grotesque wheelchairs

I was appalled on BBC World news this morning at seeing the grotesque joke of 'spouses' of world leaders testing some electric wheelchair-like vehicles at the G8 summit, in the name of ecologically sustainable transport. I despair about the developed world's contribution to transport contra climate change. These educated people with their little handbags should be capable of riding ordinary bicycles. But rather, it is their built environment that is often ill-suited to their journeys (even for shopping). More Segway-like devices will only superficially (and very expensively) 'green' the environment, while cheap individual means of human powered transport are plentiful, but unfashionable.

Leaving work yesterday, I saw a man sprawled face down in the mud outside the college, whom at first I thought may be dead. The slow writhing of his limbs at very odd angles, suggested to me at first they might have been broken in an accident. After a few minutes' close observation (at a distance) I could see he was breathing, probably paraletic, and might survive. This morning there was no trace of him, the entire area was flooded and inaccessible after heavy rain. I had to access the college by climbing a fence and clambering through our building site.

MonZED (эко-мэко хаус-маус)

Yesterday, I presented online material (translated into Mongolian with Bolormaa) about the design and technology of BedZED (Beddington Zero Energy Development) as a case study; solar orientation, passive thermal design and ventilation, green roofs, water harvesting and recycling, central heating and power plant, insulation values of materials, etc.

BedZED (as one possible form of Eco House.. "эко-мэко хаус-маус") seemed to get their creative juices flowing, and Gursed and Dalai today produced a sectional schematic. Meanwhile Dalai's attempts to investigate the EcoSan toilet by phoning Boojum Expeditions were in vain.

Soberingly, I found the two poring over the daily newspaper Өнөөдөр's half page story in Mongolian on David Fisher's (senseless) 'Dynamic Architecture' Dubai Tower. As an alternative impromptu brainstorming exercise, I had them find (by reading pictures) ten relevant technologies / ideas from ten copies of RIBA Journal I had brought in. Their ten ideas ranged from sewage tanks, to roof lights, to wall insulation, to metal wall cladding(??), and will form the basis of drawings which would substantiate an 'eco-house' brief.

Deutsch?

"Deutsch?" called out a European-looking youth sitting by our Орц (building entrance) with a Mongolian-looking contemporary.
"Nein, Australisch... Wir beiden sind Australier, aus London... Wo kommst Du her?"
"NRW... Nordrhein-Westfalen" he said. "Also, Tschuess" I said.

Манай хажуу орцны урд сууж байсан монгол найзтай европ залуу намайг "Дойч? " гэж дуудсан.
"найн - Аустралиш (Үгүй ээ - Австралчууд) ...Бид хоёр Лондонгоос ирсэн Австралчууд байна... Чи хаанас ирсэн?"
"НРВ... Нордрайн-Вэстфалэн" гэсэн. Би "За, Чөөс" гэсэн.

*translation assisted by D. Bolormaa

'Eco'...

The project team met today to report back on progress since Tuesday's meeting. No-one had looked at the examples, at first appearing to have forgotten Tuesday's discussion, then claiming language difficulties for studying websites.

So, (again) we reviewed considerations which might be taken into account as a framework eco-design:

Design
1 Solar - passive thermal design principles, orientation
2 Air / wind / ventilation / breeze principles
3 Water collection and disposal

Technology
1 Solar - Photovoltaic cells / panels
2 Wind power, direction temperature - including passive ventilation..
3 Insulation (U or K values) composite values for materials / walls, floors / roofs
4 Toilets dry / wet technology eg. EcoSan in Mongolia (Renchinhlumbe Hospital, Khatgal Ger Camp)

We will see what emerges...

Sustainable Tourism

Equal Step Camp has made good progress on beginning to devise some ecological sustainability standards for the childrens camp at Point 290, as I previously mentioned here and on Tour Watch and Rolling Rains. Ruth Richardson VSO from the camp met with VSO Secure Livelihoods tourism adviser Brian Watmough and I - and a dozen good action points emerged for the camp's sustainability plan;

1. Transport; explain the ecological and social benefits of using rail transport in Mongolia.
2. Waste; packaging of all supplies purchased (food, consumables etc) should be studied, and bulk purchasing benefits analysed. Separation of waste (participatively & educationally) into organic/ non-organic or combustible/non-combustible is a good principle.
3. Toilets; management of a) flushing disabled accessible pedestal toilet and b) pit toilets may be studied with alternative c) ecosan composting toilet (ecosan.org) - for future consideration.
4. Rainwater harvesting (collection from a roof gutter) from one building roof.
Grey water collection from food preparation areas, possibly for garden / greenhouse use, in buckets.
5. Solar; collectors, photo-voltaic panels, one per ger. Painting shower header tanks black, to absorb some warmth from solar radiation.
6. Tree planting; Consider Sea Buckthorn and also trees, vis a vis carbon offsetting, VSO community forestry, see also literature on Ecological Footprint (GFN, NEF)
7. Fire evacuation procedure; first aid and safety train volunteers, also as fire marshalls.
8. Local land management; River and Water Pollution training for staff and volunteers.
9. Accommodation (adaptations for children and for conference guests - beds, food etc)
10. Recreation; Horse Riding, Milking Goats, Walking, Swimming
11. Community Liaison with the Local Shop; catering for guests, e.g. conference groups
12. Information; about the history of the camp and its social and ecoogical aims, and the Equal Step children - photographs or drawings of or by the children of the camp, volunteer participation in establishment and ongoing maintainence of the camp.

