Workstream Activities: Week of 11/11/13
When we first launched this blog, we provided weekly recaps of project-related activities in a series of posts called “Week That Was”. The thinking behind this type of reportage was two-fold: to provide a running, real-time catalogue of events as they happen and to be as transparent as possible in sharing our work as it unfolds.
We shifted away from this type of writing in the interest of sharing more thoughtful, reflective pieces about learnings from the project and individual partner experiences with it. However, given the call for greater communication from all of the partners, we’re reinstating these updates. The hope is that it will augment the experience for visitor’s to this site such that all audiences, from casual observers to invested project stakeholders, will glean deeper and richer knowledge about the Sammaan initiative.
The approach for this type of information-sharing will be slightly different than the previous recap posts. Rather than segment the updates into general workstreams (e.g., Architecture, Design, etc.) we’re going to share the activities of specific partners. This will help identify interdependencies between partners and their work as well as to convey what activities are most pressing at any given point. For example, currently, the tendering process is occupying a lot of our time and attention. As such, you’ll find more work falling under those partners directly involved in it (i.e., Anagram Architects, Arkitechno, Quicksand).
Regular readers of this blog will know and appreciate this already, but this site is very much fluid and the manner in which we share information is an ever-changing, on-going process. In this sense, it is very much indicative of the nature of the project itself.
Here are the workstream updates for the week of 11/11/13:
Anagram Architects
– Continued progress on developing working drawings for the Community Toilets
– Engaging with Arkitechno to incorporate any changes to the working drawings as needed
– Supporting Arkitechno in providing technical assistance to the BMC and CMC
Arkitechno
– Producing and submitting the 60 booklets (i.e., one per facility) requested by the BMC for the tender of the Community Toilets
– Interfacing with CMC Engineers regarding the 32 booklets (i.e., one per facility) submitted on 8/11 for the technical sanction of the city’s Community Toilets
– Provide technical assistance to BMC and CMC during the tendering process
– Study working drawings submitted by Anagram Architects and providing comments accordingly
Codesign
– Developing facility signage (in multiple languages)
– Making adjustments to the facility branding and identity
– Presenting updated work to Quicksand
CTRAN
– Following up on documentation submitted with ARkitechno on 8/11 to CMC for technical sanction of the Community Toilets
– Liaising, and facilitating, conversations with the BMC regarding the city’s Community Toilets and associated tender
– Following up with the BMC Engineering department regarding releasing the tender for the city’s Public Toilets
J-PAL
– Working on the Community Toilet O&M framework along with detailing out other interventions
– Continuing work on piloting out sections of the Baseline research
Quicksand
– Facilitating conversations between Anagram and Arkitechno on the site-specific working drawings
– Working with CTRAN and Arkitechno to push the tendering process forward in both Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, including daily meetings at both the BMC and CMC with various representatives
– Communications updates (e.g., writing and designing latest newsletter, updating social media channels, writing and editing blog posts)
These updates will continue to be issued each Monday.