We discovered that the standard hollow block used to build some of London’s most celebrated architecture is made from concrete bulked with recycled woodshavings, a material that when used in nestboxes is proven to fledge more young than any other.

Synergistically the interior block dimensions are text book size for house sparrows, radically in decline in the area. Other species designed for are blue tits, great tits, starlings, wrens, robins and blackbirds.

A website, www.urbanbirds.net,  launches on Valentine’s Day to allow nesting activity to be tracked by families and bird lovers across the area. Nestworks is a public project and a people’s project, commissioned by the Architecture Foundation as a permanent legacy for the London Festival of Architecture.

The architecture and landscaping is an extension and embodiment of Creede and the very visible spirit that has created it.  The attitude and spirit of the mountain settlers was, and continues to be, unique.  Local architecture reflects the values and sensibilities of its people, and this is particularly visible in places somewhat off the beaten track, where people have had to wrestle with available raw materials to survive and to make their livelihoods.

51% studios are using the same kind of thinking that’s been used for well over 100 years in this valley, using the local site conditions and materials in frank ways that reflect awareness of their inherent attributes.

The design is responsive, site specific and provocative: informed by ornithological derives with Peter Holden, locally celebrated for initiating the annual peregrine falcon public views at Tate Modern. The project was commissioned by the Architecture Foundation, and takes its inspiration from Witherford Watson Mann’s Bankside Urban Forest Strategy.

Nestworks 1 2 3 are a direct response to the festival’s theme of exchange: of knowledge, habitat, materials. We discovered that the standard hollow block used to build some of London’s most celebrated architecture is made from concrete with 55% recycled woodpulp, a material that when used in nestboxes is proven to fledge more young than any other. Synergistically the interior block dimensions are text book sizes for house sparrows, radically in decline in the area. Other species designed for are blue tits, great tits, starlings, wrens, robins and blackbirds.

Nestworks 1 2 3 is a legacy project delivered with support from Peter Holden, the Architecture Foundation, Riverford Organic and Lignacite.

Maps showing locations of the Nestworks, some of which are hidden, will available in the Orchard at Union Street from June 19th, or to download.

A related birdwalk and a new talk by Peter and Andy Holden will take place on Saturday 3rd and Sunday  4^{th July}.  Peregrine viewings at the Tate are daily from 12 noon to 7pm, 17 July to 12 September 2010.

Phase 1, which included remediation, relocation of willows and the outdoor arena, is complete and has affored the community of Creede a safe, beautiful and windfree place to rope and ride.

For upcoming events and news, do also take a look at the MCFA’s newly launched website: www.upperriogrande.org

Others on the shortlist are Donald Insall Associates, Richard Griffiths Architects, Witherford Watson Mann and Wright & Wright.

The birdboxes will be deployed as part of the London Festival of Architecture in June 2010.

The former silver mining town of Creede is located in the Alte Vista Mountains, 10 miles from the source of the Rio Grande. The fairground site’s strategic importance is its location on the floodplain of Willow Creek - it can be seen for miles from the Silver Thread Scenic Highway. The site makes an important contribution to the natural landscape and could become an iconic signature for the town.

The Mineral County Fairgrounds Association approached 51% studios to develop with them a proposal for permanent all weather fairground facilities which could be implemented over time. Each phase will need to function in its own right, allowing for the next with maximum efficiency. We developed a flexible master diagram, using remediation to create an enduring ‘functional landscape’, preserving and enhancing existing views to and from the site.

Facilities will include a multi-purpose all-weather arena, community center and publicly accessible landscape where equal importance is given, and clear distinctions made, between pedestrians, the animals and their trucks.

Local sustainable design research has included a survey of readily available local materials, efficient energy creators such as ground source, solar cells etc, indigenous building traditions such as straw bale and stucco construction, in-floor radiant heat, and natural lighting.

The Mineral County Fairgrounds Association [MCFA] has successfully secured city, county, state and federal grants for the site, as well as overseeing the Voluntary Cleanup Operation.

Many roads to cross but I can’t seem to find my way over / Wandering I am lost as I travel along the white cliffs of Dover [from ‘Too many rivers to cross’, the Harder they Come, with apologies to Jimmy Cliff]

Portus Dubris is a town denied its sea frontage, its beach and cliffs and ports — a town thrilling to arrive at by sea, car or truck, but miserable to be in on foot. Yet Dover is also uniquely situated to once again blossom into a first class town — it has history, character, identity and natural endowment in spoonfuls.

This ‘master diagram’ seeks to reconnect the town and its sea frontage by bringing the countryside into the heart of the town and suppressing the relentless traffic thundering along the A20 by burying it between Snargate Street and Marine Parade. The space above the road will be a new car free landscaped public space.

Along with the proposed quayside quarters this represents an opportunity to create a sustainable city to rival anywhere in the world, so that over time our perception of Dover will be first of green and then of white.