Showing posts with label growing things. Show all posts
Showing posts with label growing things. Show all posts

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Greenhouse by Joost - at Sydney Harbour for 6 weeks


 "I have designed the restaurant in reverse. I’ve started at the end and worked back. My dream has always been to build a restaurant that creates no waste and now I believe I can achieve it!” – Joost

temporary greenhouse, cafe, bar on the harbourside.
This is a good reason for a trip to Sydney if you ask me.... well ... add in a visit to family, friends and such! I love the fact this is temporary set up. It was set up in Federation Square in Melbourne in early 2009 when I was there for a month so I got to see the earlier version Of this brilliant idea!
I think  should let others do the describing.

Joost Bakker’s Greenhouse opened last Friday. Visit the website for all the news...


When I said harbourside I meant it... that wash is fairly close to the open window
... must be very refreshing sitting there looking out!


He thinks of everything!


Joost on the building site


Joostpost-chairsandpots
a wall of strawberry pots


The David Bromley painting on the shipping containers





artist at work.

Thanks to the support of Design Files who did the most lovely blog post on their site by writing Joost and the Greenhouse a letter today. It was also great to see you on Friday night for a drink and to enjoy our new space.
“Dear JOOST BAKKER,
How do you do it?
How is it that on December 23rd, the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority offered you, out of the blue, this amazing location at Circular Quay for one of your world-famousGreenhouse temporary restaurants, and less than 2 months later it is HERE for us all to admire?
How is it that local council seem to turn around approval on all your crazy ideas in a timeframe most architects could not even imagine in their wildest dreams?
How is it that you manage to inspire so many brilliant and super high profile local creative people to be involved (David Bromley, David BandSpacecraftQueen B Candles, Top chefs Jason Chan and Matt Stone, to name only a few) – with little or no lead time at all?
How is it that you rope in support from so many businesses and project sponsors (Framecad, Little CreaturesMiele and many more) without a corporate logo to be seen?
How is it that you manage to get by on about 2 hrs sleep each night, without a wink of grumpiness, red-eye or evidence of energy depletion?
How is it that you inspired this design blogger to travel to Sydney twice in the past month just to see what you’re up to?
I’ve heard from reliable sources that you have Jedi Powers.  I believe it.  You’re AMAZING.
From Lucy ;) ”

THIS TEXT COMES FORM THE GREENHOUSE WEBSITE... ITS A COPY OF THE DESIGN FILES ARTICLE... THESE PHOTS ARE FROM THE WONDERFUL DESIGN FILES AS WELL!

ABOUT JOOST: FROM HIS WEBSITE




Born into a dynasty of Dutch flower growers, Joost is a discipline-crossing creative who constantly draws on his ‘horti-culture’ to make artful commentary on the world’s wasteful ways. Working exclusively with the discard of human activity he has fashioned such extraordinary forms that the word ‘rubbish’ has risen from the scrap heap.Joost has been commissioned to design furniture, vertical gardens and event spaces in his trademark style juxtaposing nature and industry.  In March 2006, Joost set about the construction of a new home for his family, employing a unique building system; a contemporary take on a great sustainable construction method utilising straw bales set into a 100% recyclable steel framework. In 2008, the same building principles were used to construct the firstGreenhouse by Joost’, an exhibition and event space at Melbourne’s Federation Square which was open from November 2008 to January 2009 and attracted 1,000 visitors per day, global media attention from major publications and over 2.5 million viewers on YouTube. A permanent Greenhouse by Joost is currently located on St George’s Terrace in Perth, Western Australia and in 2010 received the Restaurant of the Year in Perth and attracts 800 to 1,000 visitors per day.

OK.... THis you have to read... from here
I have designed the restaurant in reverse. I’ve started at the end and worked back. My dream has always been to build a restaurant that creates no waste and now I believe I can achieve it!” – Joost
Suppliers will only be able to supply fresh produce in returnable Chep crates. Like in Perth, fresh milk will be delivered from the farm straight to us in returnable stainless steel buckets with which we will make our own butter, yoghurt and mozzarella cheese. In Perth we stone grind almost 1 tonne of wheat every week and I anticipate we will use more here in Sydney.
A local wheat grower will provide us with wheat direct from the farm every week, we cut the thread on the bags in such a way that they can be returned and re-used. We will use our Flour Mill to grind the wheat into fresh flour to make bread, pastries, pasta and wood fired pizza. Oats will also be rolled fresh.
All our waste from the kitchen will be organic. This organic waste will be composted on site using a JoraForm in-vessel composter. This will grind and produce 10 litres of compost for every 100 litres of waste. Our  compost will be required to maintain the roof top garden. In Perth this year we have added almost 6000 litres of compost to our roof top garden (that’s 60,000 litres of waste we have composted!) Our cutlery is made from plantation timber and will be composted in the JoraForm, even the baking paper we source from Finland is unbleached and can be processed through the composter.
The rooftop garden is planted in Chep liquid bins that are traditionally used for transporting olive oil. The rooftop bar serves wine from returnable kegs or barrels. The beer will only be available on tap. I have also been working with Mitch from Hepburn Springs Mineral Water. Greenhouse Sydney will be the first to use carbonated water derived straight from the aquifer into kegs. This pure Australian carbonated water will be used to make our own Tonic, Soda and Cola. The house pours of Gin, Rum, Vodka and Whiskey are also Australian made and owned. Mark Douglass (glass artist) will transform the empty bottles into beer glasses as he does now for Greenhouse Perth.
The staff t-shirts designed in collaboration with Space-craft and Joost, re-printed using natural dyes, are overruns of political and business t-shirts salvaged by the Salvation Army.
The Greenhouse Sydney interior walls will be completely clad in MgO board (magnesium oxide board).  Joost has developed MgO board impregnated with Bio-Char so that The Greenhouse can store carbon within its walls! The Greenhouse steel framed walls are filled with straw and its doors and windows recyclable steel framed.
The toilets are Australian made Caroma Dorf, with the sink above the cistern using water from the hand wash to fill the next flush!  Waterless urinals are used and the kitchen and bathroom floors are lined with natural linoleum.
Joost has designed & made chairs out of old aluminium irrigation pipes.  They are incredibly light & have been named Squirt Chair! The leather used for the seats are off-cuts from a saddle makers in Ballarat (Victoria’s last tannery).  Lights have been made from willow trees and rolls of old fencing wire.