Ulaanbaatar

Suddenly today, worldwide attention has been drawn to Ulaanbaatar* as riots broke out yesterday over the election results. Although I was aware of the many election posters and roving loudspeakers in the streets, I was unaware of the tension brewing around Sunday's election.
(*note English transliteration of Mongolian name meaning Red Hero, the old 20thC Russian name Ulan Bator being as poor an anglicisation as 'Bombay' is for Mumbai)

In the current state of emergency, five have been killed near the central square, and we are instructed not to go out. I postponed today's meeting with the projects team, along with planned training on Participatory Teaching Methods with Bolormaa and Tsenguun, and advice to Technical and Technology College on recruiting an architecture volunteer.

Some colleagues in UB suggest the election result was illegitimate, but more likely, the electoral process had its own difficulties. Some friends who are not registered in a permanent place, for example, are disenfranchised from voting. Lonely Planet journo Michael Kohn on BBC news was attributing some of the tension to the provocation of seeing Humvee SUVs in the street, while so many are poor and homeless. Widely felt frustration about issues such as poverty and government corruption, but also alcohol abuse, must have contributed to the events.

Site Analysis; initial discussion

A meeting was held on Friday, to discuss our projects with two visiting advisors I had invited to the college; Ruth Richardson VSO of Equal Step Childrens' Camp (recently featured on Rolling Rains), and Barbara Goss, of Treetour / Reforestation of Northern Khentii. Our new CTC project leaders, Gursed and Lhakgva, displayed the drawings they had prepared - after considerable coaxing to ensure consistent drawing labelling, scales and orientation, and to properly mount and label photographs ("is it really necessary? - YES") - for the discussion. 1:500 site models were produced by students.

Sanzai /Selbe Khadad Eco Houses
For the Eco-Houses in Sanzai /Selbe Khadad, the as-yet unclear ecological standards and proposed performance for the eco-house designs were questioned. Separately saleable cottages seemed preferable in principle to an energy efficient triplex building.

some reference examples;
Hockerton Eco Houses
BedZED Beddington UK
Eco-Homes Standards (UK) - pdf Guide

Yarmag Children's Camp
For the Childrens' Camp in Yarmag, the standards of nature protection for the surrounding reserve seemed unclear, despite the detailed consultants report which had been provided. A low impact temporary camp seemed in principle to be less appealing and feasible than permanent buildings for up to 200 people on 1000m2.

reference examples;
Eden Project, Cornwall
Camley Street Natural Park, Central London
Childrens Day Camp (Ontario CA)

Projects on the drawing boards

Upper: Selbe Khadad (Sukhbaatar district, North of UB)

Sanzai Eco-Houses Project

Lower: Yarmag (South of UB)

Yarmag Childrens' Camp Project

These two photos (from my phone camera) and linked pages describe the two projects we are currently developing with Gursed and Lhagva, two trainee architect teachers, with four students; in the first case, in Selbe Khadad, for 'Eco-houses', and in the second case, in Yarmag, for a Childrens' Recreational Camp in a nature reserve.

Essential Skills - Суурь чадвар

To begin the projects for Yarmag and Sanzai, with two architecture graduate trainees, Lkhagva and Gursed, and four students, I began by setting out for agreement six main steps for approaching design projects, based on a book by (my former student) Do* et al;

Суурь чадвар - Essential Skills

6 stages
1. Товч ойлголт (The Brief): Төслийн товч санааг дүрсэлнэ. Үүнийг хийхэд ямар зүйл сурах шаардлагатай, ямар онцгой ур чадвар /бодох, зурах, харилцааны/ байх хэрэтэй вэ гэдгээ төлөвлөнө.

2. Тайлбар (The interpretation): Товч ойлголтоо тайлбарлан зарим онцгой хэсгийг нь дэлгэрүүлэн тайлбарлан ойлголмжтой болгоно. Төслийн сэдэвтэй хамаатай судалгаа хийн, тайлбарлаж чадахгүй байгаа зүйлээ буруу эхлэхээс нь өмнө бүх зүйлийг тодорхой болгох хэрэгтэй.

3. Дэлгэрүүлэх (The inspiration): Энэ хэсэгт чи ямар утга санааг илэрхийлж байгааг илүү чиглүүлж тайлбарлана. Энгийн түвшинд чиний санааны илэрхийлэл нь юу юм? Дээд түвшинд чиний санаа архитектурын ямар байр суурь, загварын философийг агуулж байгааг тайлбарлана.

