It was nice weather and therefore our cats were allowed outside

Our poly boy Baba (Vaskebjorns Babangida P.) was sitting on our dining table in the garden overlooking all and everything.

We think he has the looks (and the genes) to give very nice babies in the (near) future

Vaskebjorns Babangida P.

So when we went to the market this morning to get our fresh goodies, I saw some raspberries on special, and they are Serge’s fave fruit for anything under the sun, so I bought some and wanted to surprise him with some raspberry jam.

I was so excited, couldn’t wait to make it, and promptly started it and thought about the different things, spices and otherwise that could be used together with raspberry and I eventually thought I would try ground clove and wow, what a surprise, it was absolutely delectable. I let it boil for the allocated 12minutes with the sugar and then added the clove and bottled it, it smelled heavenly, the taste test by my boys will tell the tale and by me of course. 

I have decided to write a post on making jam. It has become an interest since my neighbour and I spoke about it, when she had some red currants left over, I think I suggested trying to make jam, but I cannot quite remember how it came about.

Anyway my neighbour supplied the fruit and I supplied the sugar. She was interested in trying to make the jam with the help of a pressure cooker, so we printed out a recipe to follow and then halved the recipe as we didn’t have as much of the fruit as stipulated in the recipe. We needed to put in a ridiculously small amount of water and both my neighbour and I said, we were worried it would burn the bottom of the pot so we added an extra few mills. We put it on under pressure for 1minute and then it had to stand for an hour if I remember correctly.

After the hour was over, we opened the pressure cooker and needless to say we had added too much water, the recipe said to boil it for another 2-3 minutes and then bottle it. We learned how to sterilise the bottles properly and the amount of time you can leave the jam unopened as well, really interesting facts that I did not know beforehand.

The taste test would come the next morning, which was a couple of days ago, the jam had stiffened and it was absolutely delish. My neighbour has wanted to find yellow grapefruit as well, and her hubby found them yesterday, so she thought she would make a Grapefruit jam/marmalade.

I was very keen to see/hear what her experience was with making it. She eventually made Grapefruit and mango jam, which was absolutely delicious! Unusual you would think but really refreshing and delish! She has also inspired me to come up with some unusual combinations for my future jams. More about that in my next post.

“Create 10 images conveying various points of interest from each episode…”

The Lost House A house which feels more like an art piece than a home
Lack of Light Experiment which shows the health effects as a result of a lack of natural light
Size Britain has the smallest house sizes in Europe
Leicester Problems within a typical modern housing estate
Virtual Room Measured effects of ceiling height in a virtual room
Bateman’s Row Designed around the theory of the Golden Section
Golden Section Mathematical formula of proportion
8 House Purpose built community to most benefit its residents
Schroder House Rietveld’s design centres around light and playfulness
Almere City Largest self build city in Europe where full control is handed to owners

After we returned from our vacation in Tunisia we had to paint our house on the second and the third floor. For that we rented scaffolding. After we were done, the cats were allowed outside again and our Baba wanted to be a “builder” and climbed on the scaffolding.

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Jordaan looks like a restaurant, it’s got the seats, the tables, the modernist yet cosy feel of a restaurant but it also feels like your dining at a bar. (Soup of the day?! – Beer !)

The menu has a typical font and typical layout, printed on white paper and covered in plastic. Standard drinks menu and no real wine list to speak of. They even have those little gambling machines in the corner (Incase people realize they don’t have enough for the bill?)

Two of the items on the menu were not available, so my date and I chose others. We had a chicken wrap to start and goats cheese with almonds. It was literally goats cheese cut, placed on a piece of brown bread and heated. The chicken wrap was chicken filet slices ( ala albertheijn) put on a wrap with some ‘kip Kerrie’ (chicken and curry mayo) and rolled.. Not too amazing.

35 mins after our starters where taken away we were served our main course. 1 piece of meat eat each with a few slices of carrots, a bit of wilted celery and a single floret of cauliflower. The steak was cooked pretty well, the pork filet well, just boring.

