flood-proof bamboo pavilion anchors yasmeen lari's zero-carbon pono village in pakistan
Built with traditionally low cost and eco-friendly materials including bamboo, mud, lime, and thatch, the Juliet Center is shaped as a vaulted structure that recalls the domed forms familiar in the region, translating them into a lightweight, sinuous silhouette. Within its open form, the modular pavilion is intended to host spontaneous community gatherings while providing a space for educational workshops, upskilling locals in sustainable building techniques. It supports Lari's wider mission of empowering populations through sustainable, culturally rooted design.
all images courtesy of Nyami Studio a vaulted bamboo pavilion for community empowerment
Following the devastating floods of 2022, the Pono Village was developed as an experimental zero-carbon settlement — an extension of Yasmeen Lari's exploration of sustainable shelters for marginalized communities who have been displaced by such disasters that have continued to sweep through Sindh. For the Juliet Center too, Lari commissioned London-based Nyami Studio and designer Jack Rankin to create a new focal point for the community, taking into consideration structural longevity and long-term civic empowerment — particularly for women, who are here trained in construction and craftsmanship to support their livelihoods. 'At the heart of the project was a commitment to creating positive social impact,' notes Rankin. 'To support this, we designed a flexible, open-plan space that could serve both the local community and the Heritage Foundation, providing a setting for workshops, talks, and social gatherings.' Read More 500+ Figma, React and Tailwind CSS UI Components
The structure consists of two modular vaults arranged on a hexagonal grid, spanning widely to open up to the village without the need for internal columns. Though the space maintains a basic open plan, it remains deliberately flexible for future expansions or replication in other settlements. 'It is for the community to inhabit, adapt, and use in ways that suit their daily lives,' the designer adds.
For the construction process, Nyami Studio and Jack Rankin ensured to continue the Heritage Foundation's commitment to preserving and promoting culturally rooted building practices, fusing this with digital design precision to work with the extreme climate, and achieve complex geometries and durability. ' With no locally available methods for steaming or heating bamboo, we bent it by notching and shaping it into formwork,' Rankin shares. Shaping these elements according to pre-calculating angles while integrating local techniques, the formwork was adjusted through trial, error, and close collaboration between the design team and villagers. For the finishing, floors are layered with 10,000 hand-made mud tiles fired in neighboring villages, and a durable, woven thatch roof made of grass harvested locally, offers protection from the extreme heat and rains. Structurally, the design utilizes 2-3′ bamboo members which allows for faster material procurement without compromising on spanning capacity or stability.
While the building was still awaiting the completion of a perimeter of tiled steps and a retractable fabric facade when Jack Rankin and Neil Palmer, co-founder of Nyami Studio, departed Pakistan, it had already been embraced by the community. Children turned the Juliet Center into a playground, and adults gathered for afternoon tea, filling the space with life before the final finishes were even implemented. Read More Introducing Nounswap.wtf ⌐◨-◨
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
The Night Prince William Slept on London's Streets amid His 20-Year Fight Against Homelessness (Exclusive)
The CEO of the charity Centrepoint, Seyi Obakin, tells PEOPLE that the future king wanted to "get close to this issue" NEED TO KNOW Prince William's battle to help the unhoused is in its 20th year Soon after he started his journey to help reverse the tide on homelessness, he slept out on the streets of London one night in 2009 Inspired by his late mom, Princess Diana, he has followed that with his ambitious Homewards project A future king sleeping on the streets? For Prince William, that was a natural but nevertheless groundbreaking decision as he cemented his mission to help the homeless. As his commitment to helping tackle the issue reaches its 20th anniversary, the moment that is seared into the minds of allies in the battle is being recalled. When the Prince of Wales, 43, began his public life after university, he knew where to start: with an issue that he and his brother, Prince Harry, were introduced to as young boys by their late mother, Princess Diana. So Centrepoint, which Diana had also supported, was one of the first causes he adopted, becoming a patron that year, 2005. Four years later, he secretly took the headline-making step of sleeping out on the streets of London one night. For a man in his position, making that decision was 'brave,' says CEO of Centrepoint, Seyi Obakin, who joined him that night: 'He said, 'I want to get close to this issue, and it is all well and good reading about it and talking to people affected by it, but how about I actually get a feel for it personally?'' Obakin tells PEOPLE, 'He didn't want to be in a safe zone. He wanted to have an experience that would be as close to the experience that a young person would have if they had had to make that choice.' It rapidly drew attention to the issue, Obakin says. 