do something different in the middle of the night...

We can now announce a few more details about exactly what we will be doing in the middle of the night - more specifically, over the night of 30th October - 31st October...

We are producing this:

This, is to be our sea bound installation for the wonderful White Night Brighton 2010 - 'mini murmuration' and this is what is about.

Responding to the 2010 theme of ‘Illumination’ Claire Potter Design have been commissioned to produce an innovative light installation which will play homage to two icons of the city – the crumbling West Pier and the starlings which call it home.

Over recent years, the West Pier has developed from a skeleton into a living performance, when every night, thousands of starlings mass and whirl in the skies above the structure - known as a murmuration - creating a beautiful dance before they settle to roost. Whilst this dance is beautiful to watch, and has become as iconic as the West Pier itself, many do not realise how important this roosting site is, and how threatened the starlings actually are.

One of the four specially commissioned pieces for White Night Brighton 2010, ‘mini murmuration’ is a light based installation which takes this ‘performance’ as inspiration, and aims to educate viewers as to the threatened status of the birds and the importance of the site.

A sea-based artwork will be created next to the West Pier itself, with around a hundred Mathmos ‘Windlights’ - miniature wind turbine LEDs – glowing and swaying above an old timber boat, creating a fluctuating shape reminiscent of the murmurations of the starlings.

Red LEDs have been chosen to highlight the Red Listed status of the starlings on the RSPB Species of Conservation Concern list, whilst the number of LEDs used (approximately 80 – 100) will highlight the massive numerical decline of the birds. Only a small ‘cloud’ of LED starlings will sway next to the Pier.

We will of course be posting more info on the development of the piece as it is made, but if you want to do something different in the middle of the night, stick the 30th Oct in your diary, and come and say hello.

underfloor heating Tubes...

It is quite ironic that I found this little posting via Inhabitat when our own Underground system is currently completely un-operational due to strikes, but hey ho.

With the energy crisis growing each day, it is wastefullness that many think should be tackled as a priority. If it is a crime to carbon pollute then surely it is more of a crime to waste a by-product of that very carbon useage? Shouldn't we be demanding the very best value for our (carbon) pound?

And for those of you who have ever travelled on the Underground in London, there is a shocking amount of waste energy floating about the air around all us. Some is generated by the trains, some by our very own bods as we sardine squeeze ourself into the cans on rails.

Heat.

Yep - have you ever thought as you sweat and puff around the tube how that heat could be used? Well, me neither, but fortunately, some clever bods in Paris have.

It was been calculated that every person entering the Metro emits around 100 watts of energy in body heat, which, when added to the heat generated by the trains themselves adds up to a lot of warmth.

So, this heat is to be harnessed to heat 17 apartments in a block above ground which is currently undergoing an eco transformation - directly above the Metro.

Brilliant. A huge ground source heat pump. sort of. But still brilliant.

Micro chic, eco style!!!

Just a little link really - here is the fantastic article that has just been published in the September edition of the Wealden Times - all about our wee house - Farrier Cottage.

enjoy.

staycation memoirs...

just like a holiday, we blinked and it was over - but we are delighted to announce that our studio staycation was a great success!

over the five open days we spoke to nearly 100 different people, who had a variety of queries from which herbs to plant on a semi-shady balcony to what types of natural insulation are available.

we helped people with natural rubber flooring, colour selection and clematis species.

we had a blast.

so much so, that we are planning on starting a new 'free friday' scheme in Brighton - setting up free design clinics an a variety of locations, one every two months, to help whoever wants to come and say hi!

further details will follow, but thank you to all of our visitors at our very first 'staycation'...