The ‘menu’ at this places means you pay a certain fee for 3 courses, we didn’t feel like staying any longer so I can’t tell you how the deserts are.

Upon leaving we were asked to pay at the bar where one of the 2 waiters was too busy to get to me. Luckily I had exact amount to pay.

I’m sure there is better in Almere – when I find it I’ll let you know !

“Have you ever stopped to think how the design of a building is affecting you?”
– Tom Dyckhoff. The Secret Life of Buildings. Episode One.

Our homes are, if only, the one place we should feel secure and content, both physically and in health. However, British homes have been built, on average, with the smallest rooms and windows in Europe. In his opening episode, Dyckhoff reveals that the average British new build consists of only 76sqm in comparison with 136sqm in Denmark and 214sqm in Australia. Since 1980 there has been no legal minimum housing size guidelines in the UK, allowing for architects and estate agents to manipulate our impressions of the size of our homes by counting bedrooms. Dyckhoff participates in an experiment carried out by Dr Eve Edelstein of California University, attempting to clearly illustrate the consequences small room proportions can have. Equipped with an EIG system, he is able to enter a virtual room where the ceiling height is altered to measure the effects this has on his brain activity. Examples of low ceiling heights showed the brain to be more active causing a tense state, however as the ceiling was raised Dyckhoff explained how he felt a “weight lifting,” iterating the consequences of the cramped spaces we’re living in.

In another, he offers his London flat to be adjusted to match the light levels of an average British home. He’s then monitored as he lives in these new conditions over the course of seven days. After the week finishes, results show greater signs of depression, stress, tiredness and anxiety. However, more alarmingly, there was significant movement in his body clock and blood tests showed a much higher vulnerability to diabetes.

Looking to speak with people currently living in these conditions, we visit Kings Cross in London to the “Lost House,” designed by David Adjay. The house consists of little natural daylight with one central courtyard providing the minimum light. Black walls and floors absorb much of the light that is even allowed to enter. Although the aesthetic of the building is debatably pleasing, the owners themselves seem barely convinced of it’s homely atmosphere. When asked if the building rules their lives, the reply explains how constant upkeep is essential as not to “disturb the feeling.” Surely this is not how our homes should make us feel.

Described as a home “designed to make you feel good,” by architect and owner Soraya Khan, Dyckhoff visits the Bateman’s Row apartment to see if the building lives up to its ambition. Together with husband and business partner, Patrick Theis, they calculated their build around the idea of the “Golden Section;” a formula commonly attempted by architects in order to propose more aesthetically and emotionally pleasing building. The elevation of Bateman’s Row, in particular the windows, follow the law of the golden section ratio of 1:1.618. Perhaps it’s this careful consideration in order to create a harmonious composition that leaves Khan commenting, “there’s just something about it.”

After visiting various housing schemes in Britain including a new estate in Leicester and a 1950s tenement building in London. In speaking with a various home owners, Dyckhoff is being told of the same problems over and over; namely that architects seem to be mis-understanding the needs of their client. In the new build, there is not enough storage or privacy as rooms are crammed into houses and houses crammed into estates. And although a much needed regeneration project has begun in the London block, the designers have yet to consult the residents regarding their opinions.

Dyckhoff believes we’re missing a key factor in designing homes for people; the people themselves. Holland’s newest city, Almere, is the world’s largest self build city, where 720 plots are available for owners to design and build their own residences as they please. People are in control of their own surroundings making for an opportunity for a more satisfied community. In speaking to a single mum, it shows the scheme has allowed her to reasonably cheaply create her ideal environment to raise her family.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-secret-life-of-buildings/episode-guide/series-1/episode-1

Are British architects missing something? Although, I wouldn’t believe it’s fair to put all modern projects into the same unfulfilling category, there does seem to be a general need for people to be brought into the architectural process. Dyckhoff has clearly portrayed his feelings over our homes and the consequences their poor design can have, in a series of interviews and experiments. And although some of these are maybe not as striking as perhaps intended (that crammed rooms causes claustrophobia for example), the opening episode of the three is definitely a step in the right direction of an ambition for more considerate architecture to follow.

