Living Architecture Takes Root in Oban

Think of Oban, the sleepy port town in the Scottish Western Highlands, and you'll probably call to mind McCaig's Tower, the folly overlooking the bay that was commissioned by its namesake in 1897 to keep the town's local stonemasons in work. Now, thanks to the feats of German architect Marcel Kalberer, head of the firm Sanfte Strukturen, the town can finally lay claim to two sculptures with real architectural clout.

Nestled in the gardens of the Dunollie Castle estate, the 22ft woven tower and dome are made entirely of live willow branches, sourced from Glasgow. The branches will continue to grow over the coming months, thereby altering the form of the natural structures. Kalberer refers to his designs as "living architecture" due to the botanical and ecological implications behind the architecture and the fact that all of his structures are brought to life by a community of volunteers. The tower, for example, took a week to build and will change gradually with the passing of the seasons. The theory behind the process is to show the value of socially-sustainable buildings and encourage human co-existence with the natural world.

Karlberer has designed a number of green cathedrals, towers and domes from willow branches including 'Auerworld Palace' in Germany which is the world's largest living structure of its kind. The as yet unnamed works on show in Oban are the first examples to be shown in Britain, built on the proceeds of a £5,900 grant from Creative Scotland. Visit them for free if you're making any visits over to the Western Isles, or for more information and further examples of Karlberer's work, read on at the link below:

http://www.sanftestrukturen.de/Weidenbau/Weidenbau.html

We Made That! London's Architecture & Design Practice

We Made That is a young, London-based architecture and design studio that works in a broad range of contexts - predominantly delivering public works for community use. Interest has been growing in the firm for some time, not least since it scooped the 2011 Architecture Foundation-organised Three Mills contest to design a new play space next to the Olympic park in London. The contest's organisers praised the 'Wild Kingdom' project design for its combination of imaginative vision and down-to-earth approach, a sentiment echoed in the studio's mission to produce work that is at once considered, pragmatic and charming.

Co-founders Oliver Goodhall and Holly Lewis who studied at the Royal College of Art and the Bartlett School of Architecture, London respectively, place a great amount of importance on conservation and collaboration in their projects. These have included 'Beach Hut' on the Lincolnshire Coast and 'Unlimited Edition,' a series of speculative newspapers, complied using the snapshot contributions of artists, designers and community members living in the A11 postal area of London. Have a look here:

http://www.wemadethat.co.uk/index.html

Manchester Modernist Society

A unique group of influential writers, broadcasters, lecturers and general architecture enthusiasts help to form the unique collective known as the Manchester Modernists. Since its foundation in 1965, the not-for-profit  society has existed to candidly document anything of architectural intrigue around the city, be that at street level or hidden from view behind the patina of modern-day Manchester's "tarted up million dollar revamps." The history of the huge influence of modernist styles on this one-time, industrial city is distilled through the members' humorous observations and anecdotes on a website which exudes personality through its witty presentation style.

The influence of the post-war, modernist period on the area is well-documented in turgid textbooks. This site provides a fun and current perspective aimed at engaging the public in a discussion about the 20th century backdrop they inhabit. Have a nosy at their mission statement and check out the pictures of local architecture shown on the group's Flickr page.
http://www.manchestermodernistsociety.org/index.html

BLDG Blog

One of the most widely read architecture blogs in the industry, BLDG Blog comments on a myriad of topics with no fixed itinerary other than to simply cover what is deemed to be interesting. The varied post headings should spark off curiosity in the content: "Garage Warfare", "Gossamer Systems" and "Caves of Nottingham" are among October's blogs. An assortment of topics to inspire anyone interested in architecture and the built urban environment.
http://bldgblog.blogspot.co.uk/

PLEA Conference Proceedings

Conference proceedings for PLEA 'Passive and Low Energy Architecture' are available through the organisation's website http://plea-arch.org/ including an overview into what is planned for this year's annual international conference in Lima between 7th and 9th November. An online search facility will enable you to browse information on sustainable architecture and urban design published as part of the previous twenty-seven conference proceedings. A section dedicated to the best PLEA posters may also catch the eye of any ardent designer.

Network Rail guidance on station planning and design

Network Rail has recently issued design guidance for major railway stations, based around the four key themes of usability, operability, quality and value. It includes some interesting comments on issues such as wayfinding and provision for large pedestrian flows in public spaces.

Native Woodland Survey of Scotland

The Forestry Commission Scotland has started to produce data from its field-based survey of all of Scotland’s rural and urban native woodlands to identify their location, extent, type and condition. The plan is to publish this information as summaries by local authority area, together with geospatial datasets in the form of OS maps overlaid with information about native woodlands. Reports are currently available, in pdf format, for eight local authority areas including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen.

Link: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/NWSS

Access: Free