Monday, January 24, 2011

shredding oranges... but can we grow them?


I got the blues
thinking of the future,
so I left off and
made some marmalade.
Its amazing how
it cheers one up
to shred oranges
and scrub the floor
D H Lawrence
(from Sophie Munns’ journal)



uncertaintimes:

Hollie Chastain




uncertaintimes:

Mandrake (Mandragora officinarum), from Tacuinum Sanitatis (15th c.)




uncertaintimes:

Festival of Sekhtet, Nakht’s tomb




paradisexpress:

japaneseflowergarden:

simplyadreamer:

(via laboomeria)
paradisexpress:
People have been cultivating plants for a very long time... 
certainly thousands of years... so long as there was somewhere to
plant seeds... or propagate a plant ...then people have been growing 
plants for all manner of purposes....for all kinds of sustenance.

I just read a story that made me wonder what kind of arrogance and 
idiocy would drive a government to sign a bill to make it illegal
to grow food in one's own back yard? A bill that would outlaw 
gardening and saving seeds!
Please take a few minutes to read 
this post that I put up at the 
homage blog 10 minutes ago. Sorry 
to be bossy about this... but if 
you enjoy your art, your lovely 
home and fine food ... then think for 
a few minutes about the consequences
of a bill like this... and what 
happens when it is picked up in 
another country and another!
Some things should not be put off!
What do you think?




update from last night:
Thank you to all who communicated, sent links 
and emailed to participate in an important dialogue..


And thanks to bloggers who went the extra mile and tracked down 
links to put perspective onto this issue which has collected energy
as it has been disseminated out into the ether. Like the proverbial 
chinese whispers in some cases the story was changed beyond 
recognition
However should you care to read the Bill: 
The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to the safety of the food supply 
the link was sent in by 2 bloggers... in summary form from Sharmon 
of true adventures of an art addict and in full from Egmont of 
the artist within us to the homage blog.
It was well put by Sharmon:
I was extremely alarmed by what I read in your email, so I did a bit of research. For the most part, it seems to be an 
internet hoax, thank goodness. The bill exists, but most of the claims made by Natural News are false. According to 
snopes, which is usually very reliable,(http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/organic.asp), the bill contains nothing 
about home gardeners, seeds, or organic farms. I read a summary of the bill at govtrack.us (http://www.govtrack.us/
congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-510&tab=summary), and that appears to be true. 
However, the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund (http://www.ftcldf.org/news/news-02mar2009.htm) sees it as 
over-regulation which will put an undue burden on small family farms. Thanks for bringing it to may attention; I will 
research it further. But believe me, if I thought the bill would effect our right to grow gardens or save seeds (both 
of which I do and intend to continue), I'd be picketing on the front steps of the Capital Building.


This comment answered some of the questions at the top of the my
list ... however it must be noted that there is quite a difference 
in reading the summary as opposed to the complete Bill sent in by 
Egmont...I suspect many trying to read this bill would find themselves 
wondering anxiously if they might be missing something! 


What struck me most about this entire story after it came to my 
attention yesterday was that we're poised to expect bad news from 
the transationals gobbling up control of global food markets. Many 
of us have taken on board the fact that it is indeed illegal in 
some parts of the world to grow food from seeds saved locally, 
according to traditions extending back generation upon generation. 
Food sovereignty is a huge issue. 
The fear accompanying this story I picked up yesterday is not coming 
for no reason. And if we, for even a moment, thought about what 
it might feel like to lose our food sovereignty we can be present 
to the issue that is already out there for some...
as a chronically harsh reality served up because there was no power
to intervene... or perhaps understanding to see the need to!


elastica:

(via thiswillhurt)
posted at seed capsules

This image from the previous post is quite apt for this discussion. 
There's huge fear surrounding peak oil, peak water and peak food...
 population growth and climate change. Some put their head in the 
sand and say its not happening, its not coming!
Others are sponges and seem to soak up all the information and ideas
that are circulating and of course this can be too much!
We can easily be overloaded like we were here in the recent floods
that many are still dealing with. In our vulnerability we often
recognize the suffering of others... so the challenge to stay on 
the one hand open and receptive and on the other not overwhelmed 
and fearful. 
To 'Replace fear of the unknown with curiosity' is a bold act 
because it suggests venturing up to meet what's coming rather than 
hiding... but with a willingness to discover/uncover new ways 
to partipate in the challenges and possibilities of our time!


Lets keep the dialogue happening... sharing knowledge is vital
in this time of increasing velocity and complexity of change. I 
really appreciate everyone coming by and taking a moment to 
reflect, add something, walk away even with new resolve to watch 
what'happening more closely.
Go well,
S x

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Tea anyone?



From a post titled Rust jewellery at Tales of a Junkaholic blog found at Pia Jane Bijkerk's wonderful blog.

...and this lovely shot from a trip to Isle of Wight... go take a peek...



I have posts waiting and photos to download first...this was a bit of whimsy between tasks... its my go slow week!