It’s getting warmer…

The weekend was freezing! -10 C Saturday night! Now it’s a bit better… During the day it’s warm again and the nights are not so cold… 21 C and 5 C, but the weekend was just too much.

But when you have to work it doesn’t really matter if it’s cold or warm, except if you are working on site all day! Luckily I was not there all the day but when I visited it the workers were telling me that it had been horrible that they cold hardly stand it! But on they went with the work and we are slowly moving forwards.

Another thing I did this weekend was meet Sara, the Art teacher from the International school. I had been told to contact her with regards to the “Litema” workshops that I’ll be doing with the children, for the decoration of the LCCU. She was interested in the project and has committed to helping me out on the day and also with a few of the preparations. Through her I will meet Musho, one of the leading painters of Lesotho, and he’ll introduce us to some of the local women, artists would be a more appropriate word, that still know the Art of “Litema”.

Like I said last week today I was meeting the Hospital Superintendent. Let’s say there was progress even though the meeting didn’t go that well! He has the idea of building a common playground for infected and uninfected kids. Which as a starting point is a great idea, the problem is that the way that the hospital is organized does not really allow for that. If the kids that are waiting for the HIV treatment had to go and play in the so called “normal” playground they would be 150mt away and with no supervision. So in a way it is imperative to place the playground where the Doctors and the Clinton foundation want to have it. Like I explained it would be a non-permanent solution.

He insisted that it should be elsewhere but he also said that he was under so much pressure from everyone to allow it that if someone insisted again he’d have to give in, but he would not be responsible for it… So as you see there’s been progress.

When I reported this to the Clinton Foundation they decided to go ahead with it. So I’ll come up with a plan and we’ll go and discuss it with him again. Which if he is a man of his word means that he’ll accept it even if he doesn’t agree!

They are sitting on the solution

The Bophelong Clinic of QEII has asked us to come up with the plans for a playground. The Clinton Foundation has agreed to fund it the problem is that the QEII still objects to it.

However after my visit to the Hospital today I discovered that they are actually sitting on the solution. In more than one way…

At the end of hospital grounds behind a container there is a huge pile of rubber floor tiles! The kind that with a coat of paint can be used to solve the playground problem.

Re-used tiles, a coat of paint, a dozen tires, a small fence, a truck of sand, and a rope and you’d build yourself a playground swings and all! Easy!

And if the Hospital decides they need to reuse those grounds a shovel and a few man can take it down in a couple of hours…

Monday I’ll go and talk to Superintendent and see if we can reach this deal.

Work on site is still going as planned. The old floor slab is being dug out and today I just asked them not to store the rocks on the remaining slab but to store them outside… No need to overload a fairly week slab.

School day

Spent the morning attending school but this time as a “external critic”. I just wanted to see the final year’s (3rd year) Final presentation of Architecture. But I was asked if I’d like to grade the students which I reject offering instead to comment on the work.

It was an eye opening experience. Though the school has a really good structure mixing, under the same roof, practical/technical students (plumbers, bricklayers etc…) with the “intellectual” part of the industry (architects and engineers). They don’t seem to communicate and so an otherwise excellent model is lost.

In the presentation I found many projects with serious structural problems and few with any concepts or ideas. I understand that the course is new (this will be the first class to graduate) and I saw that the teachers were disappointed but the truth is that these students are not yet prepared to be architects. Not that one ever is when one finishes school but at least I feel that after what I’ve learnt, and with a little help, I can deal with most of the issues (both design issues and construction solutions) that can be presented to me.

I agreed to give an introductory lecture/presentation, Friday the 11th of May, on European Architecture. It will be a slide show of buildings and structures that I’ve visited since I started studying. It will not attempt to be more than that, I thought it could be an interesting show of architecture for most of them.

I also found something very important for my work at the school, the out of print book on Basotho houses! If I don’t manage to find one for myself I know that I can always use that one.

I then met with 2 of the students for Lydia’s house and after a design discussion (where I presented what I think should be the direction we should take) We agreed to meet next Tuesday and properly dimension the site so that we can discuss about what they envision for the site.

Rest of my day was spent on site. Yesterday they managed to cut the slabs and today they had already dug out much of one of them. What we discovered under there is a small architectural/construction horror. A 40mm to 75mm concrete slab sitting on 2mt of uncompacted terrain with no grading what so ever! DPMs that were made of concrete bags!!! And reinforcing steel fabric that is not bond to the concrete, it is instead sitting in the middle of rubble. Really a shock and no wonder the building is as it is.

