nickmeech1

[nickmeech1]

Dartmoor Treehouse by Jerry Tate Architects from Dezeen on Vimeo.

[nickmeech1]

And another thing......  Is that spring I can smell?

It’s the 5th of March and it's been such a warm winter I have already been on my Dunsford pilgrimage. Since moving away from the Teign Valley I have made a point of returning in the spring to to see its wonderful wild daffodils. This also serves as my last circular ride taking in Castle Drogo and Steps Bridge before the path becomes too busy with visitors.

It’s the most wonderful sensory experience. The sound of the river providing the perfect accompaniment to the bird song. The fresh green and bright yellow colours against the grey tree silhouettes. Riding down the valley rarely gets interrupted, the sound of a helicopter or children playing occasionally interrupting the flow.

I was not expecting the subtle smell of spring to be assaulted by of all things, the smell of, well spring! Well to be more exact Procter and Gambles twisted version of it. This brief but incredibly strong waft came from a dog walkers very clean clothes. I recognised it from the many tumble dryers venting Persil and Ariel vapours onto my normal Blackdowns cycle route.

It took a long time to get out of the repulsive stench. I’m not sure if it was hanging along the path or just stuck in my nose. The irony being, it purporting to be the very thing it was destroying. As out of place as piped tropical bird song or a plasma screen showing tree buds bursting in slo-mo.

I feel so sorry for the poor bloody dog that has to follow its stinking master around what should be an olfactory wonderland. I do hope I can avoid ‘Summer Breeze’ in the lake district this June.

[nickmeech1]

Get a grip, Sugru handles the pressure.

While doing some R&D with Axminster Tools & Machinery a couple of years ago I tried out Sugru on some tool handles. I thought some tools could be supplied with a pack of Sugru to enable a tailor made handle to be moulded by the customer.

I still use some of the prototypes, the block plane being the most useful. This makes full use of it becoming asymmetric allowing it to be held more securely for different purposes. The side piece is great for holding it on its edge for shooting and can be unscrewed if it gets in the way for other jobs.

The lovely people at Sugru were very helpful, giving me some samples to try and showing me some of the fantastic ways their product has been used. The fencing foil was the most applicable but the way they have promoted people hacking there own uses and using social media to show them has been fab.

One additional bonus is you are less likely to get your tools nicked. Even less likely to get them borrowed as they just won't fit others hands.

There is still an opportunity to make some tools that are specifically made to have Sugru applied. Even then we will all need Sugru in our workshops and every tool shop will need a shelf full of it for all those other ideas. 

https://sugru.com

http://www.axminster.co.uk

[nickmeech1]

FightOp

Ok, now it's getting personal.

I, like many people who work with wood and love trees, have become increasingly concerned about the spread of an increasing number of tree diseases. Not owning any woodland myself but relying on others to grow my timber has kept me at arms length from the risks and consequences of this problem.

However it has hit home and affected not just my professional life but threatens many of the places and people I love. I can no longer stand back as an observer hoping 'they' will sort it out, instead I realise the solution can only come from a change in priorities.

I am no scientist and appreciate the complex choices that now face our foresters. However I can bring my own skills to bear on the problem. Getting hands on and being creative, could offer up many solutions and support others from different disciplines to discover more.

Putting my time and money on the line is the first step so I'm looking for a small woodland plot to buy. The right location will mean having to face up to the problem, ideally amongst a larger forest where successful solutions could be rolled out. 

Understanding the complexity of the problem will result in a well defined brief encouraging the widest range of new alternatives. Referring back to those who informed the brief to choose the best options to trial on site. Where the best options are to be found is difficult to predict but could include;

a leisure activity that responds to the clear felling of a popular site.

developing new landscape sensitive responses to increasing productivity.

a new technology for adding value to a crop on site to prevent infection during transportation. 

designing a new product to replace a traditional one that is in decline.

a marketing opportunity tailored to small woodland owners having to drastically change their management plan.

creating new markets for immature trees and selective thinnings.

a new income stream that pays for replanting and future management.

attracting a new interest and investment from outside the normal scope of forestry.

a new incentive to bring a woodland into management and monitor its health.

establishing a market for tree species not traditionally grown in the UK

finding new opportunities for training for those wanting to work in our industry.

interpreting the changes happening for the visiting public.

demonstrating how the right reaction can turn adversity into positive outcomes.

The prototype stage will be key in attracting new partners to help take new products and services to market and spread some good news nationally.

By funding this myself I can move quickly, getting tangible prototypes on site in the shortest possible timescale. Since my time at Hooke Park 25 years ago I have used my experience to find new markets and design new products. This project can bring together all our expertise to make change where it is becoming crucial for our trees, forests and sustainable timber products.

I'm asking you to get involved on a personal and professional level as I think you appreciate we all need to act as soon as we can. Where do you think we should be?