4. Шинжлэн судлах (The exploration): Шинжлэн судлах нь нарийн нягт процесс бөгөөд загвар, зураг, санаануудаа өөр ур чадвараар хөгжүүлэн сайжруулах явц юм. Эцэст нь өөрийн дизайныг амаар болон биетээр /архитектурын зураг ба загвар/ товч байдлаар тайлбарлахыг шаардана.

5. Боловсруулалт ба илрэл (Refinement and Expression): Сайн дизайнер нь хамгийн шилдэг гэсэн санаагаа гүйцэлдүүлэхэд хэр зэрэг хугацаа шаардлагатай таамаглаж чаддаг.

6. Хангамж ба гүйцэтгэл (Delivery and Execution): Энэ хэсэгт чиний бүх ур чадварыг шаарданана. Энд сайн зурсан төслийг харахаас илүү муу зүйл гэж байхгүй. Магадгүй санаа нь хүчтэй ч гэсэн илтгэх арга барил нь дизайн хийх процессын туршид сурсан ур чадварт хүчтэй нөлөөлдөг.

Trans. Bolormaa Davaadorj based on * Do K. (Khoa), Siew A. (Adelyn), Schreven L., Lena, Loo R., Holmeseth K., Iu W. (2006) Point of Reference, First Edition, Perth, WA, Curtin University of Technology, 80 pages (ISBN 1 740 67455 3)

Site Analysis - Орчны тойм шинжилгээ

Before departing for the visits to the two sites yesterday, on Monday we carefully went through these notes on site analysis with the team.

Site Analysis - Орчны тойм шинжилгээ

1. Хүрээлэн буй орчин ба байрлал:
•Хүрээлэн буй орчин: Энд барилгын байршилын асуудал илүү хамаарна. Чиний барилга байр зүйн өвөрмөц онцлог /гол, мөрөн, далай г.м/ эсвэл байгууламжуудтай /хот, гүүр, далан г.м/ хэрхэн холбогдон байршиж байна?
•Байрлал: Энэ нь барилгын орчин тойрны асуудалтай шууд хамаарна. Газрын өндөр нь хэр зэрэг юм? Суурийн тогтворжилт нь ямар юм? Тэнд ямар ургамал ургадаг юм? Ямар төрлийн барилга байгууламж зонхилож байна? Барилгын маштаб, хэмжээ нь ямар байх юм? Нийгэм болон соёлын асуудлыг нь яаж авч үзсэн юм? гэх мэт.

2. Хүрээлэн буй орчны төрөл: Захын хороолол, хөдөө, тосгон, захын байрлал/ус ба газрын/, усан дээр /гол, мөрөн, тэнгис г.м/, хад цохио.

3. Хүрээнлэн буй орчны хүчин зүйлс ба агуулга:
•Арга барил ба хандлага
•Өдөр ба шөнийн уур амьсгал
•Нарны тусгал
•Байгууламжаас үүсэр сүүдэржилт
•Далайн түвшинээс дээших өндөр
•Барилга дотор болон гадна талаасаа хэрхэн харагдах үзэмж

4. Орчны шинжилгээ хийхэд юу авч явах хэрэгтэй вэ?
•Харандаа, бал г.м
•Ноорог дэвтэр
•Шугамдсан цаас
•Маштабны шугам ба хэмждэг тууз
•Газрын зураг /хэрэв боломтой бол байр зүйн газрийн зураг/
•Камер

5. Бичлэг зурагнуудаа хэрхэн яаж ашиглах вэ?
Олж авсан мэдээллээ газрын зураг дээрээ маштаблан зурж тамдэглэн түүнийгээ өөрийн газрын шинжилгээн дээр хэрхэн авч үзэхээ мэддэг байх хэрэгтэй. Нэмэлт материал /фото зураг, тэмдэглэл/-ууд өөрийн зурагтай чинь холбоотой бол ашигладаг байх хэрэгтэй.
•Байрлалын төлөвлөгөө / байршил/
•Газрын төлөвлөгөө: Эргэн тойрны байгууламж, ургамал, газрын өндөр гэх мэт.
•Байрлалын хэсэг
•Гудамжны өндөржилт /өндөр/
•Зарим деталь /материйл, барилга байгууламж, хүрээлэн буй орчин гэх мэт/

Preparing the Location Plan and Site Plan for each project would be the first steps, accompanied by site models made of card - critical given the topography in each case.

Trans. Davadorjiin Bolormaa based on based on Do K., Siew A., Schreven L., Lena, Loo R., Holmeseth K., Iu W. (2006) Point of Reference, First Edition, Perth, WA, Curtin University of Technology, 80 pages (ISBN 1 740 67455 3)

VSO annual Volunteer Conference

VSO Mongolia volunteers and staff extricated ourselves from work for a couple of days to go to a green valley in the Mongolian countryside to take stock of what we have achieved, in our annual volunteer conference.

Gathering over thirty volunteers from Africa, The Philippines, The Netherlands, Canada, Australia and Britain, with placements as far afield as Bayan Ulgii, Choibalsan and Darkhan, everyone seemed pleased to get together. On the second day I assisted Nickson Kakiri in leading a session on mainstreaming disability in all of our work here, and we discussed and (re)discovered issues of disabilities, rights, exclusion and working with various challenges. We reflected on some positive work done in the last year, including work on universally accessible buildings, and a recent accessibility audit of the Equal Step Camp, our conference venue, in this remote village apparently known only by its train siding, 'Point 290'.