The house is a two-story building with traditional planning, living on the ground floor and sleeping upstairs. The building is divided into three parts: a two-storey main entrance building facing the front garden, a patio and connecting hallway as an open area in between, and finally the living area in a one-story volume in the middle of the plot.

The house is clad in yellow-white blend brickwork with mahogany window frames. The first (twostory) block contains an office with business entrance and bathroom, utility room, storage room and sauna on the ground floor. On the first floor are the bedrooms, bath and shower rooms. The landing is so spacious, that besides the traffic space there is place for a cabinet wall, which maximizes the free space in the bedrooms, but also a large workbench. On this workbench, the three children do their homework and use their computers. This encourages social contact within the family, but also provides the necessary social supervision by the parents. None of the rooms in this volume are street-oriented, to emphasize privacy.

The entrance to the house is in the second volume, the connecting hallway between the tall office/sleep volume and the low residential volume. It also houses the start of the stairs to the first floor, while more towards the living quarters there is a cloakroom. The third volume is divided into three parts. The dining/TV area is focused on the east side garden. The kitchen is built into two long volumes, separating the living room from the dining room. Above the kitchen is a glass roof. In these volumes there are also an indoor and an outdoor fireplace. The livingroom is facing the patio and the backyard, and has a partly covered terrace facing south.

By dividing the various functions into multiple, interconnected blocks, the house becomes fully integrated with the plot. The phenomenal large glass panes, the visual lines of the interior design and the garden design by the Mien Ruys studio do the rest.

Architects: 70F Architecture
Location: Almere, The Netherlands
Year: 2009
Photographs: Luuk Kramer

via

To discover more about that days adventure slide on over to Amsterdam Mamas

Recently we posted that Feme became 10 years old and was a very fit lady. The last couple of days it could have turned out completely different. A couple of months ago when our vet came for the annual shots, we had our vet also have a look at our Feme. We thought she might have a cold. Our vet was convinced it was a polyp though and said, when her nose starts running or her ears get dirty, I will see you in the clinic. After about a month after the check she still had her cold and we decided to give her antibiotics. Fortunately Feme reacted very well on that and it confirmed us in our opinion that there was no way she had a polyp. She did very well for some time, but until last week. She started having a cold again. As she was still eating good and also performed her household task as policewoman we were not to worried until yesterday morning. Her cold increased a lot and she was short of breath and her tongue was a bit pale.

We decided to go to a vet, but not our own. Not long ago a pet hospital opened in Almere and we decided to go there because they are open in the weekend and have all kind of modern equipment which we already checked out on their open day.

Back to Feme. We arrived at the vet and after some time it was our turn. The vet had a look and after listening to the lungs and the discussion with us decided that it could not be a polyp but some respiratory problem. To decide what the problem was she wanted to make an X-ray. There was only one problem, Feme was so short of breath that she could not take the x-ray there and then. She said she wanted to put her on oxygen first.

So we had to leave Feme at the vet which we find very difficult, but the the cat comes first in our opinion. Later that day the vet called and said that Feme’s problem could be treated very well. It turned out she had bronchitis and an acute asthmatic attack.

She got treated with Ventolin, antibiotics and prednisone. She also wanted to keep her overnight to make sure she was  as optimal as possible . Today around noon we could pick her up again, she felt good and was walking around. When we entered she stepped in her basket straight away .

Now she is walking around and enjoying a sunbath in the garden. It looks like she is feeling very well, but has to stay on prednisone for some time.

As you all can imagine it turned out to be a stressful weekend, we could very easily have lost Feme on Saturday and that because our vet was way off with her diagnosis.

Fortunately we found this vet (Nina is her name) and she acted very well, although it costs a couple of Euros as you can imagine . But …… Feme is still with us and that is what counts.

Our thanks go therefore to pet hospital Almere  and specially to Nina.