I had suggested casting a ring beam around the structure using the last course of block as lost shuttering but I had not provided any detail or told them how I wanted it done. I had just mentioned it as and idea. Luckily I saw it today and I managed to stop a mistake that could have otherwise been a costly one.

Apart from that minor incident work seems to be on its way and in little time we’ll be cruising to completion! or at least that’s what I hope…

More photos click here


Just one last remark.
Archicad (and programs alike) will kill architecture in country like this. It does not stimulate thinking and gives you a series of international solutions that do not apply worldwide, plus the finished look that it gives you and the facility of generating the details without thought process, will contribute to the decline of architecture in a country which had a rich vernacular culture.

High up in the mountains

The drive up to the Mohotlong is by no means an easy one but the landscape on the way there is of the nicest the country has to offer!

The mountains are amazing and the temperature shifted form 2 C when we arrived at 8am to 23 C in the afternoon.

I was accompanying Harper (Sentebale) that had a few meetings up there with the excuse of doing some research on the traditional forms of construction. So far I’ve identified 3 different ways of building Rondavlos and 3 different ways of decorating them also. Plus all sorts of possible variations.

We also set out on the (unofficial) mission of making people happy distributing sweets and biscuits to the children and adults. All in all a really rewarding day!

The surprise of the day was reserved for the end of it though. At 8:30pm I received a call form our contractor. Wanted some information about putting up a sign on site…

Shows dedication!

A good day’s work

My day today was quite an event but the title refers to the builders… They managed to put up a shed on site for storage and then with a little help (not that they needed, but because I was around) we now have a cleaner site. Not bad for a late morning start!

But let me return to the start of my day. Baba and I drove to Mohales Hoek to go and have a look at some Caravans so that we could come up with a solution for the temporary sheltering of the children. This is an issue that seems to have new developments every time we ask. Yesterday priority… Today not really and issue and staying outside the main house a no, no! Tomorrow how knows? But we will continue to do our best to sort it out. Whatever that may be…

On the way to Mohales Hoek we saw some really nice traditional buildings decorated with Litema patterns (traditional decorative style which is basicly the carving of ridges into a fine clay layer over the walls).

Back to Maseru late this afternoon but just in time to pick up the drawings and head off to the site to discuss them with Ndate Sello (the foreman) and mark up the slabs that need demolishing and replacing. When I arrived Ndate Sello had just left so I went off to the airport to pick up some drinks for the man on the site. I think they appreciated this gesture and if we are all happy to be working here it will in the end lead to a better building!

Ndate Sello arrived and between saying hello and he having to go and speak to the chief of the region to organize security and labour we managed to discuss the project and to mark up on site (with a stone) the pieces of slab that will need to be cut.

I’ll come and check on the progress on Thursday as tomorrow I’ll be off doing some field research up in the mountains.

more photos click here

Start

This morning I met with Mr. Linakane and his foreman, Ndate Sello Sello, at the site.
It was my understanding form last Friday that they would start on site today but instead I just met the foreman and we had a walk around showing him where the problems were and what we expected to achieve.

Tomorrow 10am they’ll start at least I hope so. Time in our case is not elastic and everyday is precious.

But I did manage to get something started today… “Project Inside View”: I bought a small 35mm photo camera and enough film for the duration of the build. I gave it to the foreman and asked him if everyday he would take one photo of the building or the workers or anything that he chooses.

Like this I’ll have a constant record of life on the site… Will it turn out to be an important contribution or will it just be another failure… Who knows but let’s give it a shot!

A Beautiful Country

I spent the day travelling around with Baba, he was showing me his properties!
And of course they are in beautiful places. I’d be surprised if they were not given the stunning natural beauty of this country.

This is what makes it so strange. It’s beautiful but very poor. It’s a strange mix but in a way I think it’s what helps most people here to be happy… They are poor but not miserable. And that makes all the difference.

It’s always with enormous pride that they speak of their country! It’s always with a lot of friendship that they come and speak to you! The children sometimes can stare at you for one hour without moving but as soon as you smile they’ll wave and come and speak to you.

These and a few more other qualities of this country is what will one day make it prosper!