[youtube:http://youtu.be/vTJXID9rw-U] Brothers Phil and Richard Jergenson invented Grid Beam, a full-size modular construction set. It’s kind of like an erector set for grown-ups (and not-so-grow-ups). It’s made from interchangeable parts of wood and metal, bored out to fit hex bolts. Everything is can be assembled and disassembled with minimal tools. At Maker Faire, the brothers […]
My friend Sean McIntyre and his collaborator Reid Bingham created Public Constructions, a light installation that borrows its aesthetic from construction barricades and warning lights. The tech behind it is pretty cool, too. “The 10 foot tall glowing flowers in the installation were made from 64 hacked traffic barricade lights,” according to their site. “Each […]
In this episode of Tiny Yellow House, Deek shows you how to turn a cheap piece of plastic dishware into a stained glass window. It’s a simple way to add light, while maintaining a modicum of privacy. He teaches you everything you need to know to add one to the shanty of your choice. Subscribe […]
Interesting off-beat find via kris de kecker’s “No Tech Magazine,” which today linked to WIKI-style and PDF versions of Klaus Grasser and Gernot Minke’s 1990 book “Building With Pumice.” Turns out pumice, a foamy igneous rock, often tan in color and generally known for its ability to float in water…
While I might be slightly squeamish about staying in Austrian Andreas Strauss’s open-to-the-public, semi-outdoor, pay-what-you-want dasparkhotel, I love the idea of using drain pipe sections as small outdoor structures.
Brian Liloia documented his build of this round self-supporting roof structure in 2008, while living in Missouri. This type of self-supporting structure, in which each beam bears the weight of another, and has its weight born by yet another, and all arranged such the load is thus distributed ’round in a continuous cycle, is called a reciprocal frame. It requires at least three members, and you can build a simple working model with matchsticks. [via No Tech Magazine]
Stumbling upon these photos was a strange moment for me. I’ve been playing Borderlands recently, and it had never occurred to me that the monster excavator from the video game might’ve been based on a real-world machine–a real-world machine which, just by eyeballing it, looks like it might actually be bigger than the video game version. Dark Roasted Blend has a good article with lots of deets on the monster machine.
