The People's Market

Now today is both a bit of a preemptive post (because I am pretty sure this project will feature largely on "The Block" this week) , and at the same time I can't believe I haven't featured this sooner. The project I am referring to is "The People's Market", a community shipping container market located in a car park in Collingwood, Melbourne by Emerge Studio. This temporary and completely portable project, focused on the theme of "recycled garden" is even more impressive for being the first project two part Emerge Studio has created. 

The People's Market via Emerge Studio

  

Although at first glance it might appear like just another shipping container mall, when reading the thought process behind this project on Emerge Studios website, I believe a lot of attention has gone into making this project a high functioning and engaging community space. When looking at the mix of uses, including the COMA art gallery viewable 24/7, shops, cafes and bars and the flexible nature of the space it is clear that considerable thought has gone into making this a 24hr space Jane Jacobs herself would be proud of. Also come on, those timber trees are fantastic!

The PVC Pipe Container via Australian Design Review

   

I also love the fact that all the shipping Containers have a point of difference, whether it be a vertical garden, PVC piping (as above), Bike Wheels, or just the encouragement for graffiti and Street art around the back of the containers. This personalisation really helps to create an activated and interesting site, drawing the attention of the community. 

So what do you think of The People's Market, are shipping container markets simply building on a great idea or are they "overdone" in the public realm? I personally still think they are pretty awesome. 

Urban Change Maker - Joost Bakker

Oh yeah, the Urban Change Maker column is back! Do you ever dedicate some time to finally listening to a lecture or talk you have been meaning to and get absolutely blown away by what they had to say? Well, that is exactly what happened when I watched this Creative Mornings Melbourne talk (vimeo.com/63225503 ) by todays Urban Change Maker - Joost Bakker. 

Joost's Melbourne Greenhouse Pop Up via Broadsheet Melbourne

Joost could be categorised as a lot of things; farmer, inventor, artist, designer and problem solver but at the heart of everything he does is his clear ethos - rethink your original notions of waste and products and collaborate and explore to inspire people to live sustainably. Joost has made particular efforts to improve the sustainability of the hospitality industry not only by developing the cool vertical gardens you see everywhere such as those featured on the Greenhouse Pop Up. In Silo by Joost, a hole in the wall Melbourne Cafe in Hardware Lane the act of simple stating that the cafe will not have a bin has lead to a huge range of sustainable and waste minimising solutions! 

Inside Silo by Joost via Broadsheet Melbourne

Asides from providing take away coffee (and I am sure a sustainably made reusable coffee cup is encouraged) Silo boasts the fact that it produces absolutely no waste. You even get to sit on top of the reusable kegs which provide the milk and other beverages for the cafe. I wont provide too much more detail when you can watch the video and check out Joost for yourself and be sure to visit ByJoost.com for more information on other cool projects (e.g. rooftop farming and harvesting urine!). I know I want to learn everything I can about this talented problem solver!

The Urban Coffee Farm

I tweeted a video of Hassell's Urban Coffee Farm process (here) for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and I am super stoked to share some photos of the finished product here. I think this project really embodies a great temporary urban place and love that it has focused on reactivating a space that was otherwise underused.  Not only that I, like many Australians and especially Melbournites, am a coffee addict - so any place to get more coffee is always going to be approved by me!  The space is also awesome as it actually gives you to opportunity to learn more about coffee and where it comes from placing an emphasis on sustainability. 

Inside the Urban Coffee Farm via Habitus

The design of this project is, for lack of a better word, ingenious. The way that pallets, ply and chalkboards have been used in conjunction with a huge volume of greenery and vegetation really does set the scene of walking into a coffee farm or jungle and allowing you to step out of the city for a few moments (as well as just looking genuinely cool). Not only does it look cool, but you can see in the below picture that the coffee farm is attracting a wide range of people and giving them a collective an accessible open space to enjoy together. 

Outer View of the Urban Coffee Farm via Habitus

There are more photos over on the Habitus blog if you want to check it out further, and if your living in Melbourne I hope you are heading straight over to enjoy it while it's there because I wish I was!