The camp had recently installed a ramp and accessible toilet, and its generous volunteers, on our arrival, had also erected a ger and made us some great meals, a horhog, and a bonfire. VSO's scarce funds seemed in this case to have been directed towards a very promising locally owned and highly sustainable enterprise.

Most of the conference sessions were held in a wooden hall, which worked well with improvised flipcharts and the occasional powerpoint presentation. As Secure Livelihoods Programme volunteer coordinator, I led a session - on a grassy riverbank - which included an update of all livelihoods volunteers' work, where we later returned at dusk to wade in the river, like the local horses.

Жил бүр VSO-ын Монгол дахь салбарын ажилчид болон сайн дурынхны дунд зохион байгуулагддаг бага хурлын үеэр бид өөрсдийн юу хийж бүтээсэн, ямар ололт, амжилттай байснаа ярилцан дүгнэж хэдэн өдрийг хөдөө, цэвэр агаарт амарч цагийг зугаатай өнгөрөөлөө.

Африк, Филиппин, Голланд, Канад, Австрали, Британи зэрэг улсаас, мөн Баян-Өлгий аймаг, Чойбалсан, Дархан хотоос нийт 30 гаруй сайн дурын ажилтан цуглаж хуралдлаа. 3 өдрийн хурал амжилттай, үр өгөөжтэй болсон юм. Хурлын 2 дахь өдөр, би Никсон Какири-н хариуцсан “хөгжлийн бэрхшээл” сэдэвт хэсгийг удирдан зохион байгуулах ажилд тусалж, бид хөгжлийн бэрхшээлтэй хүмүүсийн эрх зөрчигдөх, нийгмээс гадуурхагдах зэрэг тулгамдсан асуудлуудын талаар ярилцаж, тэдгээрийг хэрхэн шийдэх талаар ярилцсан. Өнгөрсөн жил бидний гол ярилцаж байсан сэдэв бол бүгдэд хүртээмжтэй барилгын тухай байсан бөгөөд бидний хурлаа зохион байгуулсан ‘290-ийн цэг’ гэсэн нэртэй газарт байрлах Тэгш Алхам зусланг барихдаа тэрхүү санааг маань барилгынхаа ажилд тусгасан байлаа.

Энэхүү зуслан саяхан налуу зам барьж, ариун цэврийн өрөөгөө хөгжлийн бэрхшээлтэй хүмүүст зориулан тохижуулсан байв. Биднийг очиход тэндэхийн сайн дурын ажилтнууд гэр барьж өгч, сайхан хоол, хорхогоор дайлан галын наадам зохион байгуулсан. VSO-с гаргасан өчүүхэн санхүүжилтыг ашиглан энэхүү орон нутгийн аж ахуйн нэгж чамгүй амжилттай болоод тогтвортойгоор үйл ажиллагаагаа явуулж буй нь харагдаж байсан.

Хурлын ихэнх хэсгийг зуны модон байшинд зохион явуулсан нь powerpoint, flipcharts зэргийг ашиглахад тохиромжтой байлаа. Миний бие Баталгаат амьдрал хөтөлбөрийн удирдагч (сайн дурын ажилтан)-аар ажилладаг бөгөөд өөрийн удирдсан хурлын хэсгийг голын эрэг дээрх ногоон зүлгэн дээр явуулсан. Харин дараа нь орой буцахдаа тэр голоо гаталсан.

Thank you to Indra Oyunbaatar, MUST, for this translation.

Summer, Screams, Selbe Khadat - Сэлбэ Хадат

It feels like summer, warmer although a little dusty and windy at times. The building site for the new college is progressing with formwork for the ground floor (in Mongolian "first floor") almost complete, and barrowloads of on-site batched concrete being poured into the floor beam forms.

Yesterday (uncharacteristically for a Saturday) I was working at the college office, after leaving some things behind on Friday afternoon, and heard screams of pain and crying from the building site, which moved into the building. We emerged to find a trail of blood and a young female construction student nursing what I feared from a distance might be an amputation or a deep cut, which was rapidly being wrapped in bandages. We established that a doctor and ambulance had been summoned, but that then, after quite a scene with colleagues and students in the college, the patient was driven to hospital in a jeep by Shari, our builder. I later learned the student had caught her left little finger in the roller of a large concrete mixer and that it would be likely to be rehabilitated with a splint.

The previous day I was away from the college on a building site visit, in a small summer resort village called Selbe Khadat - Сэлбэ Хадат, (Сухбаатарийн Дураг 16-р Хороо) about 25km north of the city. We collected the client developer for the Eco-houses from his office at a hotel and went via Sanzai to the Sukhbaatar district, finally over several kilometres of unsealed roads to the site on the gentle north slope of a mountain, looking over a pleasant valley of holiday houses. There was a nice stand of Blackwood trees on the site and many more on the southern boundary where the mountain rose up. We discussed putting three ecologically sustainable permanent dwellings on the site, and considered the land value (about 25M MNT) and potential for capitalisation of the land in relation to the adjacent summer houses.