Almere is the youngest city in the Netherlands: the first house was finished in 1976, and Almere became a municipality in 1984. It is the largest municipality in Flevoland with 191,495 citizens (9 May 2011), and the 7th largest in the Netherlands. In October 2007, the city council of Almere made agreements with the government to expand the city to 350,000 inhabitants by 2030.

The original plans for the IJsselmeerpolders saw the land being used for agriculture. However, after World War II housing was needed for the rapidly growing population of Amsterdam and two towns were planned in the polders Oostelijk Flevoland and Zuidelijk Flevoland. The town in Oostelijk Flevoland became Lelystad. The town in Zuidelijk Flevoland was still called Zuidweststad (English: South West City) on the first sketches, but in the 1970s it became called Almere, named after the early medieval name of the Zuiderzee. The first house in Almere was finished in 1976. At that time the town was still controlled by the Openbaar Lichaam Zuidelijke IJsselmeerpolders (Z.IJ.P.), with a Landdrost. In 1984 Almere became an official municipality. Originally, Almere was envisioned as a town with multiple centres. This idea was later abandoned in favor of allowing neighbourhoods like Tussen de Vaarten to be built. There is also a difference between the way houses are built in the oldest and the newest parts of the city. The housing plan in Almere in the 1970s was basic functionality and a levelling of social status. However, starting in the 1990s more exclusive homes with striking designs were built (e.g., in the Regenboogbuurt). The name of the city comes from the ancient lake Almere.

Residential Architecture:  Project X House by René van Zuuk: “..Dutch architect René van Zuuk has designed a house for himself in Almere in the Netherlands..Called Project X, the villa includes an office space and is located at the Fantasy District, an area for experimental housing..”  Sleek, chic, extensive glazing, natural light, interesting fenestration, materiality, interior volumes; interior courtyard..

image + article: Dezeen

designalog : contact

Today exactly 10 years ago our Feme was born out of Dynamicats Banshee and Bonfires Cookie Monster.

In her younger days she did very well on shows and most likely she still would go well, certainly given her age. Unfortunately she only had 1 litter, but fortunately we kept her daughter Vaskebjorns Layla P.

She is already sitting behind the door to receive all the birthday cards.

Vaskebjorns Feme

Recently, I went on an open-day tour organised especially for SA donators. We were warned beforehand that we weren’t to smile at or make eye contact with the primates. This was to prevent Bokito-type scenarios. Bokito is the alpha gorilla from Rotterdam zoo who had a female admirer who smiled at him on regular visits. He interpreted her teeth baring as a sign of aggression and one day leapt over the water separating him from the public and attacked the woman. He dragged her around by the hair and inflicted multiple fractures and bites. Both parties lived to tell the tale. The woman’s affection for Bokito is apparently, undiminished.

The ape sanctary in Almere is set up so that the primates have as little contact as possible with humans. When they arrive they spend several weeks in quarantine and then are slowly re-socialised with their own species. After that they are released into fields or enclosures where they are encouraged to follow their natural behaviour as much as possible.

Rescued from a laboratory, this rhesus ape was conditioned to accept drinking water as a reward.

During the introductory talk we were told that this wasn’t going to be a zoo-like experience. In between the enclosures there were wooden boardwalks and as we shuffled along huddled under umbrellas, sheltering from the torrential downpour, it definitely felt like we were the captives being gawped at!

Who’s watching who?

A Few Case Histories

Fifi, the chimpanzee, was born in the wild in West Africa. She was caught for the exotic animal trade, bought by an eccentric millionaire and ended up in the dilapidated attic of a castle gatehouse near Paris. There she spent 30 lonely years and was infected with two STDs. She hadn’t lost her faith in humanity though and now lives a happy retirement in Almere with two elderly male chimps.

Achille, was a major attraction in a down-at-heel French circus. He was housed in a small cage, where he was put as a juvenile chimp, and of course had dramatically outgrown in the many years he’d been touring with the circus. His cage door had to be cut open in order for him to come out. Understandably, when his door was opened he became totally hysterical. Achille had to be sedated and slowly learn natural chimp behaviour. Now he lives a contented life in Primadomus (Spanish branch of Stiching Aap).

