAH 2004.

The commission was to study the 150 km corridor where a new expressway and the existing rail line give diverging foci. We presented a sustainability based plan with public transport as main artery and mixed-use developments crystallizing along railway stations, villages, towns and other local nodes.

The master plan was to indicate the lineage of the motorway, a concept of junctions and how traffic could filter onto the existing grid of A, B and C roads. The project also showed detailed patterns of “bus-stop-squares” and pedestrian routes.

This project demonstrated how Arken’s town-type and value-rose tools could be successfully used in a Sri Lankan context. It is clear that these tools can make a valuable contribution in other planning systems and cultural contexts.

Working with local planners, we explored critical ideas on how towns and a new urban corridor could be incrementally developed in a sustainable manner.

Syftet med workshopen var att ta fram underlag till program och skisser till dialog med kommunen (bygglov), framtagande av kostnadsberäkningar samt planering och byggande av ett Hobbithus. Deltagarna, och möjliga delägare ges en unik chans att påverka utformningen av Hobbithuset!

Arrangör:

Simon Dale, Hobbithus expert/byggare

Nils Söderlund, arkitekt

Marie Eriksson, Drömgården

Pelle Östlund, byggare

The prototype facility will be situated in front of the town of Barcelos. It will be moored adjacent to the existing floating ornamental fish transfer station, which is currently used to stockpile fishes before they are shipped down river to exporters facilities in Manaus. This facility currently functions as a transfer station where fishers (Piabeiros) bring their catch to sell. 3