Architecture and transition after socialism

I thought of posting some project references with architects' website links for study by Mongolian and international colleagues (at least for perusal of drawings / pictures) . I recently read an interview with Hungarian architects, Bence Turanyi (b1974) and Gabor Turanyi (b1948) of T2a discussing, among other things, the changes to architects working methods since 1990 in the context of political changes in Eastern Europe.

They noted how architecture work has moved from "centralised plan factories" to privately owned architectural practices. How the souls of "state" architects were "liberated when they were able to go freelance"... how "new assignments and technologies had brought new possibilities"... how architects had previously lacked structural and material resources but now can build almost everything from anything." (European Architecture May/June 2008 p.19)

My related selection of projects showcased in the journal include;
Office Building, Sofia, Bulgaria by Aedes Studio
Shipping Terminal, Herceg-Novi, Montenegro by Studio Grad
Churches, Litomysl and Cernosice u Prahy, CZ by Zdenek Franek
Sports Hall, Jurmala, Latvia, by Substance
Commercial Centre, Zagreb, Croatia, by Igor Franic
Office Building, Ankara, by Cira Koglu Architecture
Academy of Performing Arts, and Bridge and Square, Sarajevo by various inc. Archipelagos

How has architectural practice changed since Perestroika? How are these projects relevant to post-socialist Mongolia's situation now?

Training continues

Following the departure of TTK colleagues from the day's training, we seemed to be on a roll, and a further architect teacher training workshop followed spontaneously. Lkhagva and Gursed, having graduated with architecture diplomas on Friday, had been selected as future teachers. They happened to be plastering a wall in the college on Monday, and agreed to join Bolormaa and Tsenguune and I for training on participatory teaching methods. The VSO handbook on that subject with its array of methods (here an alternative resource) had attracted great interest from the latter two experienced teachers.

After contemplating the whole matrix of participatory methods offered*, Tsenguune chose the method called 'Answer Cards' and I quickly composed an exercise in order to practically demonstrate how to use the method. After explaining the purpose and process, I distributed three answer cards each (A4 paper torn into A6 quarter-sheets) and requested in Mongolian simple responses to three simple questions about Ulaanbaatar buildings, colours and transport. I collected the participants' enthusiastic responses and facilitated the groups shared analysis and collation of all of the different information on the answer cards. Although Gursed and Lkhagva left unexpectedly to return to their plastering, all had learned something at first hand about one participatory way of exploring a subject lesson.

* Some online resources about participatory methods
Pacific Skills Link
SPARK, Sharing and Promotion of Awareness and Regional Knowledge
Partnerships UK

architect teacher training

I made it home tired after the Baga Bayan excursion, and having resisted Batbileg's (mathematics teacher and ger district neighbour) insistent invitations for one more drink at the rough-looking local bar at Sapporo.

The time had finally come for architect teacher training, almost by accident. Suvdmaa of the Technical and Technology College sms-messaged me on Sunday night to confirm our Monday 11am training meeting. I agreed, and in the morning rallied our teachers at CTC. The TTK teachers called at 11.45am trying to postpone, while CTC teachers waited, but I called Suvdmaa's bluff, and they finally arrived after midday. Suvdmaa brought Bolorchimeg, a young architect teacher graduate of MUST. I demonstrated mapping a typical Part1 architecture course. I gave each of the two pairs of teachers an A4 sheet and they set to diagramming the architecture courses at CTC and TTK respectively, the basic year progression, semesters, and some of the subject areas.

I have established a great rapport with CTC teachers Bolormaa (Maths) and Tsenguune (Computing teacher), and with their excellent translation abilities and now developed curriculum design interest, they became fine teacher training collaborators.

The purpose of mapping became clear as we explored the complementarity and continuity of the Mongolian course subjects in comparison with the 'typical part1' course. The technical bias of the courses, at the expense of culture and communication, was also discussed, in what was agreed as deriving from the Russian style legacy of these two (largely similar) Mongolian courses. The roles of various teaching methods - lecture, seminar, studio, workshop, assignment, excursion - were compared and contrasted. The Mongolian teachers all took great interest in 'Point of Reference' (Khoa Do ed, 2006) a handbook produced by Perthian architecture and interiors students with Khoa Do. They scrutinised the Curtin course structures, but also teaching and learning tips, and model and project examples with great interest. I wondered aloud whether they could do something similar with their students. I proudly recounted my history with Khoa Do, from his first year as architecture student to teaching colleague, architect collaborator and passed master.

The course comparison showed that the Mongolian architecture courses were comprised of 4 years, eight semesters of 16 weeks each, loosely comparable with the 3 year 'Part1'. Practical experience, they suggested, however, is most problematic, because of the tendency for exploiting student labour and its dubious educational value. I carefully touched on the principle of a 'Professional Experience Record' to monitor the quality of professional experience, but urging the participation of a professional body... (such as the currently 'dormant' Mongolian Architects Association, through committee chair Purev-Erdene Ershuu.)

