If you attended our 'Meet Sandwell Council's architects' Breakfast Club, you might know about these exciting updates already. For everyone else, there's more good news for our borough's manufacturers, engineers and designers in the form of these forthcoming finditinsandwell plans ...
1. An Innovation Zone
Architects and designers have told us that they like to put their ideas 'out there' and get feedback from engineers and manufacturers with the knowledge and skills to give valuable, informed comments. But the only problem is, they're often then bombarded with businesses pitching for the work before the design is anywhere near realisation.
We're going to create a space on finditinsandwell where designers can post ideas anonymously and people can share thoughts and innovative solutions. How about a car park with charging points for when we're all driving electric cars? A house with easily added 'pod' rooms for accommodating extra relatives at Christmas? OK, so it's easy to get carried away, but the best ideas often blossom when people are able to bounce their thoughts around.
finditinsandwell is going to create a place on the website to do just that; a special Innovation Zone to get you thinking and collaborating ... watch this space!
2. A special 'green technology' event
Climate change is altering the way we do business. We need low-carbon or zero-carbon solutions for Sandwell's regeneration projects - and we need them fast.
Our plans our still in the embryonic stages, but we're going to organise a huge event alongside Advantage West Midlands later on in 2010 to celebrate environmental technology and nurture good, green ideas within our borough. We'll bring you more news as soon as we have it.
3. Architects' tours of Sandwell
All aboard the manufacturing bus! To further strengthen ties between our architects and our engineers, we're offering special tours around the borough's best manufacturing firms, allowing designers to see just how capable, clever and willing to diversify our supply chain is.
Again, keep an eye on finditinsandwell's news page for more information, but to pre-register your interest (either as an architect or as a manufacturing willing to welcome architects into your premises), email stephen_massey@sandwell.gov.uk today.
[Chaos cubes image: Danilo Rizzuti for www.freedigitalphotos.net.]