Tonkin, the racoon, was kept as a pet on an Amsterdam balcony and one day made a bid for freedom. He found a sanctuary in nearby city gardens and helped himself to food from the bird tables. When he dived into a canal in order to pinch some ducks’ food he quickly discovered that swimming was great but canal walls were very slippery and steep. He was fortunately rescued by the dierenambulance and later re-homed at Stichting Aap.

Although Stichting Aap is not a zoo it is possible to visit the centre in Almere. The islands with the boardwalks are open daily to the general public between 9.30am and 4pm. Almere is about half an hour’s drive away from Amsterdam. If you don’t have time to visit you can always go to the website and donate some money! NL residents can also donate air miles. You’ll make some animals very happy!

Click here for the Full map

The line begins at the Almere Buiten railway station, in the north-east of Almere. This is the only intercity-station along the route of the bus line, so the Intercity services are no competitors. From here, the line uses Almere’s bus lane network, more precise the route of line 5 (Almere Oostvaarders – Componistenpad). This line, and therefore the proposed line, runs through the north of Almere along the Amsterdam – Lelystad railway line.

Still using the route of line 5, the line soon arrives in the Almere city center. Here, the line serves the hospital and most of the important parts of the city center. The line does not serve the local train station, to decrease the journey time. The line leaves the city center using the bus lane of line 4 (Almere Centrum – Homeruskwartier).

Still using the route of line 4, the line soon arrives at the Almere Muziekwijk railway station. Now, many passengers change here for the trains towards Amsterdam. Thanks to this line, many passengers don’t have to change anymore. Next, the line uses the bus lane used by line 4, until the Argonweg in western Almere, where the line leaves the bus lane. From here, the line uses the Argonweg, Elementendreef and the Hogering. The line leaves Almere using the A6. 

The line uses the A6 motorway until it ends, and next the line uses the A1 motorway, until Muiden. Here, the line leaves the motorway, to serve the Transferium and Park&Ride terrain. After serving this terrain, the line uses the Maxisweg running parralel to the A1 motorway, to serve the Maxis shopping center.

The line uses the Maxisweg until the Weteringweg. Using the Weteringweg, the line soon enters south-eastern Amsterdam. Through this part of Amsterdam, the line uses the Provincialeweg and the Daalwijkdreef.

Using the Daalwijkdreef, Dolingdreef and Bijlmerdreef, the line soon arrives at the Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA railway station. This station serves as the entry for the ArenA stadium and shopping center, and is therefore the most important stop on the line in southeastern Amsterdam. After serving the Bijlmer ArenA station, the line uses the Hoogoorddreef, the Hondsrugweg, the Muntbergweg and the Meibergdreef, until the line arrives at the Amsterdam Holendrecht railway station, where the line ends.

Conclusion
Due to the fact that many passengers can use this line, this line can be relatively profitable during the peak hours. Still, the peak is just one-way only, meaning that higher, one-way, frequencies have to be offered to coop with demand. The frequency could best be set at 2 buses per hour, with an increased of 6 buses per hours in the peak direction (mornings towards Amsterdam, evenings towards Almere) and a modified frequency of 4 buses per hour in the against peak direction. The line could best be run by 13 meter buses, like the Volvo 8700 already used in the region.

EME 3 is a number of events and activities in and on public space. There were direct interventions in the public space like the building of a large meshworks on Placa Nova; exhibitions at several places in town such as the COAC building; installations; debates & talks; workshops and documentaries. The purpose of EME 3 is `to have participants discover and live other ways of architecture`.

EME 3 is open to everyone and there is no admission fee. Besides architects and city planners there is a wide range of disciplines present. This is just one of the elements that makes it an interesting event. Honoring this year´s theme – bottom up – there was a lot of space for interaction with local people, inhabitants of the city Barcelona.

