Research Insights

Monday inspiration – who is my customer?

As I start my Monday morning, going through the pile of unread emails, there was one that stood out. This was from my colleague Asa, with some recent pictures of our weatherHYDE shelters. For those who don’t know, weatherHYDE is a temporary shelter designed to save lives of the homeless and vulnerable living in extreme weather conditions. This winter we have provided almost 500 weatherHYDEs to homeless families across the world.

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Etania School Project Update

Last week the BillionBricks team made a site visit to the under-construction Etania School in Sabah, Malaysia. The Etania Schools are learning centres for the children of migrant labourers who have no access to education otherwise.

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Failure is not an option

Very often, a successful business is defined by its strategy, leadership and purpose. Perseverance often does not make it to the list. However, we at bB, have found ‘perseverance’ to be one of our key qualities that has seen us through our short three year existence.

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Housing for All (who & how) by 2022

Affordable housing – macro to micro perspective for design intervention

Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody. – Jane Jacobs

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Answering to the Call of Nature is Not A Numbers Game

We tend to think that the main reason why people defecate in the open is that they cannot afford or lack the technical knowledge to build a clean and proper toilet. However, it took me a brief walk around the village and a couple of conversations with local men to shake this conviction and understand that open defecation is a social problem and not an infrastructure shortage.

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Zindabad!

Recently, I was shocked to read this article which describes “Shanty Town” a unique vacation destination which has been created where the rich can experience what it feels like to be in slum by paying about 82 dollars a night.

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Building BillionBricks

Reflecting on Billionbricks’ vision of providing appropriate solutions for the homeless, I am reminded of my undergraduate students’ current work in their first year design studio.

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