Urban Change Makers: Bee One Third

I thought it was about time I not only reinstated the urban change makers column but that I hopped aboard the praise train for the duo behind Brisbanes Bee One Third (recently featured in the U on Sunday magazine). Although neither Kat Skull or Jack Wilson Stone, the geniuses behind Bee One Third are from Brisbane originally they are both long term residents and luckily for us it has become their entrepreneurial home. Urban bee keeping is by no means a new addition to the rooftops of cities across the world and addresses a vital need to maintain our bee population and restore their rightful place in the city. But Bee One Third bring a new meaning the the term "local" with honey being produced on the rooftops of the very restaurants it is used and sold in (such as Gerards Bistro in New Farm). 

Rooftop Beekeeping taken by Andy Leitch via Facebook

Not only are Skull and Stone bringing bee keeping to our rooftops, they also have taught classes at Brisbane's The Joynery in order to help locals create bee friendly gardens in small spaces, in order to provide the best possible chance for the hives to thrive. The attention to detail shown in the Bee One Third project is admirable, with all hives hand crafted and the honey produced bottled by hand and containing hand stamped and embossed labels. These are some seriously talented and clever bee keepers we are dealing with.  If you are interested in finding out more I would head to Bee One Third's facebook here or try and get your hands on yesterdays U on Sunday article. 

Pop In to Church

Now as someone who is admittedly a little bit design obsessed, I am always first in line to pick up to new issue of Habitus magazine when it hits the news stands quarterly. In issue 19 there was one article that really caught my eye, and fits right in with the purpose of Urban Submarine. The project starts in an unused church, a neo-classical cultural heritage landmark in a residential suburb of Darlinghurst, Sydney. In order to revitalize this church and return activation to an otherwise unused building a unique and innovative solution was devised by Bates Smart Architects that I like to refer to as a Pop In. 

A Pop Up inside a Darlinghurst Church via Bates Smart

The element of cultural heritage often presents nothing but constraints and limitations for planners, builders and developers alike and that was certainly the case for this Darlinghurst Church Project. Development could in no way impact or extrude any of the walls of the Church and the outside was to remain completely intact. So what did Bates Smart do to solve this issue? The built inside it, creating a residential pop up home inside the church that can be completely dismantled and in no way impacts on the structure of the church itself. Pure Genius. The church not only now encompasses a lived in, and beautiful, residential home but with some gathered remaining pews also allows for public access in terms of a concert and performance space - effectively blurring the boundary between public and private. 

A large entertaining Kitchen within the Demountable Pod via Bates Smart

As the pictures show, the temporary nature of the housing shell in no way has constricted the residents, the pods even include a large and impressive entertaining kitchen. The whole project is proof that from constraints the most creative ideas can grow, as well as the ability of temporary structures to be more than just impermanent pop up shops or cafes. As a planner I think this project also illustrates that maybe the very idea of cultural heritage codes  and regulations as they exist today is outdated. Where is the benefit in allowing cultural heritage buildings to stand unoccupied and uncared for within the city? Maybe it is time to come up with a more flexible approach, that fosters innovation rather then placing barriers to it and stop being stuck in the old ways of planning. Possibly then we will witness a cultural regeneration, full of more wonderful and creative projects.