The Placa Nova is a very central square, next to one of Barcelona´s main shopping streets and in front of one of Barcelona´s main tourist attractions, the … cathedral. The open character of EME 3 invites people to come in and to participate in the program. I have been in several conversations in the EME 3 dome where local people joined, on invitation or just because they passed by and were interested.

Roel Simons and I were invited to contribute to this year´s EME 3. Actually Roel was invited and he found it appropriate to give the work we have done in Cascadepark Almere a central element in his presentation. Together we prepared and facilitated a 1 hr presentation and a 3 hr workshop on ´Videoparticipation´, using Cascadepark as a significant case.

For the workshop we had chosen not to work with a group that would be too large. We had set our minds on working with a group of around 16-20 people. Our presentation was scheduled for the Friday evening and the workshop was to be held on Saturday morning.

We designed our presentation in such a matter that it would give those attending a brief experience of how we work. In 30 minutes we shared our individual backgrounds; how Roel and I came to collaborate; the economic and social context in Almere and the assignment that was given to us by the municipality for the project in Cascadepark. Naturally we shared the movie that tells the story of Cascadepark in 10 minutes. Thanks to an update from the “friends of Cascadepark” we were also able to share the latest developments in Cascadepark.

The other half of our presentation we used for a conversation with the people present. Instead of a question and answer ´session we found it more valuable to have others relate to our story from their experience as architect, urban planner-developer or inhabitant. This led to a very interesting conversation, where also differences between the Netherlands and Spain were addressed. Many people gave us feedback afterwards that they were very inspired. Later I was told that this is not very Spanish to do, so I guess we did a good job there.

Our workshop session was originally planned inside the COAC building, but we were able to move that to the dome and the outside area of the plaza. We were also very fortunate to have Sandra Ruiz, a bilingual business coach, in our team for translations during the workshop. That enabled us to have some insight in the lively conversations that were held in Spanish. Our objective was to share an experience with the participants on using video participation and to allow them to experience a group process that works with the “wisdom of crowds”.

With 19 participants we worked on two case studies, brought in by the participants. An architect, living in Barcelona, had a case on how to create more participation and collaboration his neighborhood.  A process had been started and it got stuck at a certain point. The other case was on another district in Barcelona with a lot of drug abuse. Key question here was how to engage the community for improvement of the district.

We used a combination of storytelling, world café, briefing and moviemaking to give the participants in 3 hrs an experience that was similar to the 6 months process in Almere. In the first conversation round we had the case holder share his story and we gave the others assignments for active listening and feedback. The second conversation round focused on the deeper codes with the question “What story wants to be told?” We also asked to formulate an action that could be taken as a next step in the projects. The third step for the groups was to make an inspiring 2 minute movie that will activate others to participate in the project.

After sharing the movies we used the last 15 minutes for feedback on the workshop. The case holders felt very much fed and empowered by the wisdom of the group and they both had new practical insights that will help them to take their next steps. The other participants were very enthusiastic about the process we guided them through and the joy and power it gave. Roel and I were impressed by the quality of conversation in the groups.

Hopefully we will be able to participate at the EME 3 conference in 2013. Roel and I would both be very inspired if we then could present a Spanish case. Who knows what the future brings.

Here you can find the films that were made by the groups. They had only 40 minutes

Film 1

Film 2

Film 3

Post by Roald Smeets

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Golden morning, Lumiere park, Almere, The Netherlands by Alex Verweij

Today is a very special day at our place. we have to celebrate three birthdays/

First of all, we have Lady Zayra of the three Turnips (Zayra). She became 11 years old today.

Secondly (and third) we have the two sisters Vaskebjorns Fleur du Cap and Vaskebjorns Svannah P. Both became two years old today/ Especially Savannah is a surprise as she is suffering from Tetralogy of Fallot and was not supposed to get old. This was discovered when we had a heartscan with 9 weeks for her because our vet heard a heart murmur. At the moment she is trying to set the record

Obviously we had to eat a lot of cake today

Fleur (left) and Savannah (right)

Zayra