Yasmin Ali

News/Technology

New suite of microsites now live from Scottish design champion A+DS

Architecture and Design Scotland (A+DS) have prepared a new suite of webpages on their website along six key coded themes which follow their programmes. The themes include:

• 'Smarter Places' - including exemplars of best practice for design for schools and a focus on associated community engagement;
• 'Healthier Places' - with a focus on better health through working with NHS Scotland and other stakeholders on healthcare projects;
• 'Design Review' - CABE-style case study analyses and independent professional panel review by A+DS;
• 'Access' - content linked to recently relaunched Scottisharchitecture website, with content designed for all; aims to encourage the public and students to engage with built environment events and debates;
• 'Urbanism' - with links to broad issues and debates, as well as LUDO - Library of Urbanism online;
• The Lighthouse initiative 'Sust', with links to sustainability and built environment issues and research,  and its independent website http://www.sust.org/.

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Architecture featured as part of DAZED & CONFUSED magazine's first music & arts' day festival

This April, Jefferson Hack's celebrated trend magazine DAZED & CONFUSED hosted its first multidisciplinary arts day festival in East London. I was heartened to see Architecture amongst the topics of the day talks, with AA graduate and architect Magnus Larsson billed to speak on the topic of 'Architecture and Biomimicry'.

Other talks included a plea from the Buy this Satellite initiative whose agenda is to free communications technology for the masses in third world countries, who are currently living in a dark age in terms of telecomms. Information access as a basic human right formed the cornerstone of their argument.

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