GUILLERMO ARANDA-MENA

Koroipita Model Town: sustainable community project in Lautoka, Fiji [June/July 2011] I dedicate this blogpost to a recent project I worked on in Fiji, with two of my colleagues - Matt Myers / Vince Raso - and 23 of my students. It took me two years to return to Fiji . I finally got to get my hands dirty on a project I worked earlier on the drawing board - inc. supervised work on Design and Building Guidelines for Koroipita - carried out with Tim Sleeth and Ben Carr [Final Project 2010]. This time it was not on the drawing board but taking real action in-situ which was a great experience and really fun too! The houses or "bures" are minimal shelter structures not even beyond 25m 2 yet these basic homes cater for families. Each bure has two bedrooms in a single detached space and second - smaller - detached unit with kitchen, toilet and shower facilities. Both divided by an external corridor which also operates as a breezeway. The sites are ge...

...the universe and everything! If you thought the answer to 'life, the universe and everything' is '42' well you are actually wrong. I'll tell you that you (and our fellow Douglas Adams) are totally nuts! The truth is looking more like '333' which is the odd number of Islands that form the Fijian Archipelago. So listen carefully my dear Capitan, if you find that your vessel is drifting and need directions just ask for Viti/Fiji, Yasawa Islands, Drawaka, Mamanuca ... or just simply head towards Melanesia in the 'Oceano Pacifico del Sur'. Travel to the past before you head into the future. Von Voyage. BULA!!! "We must remind ourselves of our human essence to sustain our present and direct our future". Guillermo Aranda-Mena FIJI Study Tour 2009 - Mission: to adventure, travel, learning, saling the South Pacific - Vity Levu and the Yasawa Islands [11 to 23 August 2009]. - Vassel: Square rigged topsail schooner. Lenght: 108Ft (33mts) Tonnage:99...