Jingyue Snow World Festival

Thousands of visitors travel all the way to China's Jinyuetan National Forest to feast their eyes on the beautiful yet fragile figures made from compressed snow. The "Jingyue Snow World Festival" , which opened a few days ago, is already creating news thanks to its delicate and wonderful ice sculptures. And last the visitors were very fortunate as they saw varieties of architectural designs on display - ranging from an intricately detailed Russian church to a Disney - style castle.

Jilin Province's annual ice festival opened with a flourish of frosty sculptures in many sizes and shapes. One of the main architectural attractions  was a detailed fairy castle with flashes of the Chinese Wall at its foot. A crystalline ice palace is yet another fantastic example of what talented craftsmen can achieve
with the simplest of tools and materials. The carved Russian church and a herd of galloping horses which were created from enormous amounts of ice were also on displayed in the annual ice festival.
It takes immense patience, time and efforts to create these magnificent frozen water sculptures. China's annual ice festival is definitely worth a visit before it melts.

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Waterbank Schools

Kenya's educational system could revolutionize with this new design for their schools. British architects
David Turnbill and Jane Harrison along with Atopia research designed the WATERBANK school in Nigare Nyiro, which mainly harvests water and eventually stores that in a reservoir on the school property. Not only does this ingenious system provide upto five liters per day to each student, it also enables girls normally responsible for collecting water outside of the home to receive education and attend the classes.

The school has four classrooms designed to accommodate upto 60 students. Most of the construction was facilitated from afar and on Skype.This modest school has for 200 schools has been built with locally - sourced materials and by the local community. It has also been encircled by a garden wall designed to keep out thirsty elephants.

The reservoir which is located in the center of the school courtyard stores water-harvested from a catchment system installed on the schools's 600 meter roof. An integrated filtration system ensures that the water is clean and pure. The design team also predicted that depending on the weather, the reservoir could provide upto 350,000 liters of clean water each year.The initiative is produced by PITCHAfrica founded in part by Harrison an Turnbull, who have similar projects  in the works in the same region.

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FDI in Retail Today

FDI in retail is being discussed in Lok Sabha today. The retail sector,one of the largest contributors to the GDP is one of the main topics of discussion currently. Should FDI, also known as the 'sunrise' sectors of Indian economy allowed in retail? This topic continues to be a rage in among the academicians and researches all over the world.

To begin with, Indian retail landscape reveals to be made up of two sharply contrasting segments - traditional small stores and big chain outlets. It has been confirmed that the Indian retail sector comprises mostly of local 'kirana' shops that being compared with the retail sector in other countries that have low labour productivity. One of the main reasons that attribute to this are low skilled and inefficient supply chain processes. Other than having high labour productivity, big chain outlets are more  organized and result in creating more jobs and providing employment to the population in the sector. One of the main conerns that SME businesses in India has is that they might not be at par when the agressive global players arrive in India whose main motive is to capture the Indian market by reducing the cost of goods resulting in a direct impact on the profit margins. On the other hand, government goodwill for SME businesses far outweighs this downside as we look at it today. The investment climate with its complex tax structure and legal framework penalizes large stores that operate across different states while SME businesses are more relaxed in that aspect. Although the cost of goods is lower for large chains, the profit margins of small retailers is higher.

When it comes to challenges being faced , one of them is establishing global quality standards.Globalization is bringing new challenges to retail-quality-control. With the globalization of production, supply- retailer chains, it is vital to ensure the quality and safety of the products.To be able to participate fully in global markets, exporting countries in return have to acquire the the capability to adhere to globally accepted standards in terms of quality, safety, health and environment.

Once FDI is allowed in retail, the better buying experience, product choice, quality, adherence to labelling laws are imperative to get the support of Indian consumers. The huge Indian consumer market should not turn into a ground for sub- standard products. It is about time that stringent quality standards emerge.