[nickmeech1]

The 3tree shelter @ Haldon Forest Park

Made with Keith Mott the concept was to use only 3 trees to provide a shelter for visitors to this fantastic forest. With two of the centre boards used for the seats that form part of the structure while fans are cut from the timber either side.

The fans were steam bent which was a fun process guessing how much to over bend them so they would 'set' at the correct curve.

It provides enough shelter for 6 in the rain and straddled the cycle trail before it was diverted. It was a successful experiment which would be great to follow up with some further refinements. This first design didn't address it racking from side to side so a structural entrance arch element is planned for the next.

Have you 3trees?

[nickmeech1]

Services

John Dunning is a hero of mine. With his wife Barbara they set up Teebay Services in Westmoorland, if you have stopped there for a break you will know by how far expectations can be exceeded. The concept was brilliant but to keep developing it over so many years exceptional:

My favourite wine shop is a motorway service station in Gloucestershire. It has the best range of organic wine I can find and continues to delight me. It fills me with enthusiasm and confidence that if you are willing to fight hard and long enough little can stop you making a real difference. As the most recent service station for the Westmoorland Ltd family it's what a clean sheet of paper and a great recipe can still do to exceed expectations. I can only imagine the obstacles put in their way by the vested interests that continue to provide the other pitiful options for taking a break while driving.

The motivation must be different and Mark Gale http://www.gloucesterservices.com/our-story/our-people/mark-gale epitomises the merits of rejecting the profit motive and the seeking of corporate dominance. I'm looking forward to learning more about Fair Shares Gloucestershire and the business support organisation Co-operative Futures. Oh and he knows where the best cake is to be found.

And why am I sharing all this optimism. Well, I have been wondering for some time what a lay-by burger van would look like if these fine folks got hold of it. The menu would be more interesting and it would be dictated by local produce and the seasons for a start. Many years ago I proposed a foraging picnic site to the Forestry Commission. Designed using permaculture principals I realise now I should have gone a step further and proposed running a franchise coffee shop on the site using the same principals.

If there was an option for all those coming in and out of Bristol on A roads to pause for some tasty local food and drink they too could benefit from real 'service'. What could I do to help this happen? Well perhaps if I found a way to circumvent the worst excesses of vested interest and highways law it could be quicker than getting permission for a new motorway service station.

[nickmeech1]

Autonomous E R&D

This past week I have been designing houses that have their space and services separated. It's a great way to explore better use of space and improving the integration of services. One of the greatest opportunities for improving the build process is to minimise site installation. It has over the years evolved into a tortuous process. Just run through the sequence of operations that go to make a shower in a traditional house. Plumbers and tilers taking turns in messing up each others work using a mish mash of components invariably ending in the mediocre.

In the past I have used the comparison with a car to explore how architecture has been left behind. I still can't go in to Jewsons and buy central locking for my house and revisiting this now that solar power is entering both homes and cars is poignant. I appreciate it is early days with hybrid houses but fixing a square PV panel over the tiles on a roof is like BMW chucking a battery in the back seat of a 5 series to make their new hybrid.

This is the last place I want to be heard whinging about the construction industry, rather I hope its a way of explaining the motivation behind my new R&D project. Tesla have been very clever to take their car battery technology and make it available for our homes:  http://www.teslamotors.com/en_GB/powerwall

Keeping the services self contained and movable is incredibly liberating and I have a hunch it will end up looking fantastic too. Even the Tesla Motors Powerwall as yet misses the opportunity to have the house and car working together. I want to link this autonomous concept with my Once a Car project: http://nickmeech1.blogspot.co.uk to integrate a hybrid car into the services in a new house.

I'm funding this new R&D with the money from selling the Culmstock Whole: http://nickmeech1.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/the-whole.html           I would love to attract some tech partners to be part of the team that can bring new products to market and make the installation of house services far more dynamic. They would benefit from a share in the IP, some new product designs and be able to get their own funding through R&D Tax Credits: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/corporation-tax-research-and-development-rd-relief

At the very least it will provide stimulation to the architectural world and good green PR for a hopefully british car manufacturer. Car makers are being forced to confront their environmental impact, especially in some US states. This has yet to materialise to the same degree in the built environment but the imperative no less and the rewards potentially even greater.

In the best tradition of concept cars, some sexy looking prototypes are a good start. Exploring the potential in this way will help inform the longer term design brief and perhaps create the some of the excitement in those buying houses as cars. Docking your car into your house to make use of its solar panels is obvious but so is central locking so my end game is to bring products to market. This deconstruction of space and services is just a handy method to ensure our designs are not held back by architectural tradition or high prototyping budgets.

If you would like to get involved in the development of any type of space or services we want in our homes do get in touch.

[nickmeech1]

Juice Season 5 (7/11)

[nickmeech1]

Hayden Meech River Cottage's Rising Star? Needing likes on YouTube to get my big chance at River Cottage and hope you will help.