Thoughtful design for social and public housing, spotting climate change in 130-year-old restaurant menus, Repair Rudimental, and the design history of the fountain pen

Thoughtful design for social and public housing

Two years ago, urban planning and housing experts told us Australia had a shortage of 430,000 social and public housing dwellings. Within 20 years that shortage will be somewhere between 730,000 and one-million dwellings. Increasing the simple supply of affordable housing is crucial, but it's more complicated than numbers. What does it take to design good public and social housing? And what exactly does that good design look like? Director of MGS Architects Rob McGauran joins Cr Bill Harvey from Hobart City Council, and Carly, who lives in social housing in Melbourne's inner-west, to explore the key ingredients needed to deliver good social and public housing design.

You can spot climate change in 130-year-old restaurant menus

Menus have evolved greatly over the last few centuries. They reflect a restaurant's location, culinary trends and of course the availability of ingredients. Now, scientists are studying 130-year-old seafood restaurant menus in Vancouver, to uncover how climate change is impacting the food making it to diners' plates. Ian Rose is a writer based outside Portland, Oregon. He's charted this study, which sought help from city hall, historical societies, and local museums, to uncover the link between restaurant menus and our warming seas.

Repair Rudimental: A hand sewing starter kit

To be able to repair something, rather than replace it, puts a fork in the endless road of consumption. But hand sewing is a skill not one everyone has in 2022. Jonathan joins Gaye Naismith, founder and director of The Gaye Abandon School of Sewing and Upcycling, for an introduction to the world of mending. They begin with an essential starter kit: needles, beeswax, buttons, and cloth. Making clothes is but a dream for Jonathan just now, so we begin with learning how to wrangle a needle and thread.

Colin Bisset's Iconic Designs: The fountain pen

Every signature is special. Just ask any autograph collector. It's why the instruments that are used to sign anything from swooning love letters to historic presidential decrees are so cherished. A fountain pen has an old-fashioned quality that conveys gravitas and even decency, in a way that the undiscriminating ballpoint pen can never possess. Colin Bisset explores its design history.