'One of the first things he said, he didn't want to be an ornamental patron," Obakin explains. "He wanted to get involved and understand the issues and to know how he could help, and he wanted to help. He hasn't wavered from that from day one.' (Today, William has a five-year plan Homewards to find new ways of making homelessness "rare, brief and unrepeated" in the U.K.) The appreciation of his impact comes at a time when he and his brother Harry are in the minds of people around the world as the 28th anniversary of their late mother's death in 1997 nears. Inspiration to them both for their public philanthropy came from Diana, who took William and Harry to The Passage shelter in London when they were around ages 11 and 9. Current head of The Passage, Mick Clarke, tells PEOPLE how William said that the visits with his mother 'had left a deep and lasting impression.' He also 'talked about how his mom made it very pointed that he – as she said – was exposed to life beyond palace walls. That is something that he and [wife Kate Middleton] are doing with their own children.' For more on how Prince William and Prince Harry honor their late mother, pick up a copy of this week's PEOPLE, on newsstands on Friday Taking a lead from the playbook of Diana, who quietly not only visited refuges for the unhoused but also hospital wards for AIDS patients, William has secretly helped out behind the scenes. During one month during COVID-19 in November 2020, he went to The Passage three times in four weeks. 'He came in and helped, preparing and cooking the food — and in some cases delivering the food,' Clarke tells PEOPLE in this week's issue. 'I think he feels more comfortable when it is just him with no cameras.' He's noticed how The Passage's users react when they meet Prince William, who has served as patron of the charity since 2019. 'People experiencing homelessness are very good at assessing if someone is authentic or not. When he visits, such as when he is helping out at Christmas, he normally runs over — if he's meant to be there for an hour, it will be approaching three.' 'There's something deeply authentic about that. With things like that, you can't fake it. I have known him now for many years, and what you see is what you get,' Clarke says. Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more! 'One of the most terrifying things you can experience is street homelessness, and you can feel like you have lost everything," he adds. "And to have someone clearly wanting to genuinely hear your story and want to listen, is quite a statement. This is the guy who is a future king, and it is quite a statement, really, that he wants to do that; it is very supportive.' Clarke adds, "The only reason you would put your head above the parapet and say, 'I don't believe we should be having homelessness in this country,' is if you were passionate about it and believed in it. He is so driven in terms of how can I bring people together to work on this in their own communities.' On July 1, the day that would have been Princess Diana's 64th birthday, Prince William shared a platform with U.K. politician Gordon Brown, who was Prime Minister for three years from June 2007. 'I think he's changing people's view of homelessness and what can be done about it,' Brown said. The occasion was the second anniversary of the Prince of Wales' Homewards project, where six areas of the U.K. are involved in trying innovative methods to find solutions to homelessness in the various areas. Centrepoint is a partner of Homewards, and Obakin tells PEOPLE of William's project: 'He didn't want to be an ornament, and he wanted to affect the issue. I see sleeping out as part of that story, and I see Homewards as a continuation of that.' 'When I talk to people about ending homelessness 10 years ago, most people would say you're on a highway to nothing. Are you going to stop homelessness or stop what causes it from happening? For him to take on that and come out with it, I think you can't divorce that from that early introduction to the issue and the conscious choice he has made for the harder path and to say 'I'm going to do everything in my power to see to this issue," he adds. 'The language is more about ending homelessness and not about managing it. His intervention has changed the center of gravity in that way already.' Clarke adds that Prince William isn't 'delusional in terms of thinking he can wave a magic wand and in an amount of years that can be done. But he has been a great catalyst in terms of emphasizing that the more people work together, the more you can look to find those solutions.' Read the original article on People
New York Post
4 hours ago
- New York Post
Lucky NYC traveler finds $27K diamond in an Arkansas park — now she has a special use for it: ‘I got on my knees and cried'
She's a local rock star. Bidding a temporary farewell to the Big Apple boded well for future bride Micherre Fox, 31, who stumbled upon a 2.30-carat white diamond — worth around $27,000 — during a three-week hunt at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. It's a finger-licking find that's saving her fiancé a handful of dough. 5 Fox spent several weeks scouring through an Arkansas park, looking for a diamond for her engagement ring. Arkansas State Parks 'Having never seen an actual diamond in my hands, I didn't know for sure, but it was the most diamond-y diamond I had seen,' the Manhattan-based millennial raved in a statement. 'I got on my knees and cried, then started laughing.' Fox, a recent graduate school grad, decided to celebrate her academic achievements with an excavating adventure through the park's diamond-search area, a 37.5-acre landmark, where over 75,000 stellar stones have been unearthed since the early 1900s. A staggering 366 diamonds have been registered at Crater of Diamonds in 2025 alone, including 11 weighing more than one carat each. Fox did not immediately respond to The Post's request for a comment. But now, she's laughing on easy street. 