Bolorchimeg initiated a discussion about professional education for Architects and Urban Designers and I compared the continental European / German-language / perhaps also 'Russian' integral approach to Urbanism, with the Commonwealth / British tradition of Town Planning as a separate discipline. Particularly interesting in this post-socialist context is the Peri-Urban condition, which Purev-Erdene Ershuu's 'Centre for Architectural Design and Research' at MUST addressed in its conference with Vienna University of Technology last year.

The Russian legacy in the Mongolian architecture curriculum and literature was discussed in light of my experience of the generation of Russian-trained Mongolian architects - some still believe the 1965 Russian edition of Neufert to be suitable for 21st century Mongolia. Bolorchimeg begged to differ and wrote down references we discussed, to Bat-Od (UB 2007) and Ching's 'Form Space and Order', whose publisher Wiley has kindly offered a free chapter download. Bolorchimeg also copied down my hand-made wall chart where Mongolian architecture students mapped in Mongolian the equivalent of the 'RIBA' work stages of an architectural project - from go to whoa.

Ziemlich muede nach unserem Ausflug, und nach dem ich Einladung im denkwuerdigen Lokals von Batbileg - meinem Mathematik-lehrer kollege und Ger-bezirk nachbar - entkam, ging ich nach Hause.

Endlich- fast zufaellig- kam eine chance fuer das 'Architekten-innen-lehrerinnen-tranieren'. TTK lehrer Suvdmaa hatte mich Sonntag am Abend ein sms-message gesandt, um unseren montagiges Termin zu bestaetigen. Einverstanden, rufte ich dann die CTC Lehrerinnen zusammen. Das TTK-partie telefonierte um 1145, um verschub zu versuchen, da war ich aber nicht einverstanden - da kamen Sie dann trotzdem nach dem mittag. Suvdmaa brachte Bolorchimeg mit, eine junge beim MUST absolvierte Architekturlehrerin. Ich stellte das aufzeichnen eines typiches Part1 Architektur-kurs vor. Dann gab ich die zwei Lehrerinnen-paare je ein Blatt A4, und sie begannen die Architektur-kurse - jeweils CTC und TTK - in Diagrammform grob zu zeichnen - einfache fortfolge, semester-struktur, und einige fachbereiche.

Graduation and Excursion

On Friday the graduating students were all dressed up and assembling in the college courtyard from about 10am. I almost missed the start of proceedings at midday, and speeches and diplomas were presented against a 'colourful' backdrop. After many photographs and a ceremonial final lesson, where a basic idea is taught as a graduation ritual, accompanied by drinking warm milk (!), the students dispersed and the staff waited for departure to a rest camp from 3pm. At 8pm we finally departed in several jeeps, to a forested valley on the far northern UB periphery, 33km from the centre in Sanzai. The Baga Bayan Rest Camp is a former Soldiers' Retreat.

Of all the ensuing 24 hours' activities, from vodka-fuelled celebrations to a forest walk and a delicious Horhog barbecue lunch on the following day, a speech by a director - which I had not fully grasped on Friday night - and which was recounted in English by Ariunaa on Saturday - most impressed me. All my bewilderment about Mongolian men and alcohol was called up when the director frankly recounted his personal history in parallel with the formation of the college. As a tertiary educated man in his late twenties he had been lost and constantly drunk. When he met his business partner and friend, the enterprise of establishing the college over the last several years had brought purpose to his life and coincided with establishing a family. His second son had been born the previous day and the college was also now building its own premises, with the help of the students and the first graduating cohort from the architecture course.

A Powerful Point

Last week two of our teachers were asked by a college director to prepare a training session about MS Powerpoint, using Multimedia Flash player to put the pesentation on the web. As someone who has used PP (MS Powerpoint) in teaching for over 10 years I offered some tips.

The first was that as I have been finding in my work in Mongolia, (call me a luddite! but...) sometimes a presentation can be made more clearly using simple technology, like pencil and paper scotch taped to the wall, chalk on a blackboard, or overhead transparency. I navigated to a technical point in Edward Tufte's essay on "Powerpoint does Rocket Science" demonstrating six hierarchical levels on a single slide, exemplifying 'bureaucratic hyper-rationalism'.

We discussed the recent lecture competition I had attended with the college director at the Food Technology College, where experienced Mongolian lecturers seemed to have the same problems in designing their presentation slides as we find world wide; few clear illustrations and way too much text. Additionally cyrillic fonts were a problem in the presentations, with gratuitous or irrelevant use of special effects. Together, we looked at similar slideware software on the Wikipedia page for context.

For learning to use Macromedia flash player, as with most software, there are clear tutorials (in English) available in the help window, and these collegues would use these to make the MM Flash Player presentation.

I wondered if the tutorial on MS Powerpoint would convey key principles, i.e.

• introduce the overall objective of the presentation
• carefully arrange the information - graphic and verbal- for the presentation in chronological order
• keep the main points simple and clear
• finish on time and allow time for questions

But would this make for a marketable piece of training? Or is there enough of this sort of thing in Mongolia already? Is it a language issue?

