Get making with THE Plank

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How many things can one plank of wood be?

Sometime late 2016, we ran one of our first woodworking workshops with Bram.  A year on in he’s back from France, and set up Bram Woodcrafting Studio in Mysore. Happy to say we’ve collaboratively run some of our most awesome hands-on woodworking workshops with his team.

Two questions to get started: What’s a plank got to do with this?

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And…How does one make a plank, THE Plank?

Space-saving, flat, minimalistic even, it’s one of the more functional woodworking projects to begin with ––  the design we made is a simple adaptation of the original. The original is a mystery. Known by many other names including the Viking Chair, African chair, One-Board chair, The Plank Chair, and popularly dubbed the world oldest and simplest chair design. Stuff that DIYers cut their teeth on. Literally. Magic with a saw.

And while Norway and Africa both don’t care who made the chair first, Bram and THE crew everyone had themselves a fun time.

Here’s what mentors and participants had to say:

We’re super happy to see people making and doing.  People come back for seconds, and, we’ve even had participants who have flown in from across the world. True story. Drop by THE Workshop and we’ll continue the conversation.

Interested to make and do stuff?

https://twitter.com/THEWorkshop_Blr

https://www.facebook.com/THEworkshop.blr/

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Ten-Second Takeaway

With a well-equipped makerspace, workshops and design projects, Think Happy Everyday {that is THE, you see} Workshop focuses on encouraging the ‘maker culture’.

Space For Designs

When city-based couple, Craig M Dmello and Anabelle M Viegas {an architect and urban designer herself}, started Think Happy Everyday {THE} Workshop last year, they were driven by the idea of realising the designs you have in mind rather than making do with what you find. And, that’s exactly what you get to do at this space, dedicated to design-oriented projects. Described as “a makerspace, mentorspace and mindspace”, the place promotes the maker culture with its various projects and workshop programmes.

Make A Mark

While anyone curious enough can walk in, pick from their array of tools {think 3D printers, woodworking and metal working materials} and try their hand at an activity here {with experts to guide you, of course}, they also have design-oriented workshops or programmes of short durations. And you don’t need to stress about pre-existing skills as they have sessions for different levels {beginner, intermediate and advanced}. With everything from metal origami and furniture design to tie-dyeing covered in these sessions, they bring in specialists from across the globe, too.

Their mindspace concept encourages makers, innovators and artistes in the city to partner on the projects here or even research and work on their personal ones. Sign up for their membership and you get regular access to the tools as well as discounts on the workshops. Need some inspiration? With all the fellow makers you’ll get to meet here, you probably won’t need to look elsewhere.

#LBBTip

They have an upcoming workshop on Biomimicry in Architecture. Find more details here.

Where: 20th Cross Rd, HBR Layout 5th Block, Ashwath Nagar, HBR Layout

Price: INR 1,200 upwards for the workshops

Contact: +91 9673686059

Timings: Open 24 hours

Find them on Facebook here.

Check out their website here.

Cinderbay school of design features Ar. Anabelle Viegas

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There’s an old saying, the sea doesn’t like to be restrained. It might as well be written for architect and urban designer Anabelle Viegas D’mello’s work. Brought up in the small coastal town of Karwar, the influence of the temperamental coastal life is clearly reflected in her designs that are, at once, experimental and minimalistic.  In a tête-à-tête with Cindrebay, the up and coming designer speaks about her childhood, inspirations, and aspirations. In the articulation of her ideas and dreams, she seems just like the sea she was born next to; unrestrained.

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Growing up a sea girl

Anna, as she is called by those who know her, was born in the picturesque state of Goa, and was brought up in the quaint little seaside town of Karwar. The closeness to the sea and a life away from chaotic cities gave Anna  a childhood of “wonder, simplicity, and adventure.” “Not being from a city and not having too many external influences, time seemed to warp into this never ending sea of fun, friends, and family. The town was cushioned between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats. The days passed by watching the sun rise over the hills and set into the ocean,” she says.

Designing found Anna very early in life, at the age of 10, to be precise. “The decision to become a designer was a childhood fantasy. I remember one day when I was 10 I read a book on designing houses and saw the work of Ar. Charles Correa. That day I decided that I wanted to be an architect. In 2005, when I joined architecture school, I realised that the 10-year-old me had made the right decision,” she says.

Anna went on to pursue her Masters’ in Urban Design from the prestigious Bartlett School of Architecture, London. This stint helped give an international flavor to her ideas.

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Experimental and Minimalistic

Anna’s designs are experimental, minimalistic, and infused with story-telling and technical components. “I love clean and open designs. I am more of a minimalist and realist, so between the two agendas, I am drawn to spaces that are definitive in a style that aims to inspire a better living,” she says.

“I love to tell stories, and so even through all the work we do, I believe the story is the hero. I believe that true design cannot be achieved in silos with just designers. To provide a more wholesome design one needs to work across scales and disciplines. Hence, my style of work is more experimental and influenced by the bigger picture,” she explains. “We mix architecture with technology and electronics with experience. I believe in inspiring an audience, and only an engaged audience completes a design. Hence, I love to work across all scales – may it be installations to tell a story or the architecture of a residence telling a story of that family, or a master plan telling us the story of the land and what it has to offer,” she adds,

Along with her husband, Craig, Anna has also started a unique project, Think Happy Everyday (THE) that aims to bring creators, thinkers, and implementers of ideas, under one roof.

“THE is a fusion of communication and design, Craig being a Creative Director, and me, the Architect and Urban Designer.  At THE, we are breaking barriers between the two most visible industries in the world, advertising, and architecture. And we have only just begun,” she says.

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Explaining further, she adds, “THE is an ideology that works for people, places and products. We are a cross-disciplinary design agency with architects, creative directors, product designers, and engineers work together. We also run THE Workshop, a makers’ space, mentor space and mind space for designers, thinkers and the curious. In the last year, we have built installations for Designuru, Mini Maker Faire, Under25 summit and a few others.”

“However, our favourite was ‘the architecture of giving’ where a community built a Christmas tree that you could play music on. Every part of the tree had a purpose and every member contributed or participated in some way to make this tree which had over 300 saplings. Adding to that, the sensors in the PVC pipe organ lit up the tree. The installation represented the spirit of Christmas giving,” says Anna.

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Anna is deeply  influenced by the works of architects, Ar. Neri Oxman, Prof. Achim Menges, and Michael Hansmayer to name a few. “I’m drawn to the nature and methodologies of design that they bring to the industry, evolving the systems of design thinking. This is something I aspire to do in the Indian context,” she adds.

Anna’s stint with the interior design world has also made her more adept at noticing changes taking place in the Indian designing landscape. “The way Indians are doing up their homes are changing. There are more global perspectives, more evolved buyers looking for greater differentiation in style, brand, and overall build. Apartments are now better thought through, more space efficient, has more daylighting, yet, there is so much that can be done,” says Anna who loves traveling, carpentry, and strumming on her guitar to unwind.

Know more about THE

http://www.cindrebay.com/blog/anabelle-viegas-coming-interior-designer-look/

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