5 Fox experienced an array of emotions — including tearful shock and laughing excitement — upon finding her diamond on the last day of the hunt. Arkansas State Parks With the national average cost of an engagement ring totaling $5,500, per a recent study, Fox and her groom-to-be, who fully supported her decision to dig for her own diamond, are coming up roses ahead of their big day. Owing to the high price of weddings, which can cost couples across the country more than $26,000 — and the lovebirds near NYC over $58,000 — every penny counts. Rather than blowing their budget on a ritzy rock, Fox was more than eager to take engagement matters into her own hands — quite literally. 'I was willing to go anywhere in the world to make that happen,' she said. 'I researched, and it turned out that the only place in the world to do it was right in our backyard, in Arkansas!' 5 The largest diamond ever discovered in Crater of Diamonds State Park was a 40.23-carat rock, which is now part of the Smithsonian's mineral and gem collection. Shutterstock / VioletSkyAdventures Well, it's not so much 'our backyard' as it is 1,200 miles away from New York — but hey, who's counting? 'There's something symbolic about being able to solve problems with money, but sometimes money runs out in a marriage,' added Fox. 'You need to be willing and able to solve those problems with hard work.' And work, she did. The brunette kicked off her weeks-long search on July 8, spending hours combing through the grounds at Crater of Diamonds for bling. Daily, she'd hit the trail, desperately looking high and low for that glitzy glow, but would routinely come up empty-handed. Fox's luck, however, changed at 11 a.m. on July 29, her final day at the park, when she noticed something shiny by her feet. The nearly-wed initially assumed it was an iridescent, dew-covered spiderweb. 5 Fox initially mistook the stone for a spiderweb until she got a closer look and discovered it was, in fact, a diamond. Arkansas State Parks But after giving it a slight nudge and noticing its gleam, Fox realized she'd scored treasure. Experts at the park's Diamond Discovery Center confirmed that Fox had found a white, or colorless, diamond weighing more than two carats. It's approximately the size of a human canine tooth. The gem — which she's named the Fox-Ballou Diamond — in honor of her and her fiancé, reportedly boasts a smooth, rounded shape and beautiful metallic luster, typical of most Crater diamonds. It is the third-largest diamond found at the park, thus far, this year. Park officials are happy for the soon-to-be married gal. 5 Park authorities confirmed the weight and color of Fox's sweet fine, and congratulated her on the dazzling discovery. Shutterstock / VioletSkyAdventures 'Ms. Fox's story highlights the fact that, even when putting forth your best effort, being in the right place at the right time plays a part in finding diamonds,' said Waymon Cox, Crater of Diamonds State Park Assistant Superintendent, in a statement. 'After weeks of hard work, Ms. Fox found her diamond sitting right on top of the ground.' A satisfies Fox is grateful that her search was successful — and that it's now over. 'After all the research, there's luck and there's hard work,' said the belle, who plans to have the rock set in her engagement ring. 'When you are literally picking up the dirt in your hands, no amount of research can do that for you; no amount of education can take you all the way.' 'It was daunting!'
Miami Herald
8 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Adopted dog was ‘dumped over a fence.' Now he needs someone ‘who won't give up'
An adopted dog was 'dumped over a fence' — and now, he needs a fresh start. 'He deserves someone who won't give up on him,' a Florida animal shelter wrote Aug. 7 on Facebook. 'Someone to love him, protect him, and committed to him.' Baby Bear waits for a new home after traveling nearly 1,000 miles. His journey started after he was adopted from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Florida in 2022, Randa Richter, humane programs and public media director, told McClatchy News via email. Then recently, the Lakeland-based shelter received a call from West Virginia. A facility found Baby Bear and checked his microchip, which stores the contact information of pet owners. 'How he traveled to West Virginia, nobody knows; but what we do know is that he was dumped over a fence at a West Virginia Animal Control,' SPCA Florida wrote in a news release. 'Scared, nervous, and unsure, Baby Bear found himself in a foreign environment, with loud barking dogs, strangers, and different smells.' Shelter workers reached out to Baby Bear's family but didn't hear back. After the 10-year-old mixed breed dog was left behind, SPCA Florida said it didn't want someone to fail him again. 'We knew we had to act fast — because unlike SPCA Florida, that shelter didn't have a no-kill policy,' the animal organization wrote. 'Time was running out.' So, SPCA Florida arranged for a volunteer to fly Baby Bear back to its shelter in Lakeland, a roughly 35-mile drive east from Tampa. He showed off his 'sweet' and well-behaved nature as he got 'first-class service' on the flight, according to the Facebook post and an online adoption profile. 'He stepped off the plane, tail wagging, ears perked, and eyes full of trust,' the shelter wrote. 'He looked as if he finally knew he was home.' As of Aug. 13, the shelter's website still listed the rescued senior pup among the animals available for adoption. Details about the shelter's adoption process can be found at 'Come meet Baby Bear and be the reason his journey ends in joy,' the shelter wrote. 'After all he's been through… this sweet boy deserves nothing less than the best.'