Since lunchtime, there is another project soon to be on the board, for a family resort eco-complex. I would work with the third year students over the summer, to develop a 2 hectare site in Yarmag, just out of Ulaanbaatar, which at first glance on google map appears to be on the north side of the Bogd Mountain Range...

Keeping Busy

My 'counterpart' / College vice Director Hashbayar last week suggested we revive the Energy Efficient House project. What had happened to the consultation, I asked? The World Vision area director had decided - after terminating the planned professionally prepared community consultation - that there was no suitable community member in Bayankhoshuu. Now, Hashaa said, could the college draw our own model Energy Efficient house? Towards whom should it be directed? What location? I asked. We would just do it generically as a model, Hashaa suggested, then solicit interest. I said I felt the UNDP Mongolia Energy Efficient Housing 'pattern book' was already filling that need.

Hashbayar said he also had a client wanting to build town houses, not unlike those the college's company has previously built. I suggested noting down some client requirements at his social meeting planned for the Thursday evening. He chuckled - that's "not the Mongolian way". I was introduced to a student who would help with drawing (and who would learn something), and waited in vain for the call which was to follow the next day.

English-speaking club has been in spontaneous recess, perhaps because of the Enterovirus-71 causing quarantine confinement for children under 16, and also my little neighbours are out of contact for lessons, and we are getting our laundry machine washed at a guesthouse instead of at the neighbours'.

A German-speakers' meeting was arranged so I could introduce Mandukhai, (the hard-working daughter-assistant of my lecturer colleague) to Jo, a German teacher intern from Vienna; a friend of a friend working here in UB. Mandukhai has expressed interest in studying in German-speaking Europe. With Ariunaa along to make four of us, we met at Sacher, the Viennese cafe in the city centre, and I paid exorbitantly for a bad coffee. Meanwhile my college companions were tricked by the two lines on the menu; Apple juice 1500, large 2500. They each ordered apple juice, and when leaving, were informed (embarrassingly) that these had been 'large' - and about three times the price of lunch in the West where we work. Meanwhile, we had mostly spoken English, but had discovered some things about opportunities for foreign students in Austria.

Толгойт Халуун Ус - Bathing in Tolgoit

Many of the students I have met at this college live in nearby Tolgoit, a western peri-urban informal settlement of Ulaanbaatar. There are two main community bathing houses there in the 3rd Khoroo (informal village) of our Songinokhairkhan district, so when I was invited by the Gender Centre for Sustainable Development there, I was interested in visiting one, with regard to accessibility. (website unreliable - alternatively see this.)

Миний ярилцаж байсан коллежийн ихэнх оюутнууд Улаанбаатарын баруун хэсэгт орших хагас хотожсон суурин болох Толгойтод амьдардаг. Сонхинохайрхан дүүргийн 3-р хороонд хоёр нийтийн халуун усны газар байдаг. Нийгмийн Хөгжлийн Жендер Төвөөс намайг тэнд урьсан. Би бүх хүмүүст нээлттэй эсэхийг мэдэхээр нэгэнд нь очиж үзэхээр болсон. (вебсайт боломжгүй байгаа тул эндээс үз.)

Bayarsgalan and Enebish (of GCSD) met me punctually at our college and we drove to Chimbat's bath-house, the newer of the two, where the community NGO had secured a room - donated by the proprietor - to be adapted for 'universal accessibility'. Encouragingly, the community workers had sourced and photocopied the Mongolian Norm MN 301-04-01. Chimbat herself and a staff member watched as we inspected the tiled 2.3 x 2.6 metre room she was offering for the project. Currently there is a hand-shower in one corner (with a high mounting) and a wooden duckboard.

Баясгалан Энэбиш (НХЖТ-ийн) хоёр надтай манай коллеж дээр цагтаа уулзаадЧинбатын халуун ус руу машинаар очсон. Тэндхийн эзэн нь хандивласан нэг өрөөг ТББ-нхан хүн бүрт хүртээмжтэй өрөө болгохоор авчихсан байсан. Мэргэжилтэнгүүд Монголын стандарт MN 301-04-01-ийг үндэслэсэн байсан ба түүнчлэн хуулбарыг нь байрлуулсан байсан. Чинбатын төсөлд зориулж өгсөн 2.3 x 2.6 хэмжээтэй өрөөг биднийг хянаж байхад тэр ажилтантайгаа мөн тэнд байсан. Өрөөний нэг буланд гар угаагч болоод шалан дээр тавьдаг модон хавтан байсан.

Certainly some wall hooks would be useful, but Bayarsgalan's proposal for a new bath and an internal wall and seemed ambitious, especially when I learned of a nine-day deadline, and negligible budget. The access to the centre entrance up steps and over a 150mm high pipe in the corridor would present greater accessibility challenges. (At 1:12, over 3m of temporary ramps, which could also present a lifting hazard for staff..) I explained that enlarging the 680mm door opening would involve considerable business disruption and some skilled labour or supervision in order to replace it with a wider one. Textured wall guide strips for blind users may be given a lower budgetary priority, given the narrow corridor width. I reflected on my own bathroom adaptations when I was temporarily wheelchair bound. Perhaps some reliable secured handrails would be a practical adaptation.

