TreeLife by The Cool Hunter

TreeLife by The Cool Hunter launches in Sydney - Summer 2010. It will be unveiled in Sydney's iconic Hyde Park and other landmark satellite venues including Martin Place and the Sydney Opera House. "Treelife is a brand new free event, launched here in Sydney before going to London and New York," says Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore MP. "This event will showcase innovative and creative sustainable architecture, and illustrate that green can co-exist with urban city life."

The world's first major public exhibition of 'green design' treehouses, TreeLife will bring the biggest names in international architecture, design and art into the one public place for the first time. The Sydney launch of the event will showcase cutting edge green and sustainable design set in beautiful Hyde Park, one of Australia's most iconic and highly trafficked public spaces located in the heart of the city.

Treehouses have become creative eco-statements in the design world. They allow people to literally be "in" nature and peace above the stressful street level of life. The Cool Hunter will invite top local and international architects, artists and designers to design for the event a modern treehouse, created from sustainable and recycled materials. To celebrate the incredible temporary environment created by TreeLife, the exhibition will host a program of events that will vary from city to city.

More details at The Cool Hunter

ShedCam: One Grand Designs

The build for One Grand Designs starts in earnest next week and we'll all be able to watch it as it unfolds since Dominic has set up a webcam to record the action. It goes live tomorrow (Saturday) at 10am. Or if he gets up a bit earlier or later, then it goes live then. Watch it all unfurl here... There are other shedcams, notably The ShedCam and Dean Urbano's.

Lift: shedworkers

Lift is a creative communication and design business set up by Matt Carey and run from a garden office in Caversham. "We are a small (4 person) design studio," says Matt, "and we run our business from the building. Our office rent was going up and I wanted to bring the business back home. So it suited perfectly. Its pretty big so we can fit 4 people in!" You can see a smashing set of photos of the build from start to finish at Matt's Flickr site.

Carré d'étoiles

Carré d'étoiles is a lovely shedlike tourist accommodation which would also be great for shedworking (and indeed shedliving).As well as mini-hotel rooms with all the latest high-tech modcons, they are also mini observatories and each model comes with a sky observation kit including telescope. It's all the idea of Louis and Nathalie Blanco who have experience of this kind of alternative tourist hideaways via their Les Roulottes de Campagne business which offers shepherds' hut-like accommodation in rural areas of France (see below). The truly lovely site (complete with gentle birdsong and philosophical musings) is in both French and English.Via materialicious
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'Historic shed' for sale

Historic Shed is planning to replace its existing exhibit shed that they take to Historic Home Tours and other events for the upcoming Fall/autumn season. So they are offering a special on the 6'x8' shed above with loft ceiling, finished interior, wood floor, 3 salvaged casement windows, and cypress siding: available at the frankly knockdown price of just $3,400 including delivery and setup within 75 miles of their facility in Brooksville, FL. For more information see HistoricShed.com or call 813-333-2249.
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Thursday posts are sponsored by Vivid Green, the low energy garden building specialists. Click here for more details

Guéhenno Office de Tourisme

The Office de Tourisme in the small village of Guéhenno in Brittany is a lovely shedworking atmosphere spotted by David Wike. "The office/shed was unmanned," he says. "Someone just unlocked the door in the morning so you could wander in and help yourself to leaflets from the racks inside."
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Thursday posts are sponsored by Vivid Green, the low energy garden building specialists. Click here for more details

How to keep cool in your garden office: the shedosphere speaks

With temperatures set to rise in the UK even further on Thursday, I asked the good shedworking folk on twitter if they had any advice for keeping cool in the shed on a very hot day. Here's what they suggested...

@rosiejam my tip for keeping cool in your shed is to get a fan and sit next to it and don't move!

@Workshopshed Not that it help you much but I wonder if the rammed earth construction helps in the heat?

@wildlifegarden have you got a green roof yet?? http://www.wildlondon.org.uk/Addagreenrooftoyourshed/tabid/419/Default.aspx

@Workshopshed Thinking solar powered fans but not sure where to get them from

@Loiscarter Build shed underground?

@benlocker Give your shed a roof of palms and turn it into a sukkah: http://bit.ly/MyJhD

@sm9 You mean you're not working whilst naked? I thought everyone did that? ;-)

@othello place a bucket/bowl of cold water under your desk, and put your feet in. bliss!

@oddjones paddling pool

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KiosKiosk with Creative Charlie

Pop-up shop KiosKiosk launches tomorrow, the shedlike creation of those busy Hemingways, Wayne and Gerardine. Located next to the Mayor's office at City Hall in London, the aim is to provide free retail space in prominent locations for new creative businesses (Wayne explains it all in a video here). It is hoped that low cost 'pop up' shops of this kind will provide a template for London and towns and cities across the UK by offering a helping hand for businesses that may be priced out of high cost, high street and prime retail locations. This will also help to support smaller, independent shops increasing consumer choices.

The rather splendid design can be tailored easily to suit individual users, as shown below.The Hemingways started the famous Red or Dead brand from low cost 'easy in, easy out' starter units at Camden and Kensington Markets and Affleck’s Palace in Manchester, but believe it has now become increasingly difficult for start up creative businesses to find affordable retail space. Wayne Hemingway, said: "It was our formative experience and the opportunities provided by places such as Kensington Market, that led us to the KiosKiosK idea. In addition, from an urban design perspective many of our towns and cities’ streetscapes would benefit from well-designed kiosks that provide beacons of creativity." The project, which runs until September 3, is supported by the London Sustainable Development Commission.

Kerri Sellens, who runs her Creative Charlie children's arts and crafts products business from a garden office will be there this Sunday. More details here. Do go and support her.
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Wednesday's posts are sponsored by The Garden Room Company®, the UK's premier supplier of garden offices and garden rooms. Click here.

Coco Hut

A thing of beauty for the middle of the week, the Coco-Hut, built out of reclaimed wood by Gert Eussen who describes it as "a sustainable treehouse, made of standard size wood. Also available as a custom designed lodge, meditation house." Via Inhabitat
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Wednesday's posts are sponsored by The Garden Room Company®, the UK's premier supplier of garden offices and garden rooms. Click here.

Crowdsourced: New Shedworking HQ entry

Now here's a cracking idea - John Coupe from secrets-of-shed-building submitted a design for the new Shedworking HQ competition a couple of weeks ago. But then he decided to put it up on his own site and invite comments from his readers. "I received an avalanche of great advice," says John. "I have tried to incorporate all the readers suggestions into one design. You and they are the judges of how successful I have been. I hope that people find this an improvement over the mark 1 version and not the result of design by committee." Additions include a green roof, a glass wall and a porch.

With all the extra window area there was a concern over the solar gain and the shed heating up inside - so that is the reason for the porch. The porch also gives you somewhere to shelter as you fumble for your keys on a wet morning it would also accommodate a doormat to reduce internal mud! It is also a great place to sit out and chat with your visitors during nice weather such as we are having at the moment.

Well done to all those who contributed their thoughts including Greenboy, Kenny, Kate, Simon, Maria, Martin, Tim Baber, Andy, Lawrence, Uncle Wilco, Ben Cruz, John, Brian, Alastair, Ben Ellis Raymondo, Cegidfa, Paulbry, Metaxa and a few Anons. More details and images at John's site here.
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Wednesday's posts are sponsored by The Garden Room Company®, the UK's premier supplier of garden offices and garden rooms. Click here.