December 5 is also when the matter will be put to vote in both houses of the parliament. Emphasizing that FDI in retails would impact shop owners, farmers and small scale industries, Mayawati appealed to the Central Government not to implement the policy in haste. She said that the Congress- led United Progressive Alliance government needs to consider the adverse effects of allowing FDI in retail. According to her, a good FDI deal should be to allow value addition to local produce, which could then be sold in local and overseas markets. "Allowing FDI into India without any condition will not be good for the economy. India needs to identify the sectors in which FDI should be allowed."

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Solar powered floating schools

A non-profit organisation callled shidhulai swanirvar sangstha, has a goal to provide year-round education to Bangladeshi elementary students living in the areas prone to flooding due to monsoons. During rains,hundreds of schools get shut down to their detriment. Due to the torrential downpours,some parts are flooded for 3-4 months in a year, becoming an obstacle for people to continue their education.

Shidulai swanivar sangstha developed solar- powered floating schools to be used during those periods,which travel right up to the mainland to pick-up students. Around 30 students can be accomodated in each boat-cum-classroom and is equipped with an internet-linked laptop, electronic resources, library, providing basic education up to the grade IV level.
With the help of solar energy via panels installed on their rooftops,the computers and overall electricity of the vessels are powered. The use of this sustainable source offers flexible school schedules. After the day is over, students can take home a recharged-low-cost solar lantern, offering them a light source which would help them to continue their studies, while women on the other hand, may continue to stitch quilts after dusk to generate more income for their family.The solar powered lamps are given to families for free providing their children to go to school regularly, and better off households pay only a small monthly fee to receive one of the devices.
Not only for students,but outside elementary school lessons, the boats also act as venues for conducting training sessions for children's parents on such subjects as agriculture, finance, health, hygiene and nutrition.
70,000 children have benefited from this project which was first started in 2002, and is a 2012 WISE (world innovation summit for education) awards winner. It is funded through various resources which includes crops, fisheries as well as conversion of kerosene lanterns into solar ones.Other than education, the venture has also been advantageous in developing solar water farming to safeguard food supplies,improving the nutritional and health status of children,ensuring a year round income for families in flood prone areas.

(Image source: shidhulai.com)

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The library design moving away from tradition

It is a well known fact that library designs are becoming more and more popular in the interior design sector of the world. Many designers are taking strides to revolutionize the modern design of these builidings as libraries are community spaces which serve both education and communication.

Instead of simply rehashing the stark, institutional library motif, the 21st century library places focus on collaborative learning, features abundant natural light, inverts institutional design and is founded on a strong basis of environmental responsiblity.

Located at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, which was recently officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II, moves completely away from the traditionalist buildings of the past, demonstrating an incredibly modern aesthetic and ideology. Designed by architectural firm Schimdt Lassen, the 15,500 square metre library will replace the previous library which was earlier built in 1965.

"The building is a bold and affirmative statement from the University," said University of Aberdeen librarian and director of special collections and museums Chris Banks. "Its says 'We mean business' and it also says 'You are welcome here.'"

The building's facade consists of a mass of insulated high-performance panels while the interiors are a testament to topology, fluidity and light.

From the central atrium, aptly dubbed the 'dynamic vortex', visitors - of which there have been more than 700,000 over the last 12 months - can see through thte centre of the entire building, giving a sense of extreme space without being overwhelming to the point where patrons feel disconnected. 

"I'm also delighted that the building has attracted so many more students to use the library and the way in which it provides for both social and formal meeting spaces," Banks said. "It has, for the first time, allowed us to truly showcase our very significant special collections."

The designers set out to achieve BREEAM certification for the building, a goal they achieved through the implementation of several key sustainable features.

According to architect Morten Schmidt, the building stands as a modern icon for the university and area, offering all the positive elements that are now commonplace with modern library design.

"The University of Aberdeen New Library functions as a meeting places and a cultural centre for the students of the University as well as the Aberdeen community." he said. "The facade of the building shimmers during the day and glows softly at night, creating a luminous landmark - a beacon - for the city of Aberdeen."

Importance of library design being lost on architects? Surely not, with the buildings now becoming more than ever aesthetically pleasing modern community icons.

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