Ханын өлгүүрүүд тэнд байх нь дээр боловч Баярбаясгалан зөвхөн шинэ банн болоод тусгаарлах хана санал болгож байсан. Сүүлийн хугацаа нь 9 хоног бас санхүү бараг байхгүй гэдгийг нь би мэдээд түүнийг өөрийн сонирхолын төлөө байгааг ойлгосон. Орох замд 150мм-ийн өндөртэй усны хоолой байдаг нь хүмүүст саад болдог. ( хэрэв 3м-н урттай байнгын бус налуу шат байрлуулбал үүнийг зөөхөд ажилчдад хэцүү байх болно). Хаалгыг 680м болгон өргөтгөвөл бизнесд таатай бус төдийгүй энэ тохиолдолд ажиллаж чадах ажилчид хэрэг шаардагдах болно гэж би тайлбарласан. Хараагүй хүмүүст зориулсан тэмтэрж болох барзгар хана, өргөн багатай коридор зэргийг тэд чухал шаардлагатай бус төсөвт оруулж магалгүй байсан. Би тэргэнцэртэй байсан үеэ эргэн санаад магадгүй бариул байх нь илүү тохиромжтой гэж бодсон. (to be continued soon)

It seemed time and money limitations might work against the potential for a community project for vocational students, but I suggested a proposal be put forward to local people and students to engender participation over a longer period. I was told that some research on disability and accessibility needs in the area had already been done. Could a user be found, I now persisted, who might be consulted before and after the alterations, and who might collaborate as a future champion / advocate for a wider programme- I was lobbying for grassroots participation. Next, spontaneously, I was taken to visit a local person with disability.

(Mongolian version to be continued...)

The car was parked a few dusty blocks away at a Ger compound, with a ramshackle building. The ubiquitous guard dogs in this case were mere pups and a dusty mop of a terrier. We passed a ger with children sitting outside in the gravelly yard, and approached Enkhsaikhan's shack. I followed into the dirt floored lobby over a high wooden threshold and then stepped up into a darkened but richly furnished room, with carpets and tiered suitcases, as is customary. Enkhsaikhan a man who looked about thirty, was lying on a bed in a corner with only his head visible. Introductions were made, and when no limb was extended from under his bedsheet I firmly touched his shoulder in an attempt at greeting. I was told the man had no arms and legs. But later in the conversation about the bathhouses, including Khataanbaatar's, where he had previously worked, he showed an arm with amputated fingers. Two young boys sat and listened. Enkhsaikhan said that in his opinion the main issue for the bath house was the water temperature and the hard water due to a shallow well. He bathed weekly at Khataanbaatar's, separately from his able seven year old son, who currently was sitting at the foot of the bed. He did not feel he could comment on wheelchair accessibility, as he had (understandable given the environment, I thought) rarely used the wheelchair he had been given. It reminded me of winter here (...December blog) when afterwards I heard that the man had previously been sleeping rough in the cold, alcohol afflicted, before the amputations to his hands and feet for frostbite.

(Mongolian version to be continued...)

City Farm

Compared to the emergencies in China and Burma, development in Mongolia seems trifling. After the aggravation expressed last blog, it was nice to take a short break to visit the peri-urban MWFA city farm, in Bayankhoshuu, for the first time this year, and remember my arrival in UB. Although my friends Yugaana and Beitsanda (director) were not about, we were able to see the new building and well-equipped information centre. The recently published MWFA handbook about organic city farming (or similar in Mongolian) and showing how to grow veggies and flowers was available in the little shop along with seeds, tools and other goodies.

My friend and I looked around the property, at the healthy chickens, the greenhouses and newly seeded planterbeds. We were told it would be some time before the cabbages would be ready. We sat in a grassy spot in the sun and enjoyed the air and the view of the nearby mountains.

Im vergleich zur Not in Burma und China, scheint der Entwicklung in der Mongolei unwichtig. Nach der aufregegung letztes mal, ganz schoen war es wieder beim MWFA in Bayankhoshuu ein kurzer Besuch einzulegen. Ich dachte an den Tag meiner ankunft. Ob wohl meiner bekannten Yugaana und Beitsandaa nicht da waren, meine Beglieterin und ich konnten ein neues Haus und ein neuesUnterkunftskiosk besichtigen. Vorhanden auch neben Samen, Werkzeug usw., im neuen Mini-Laden war das neu-erschienenes MWFA Handbuch ueber Bio-Anbau (auf Mongolisch) und wie man Gemuese und Bluemen baut.

Wir schauten sowohl den Khaashaa (Stadtfarm), die gesunden Huehnchen, die Wintergaerten-haueser als auch den neu-gepflanzten Grundstuecke an. Einige zeit wuerde es noch dauern, hiess es, um Gemuse kaufen zu koennen. Wir sassen auf eine sonnigen stueck Rasen, und der Luft und der Blick auf der nahen Gebirge geniessten.