objects, ideas and innovations

urban intervention - continued

2011-02-13T19:07:00.000-08:00

Walking around Watney Market last weekend made me think and I listed simple design requirements for the project

- increasing the number of stalls

- making them more attractive

- widening the range of goods on sale + catering facilities (flexible design of the stall that will allow to display different sorts of products or set up mobile catering equipment)

- space for presenting boxes with vegetables in front of the stall

- change current positioning of the stalls – they cover shop windows from the eyes of the passing crowd

I have also played around with those geodesic-dome elements. I think it resulted in some smooth shapes for the stalls roof. One thing that bothers me is the fact that multiple amount of little stalls may not be good enough. There is a limited space between shop windows on each side and a continuous structure going through the middle of the market would be an ideal solution in that case.

urban intervention - stall idea

2011-02-13T18:41:00.001-08:00

i have been playing with some straws today and ended up with this geometrical, stall-like structure. i was going to develop it further into an actual model, but the lines seem a bit provoking and i think they would disrupt the empty watney market area too much. in order to enhance the area visually, I need to look for something that will integrate more with the straight lines of the buildingsand gently fill the grey, open space.

urban intervention - watney market

2011-02-13T18:09:00.000-08:00

In the early years of the 20th century it was one of the liveliest local markets in London: in 1902 there were over 100 shops and 100 stalls.

By the 1960s Watney Market was in decline: people were moving away, and beginning to shop elsewhere. By the end of the decade only a handful of stalls was left.

Sites were cleared for redevelopment - housing and a new market - but it was slow in coming.

Twenty years on, the rebuilding is now more or less finished, and the area has been expensively landscaped, but its character has gone. There are no permanents stalls and the product range seems to attract only a few out of the whole group of passersby.

hinge+fold

2011-01-24T03:04:00.000-08:00

I've been experimenting with membrane hinge and different kinds of folds.

Membrane hinge is a brilliant way of building shapes. My model is made out of plexiglass pieces angled at 15 degrees on the sides. The outcome is a half-circle that can be laid flat or folded to save space.
it could be a roof structure, a shelter...

I had this idea of making membrane hinge chair where the shape would be determined by the angles of individual components.

table stand

2011-01-23T19:25:00.000-08:00

Could be used as a reception table etc
Sheets of plexiglass are joined together to form solid see-through walls. The table top could be made from CNC-cut thick sheet of plywood (ca 50mm, could be 2 sheets joined together).

pencil pouch

2011-01-23T19:13:00.000-08:00

It is a simple concept - old cardboard covered in liquid latex to reinforce. The outcome is really cool - it is big enough to keep my whole drawing kit, so far it doesn't seem to fall apart anywhere (I've been using it for couple of months now) and I really like its rugged looks. Latex doesn't get dirty and there's no problem in case you spill a drink over it. It still needs two pieces of velcro to close the lid properly.

camera case+ cage

2011-01-21T03:05:00.000-08:00

I have recently developed the idea of compact slrcamera case. I have noticed that there are no compact camera cases that would b It should be:
rugged - cardboard + latex is a good idea (have a look at the pencil pouch)
compact - in a shape of the camera, foldable (flat) so that we can save some space while the case is empty
perhaps even waterproof

Thinking about the shape - I really like the idea of the orishiki suitcase. It is sleek, stiff and can be stored flat.
The camera case could be made using the same principle.

Here is a really nice kinetic sculpture by studio lab[au]. It reminds me of some sort of membrane hinge surface. i think it is a good concept for creating the shape of my camera case.

panelling idea:

I also had this mad idea of creating a camera cage. It would provide maximum possible protection for the camera. Perhaps it could be an addition to the camera case. The case provides protection from dust, dirt and water and the camera cage protects it from everything else - being squashed, stood on, dropped etc. I imagine it would be a part of travellers kit, perhaps the camera could even be used while staying in the cage.
Here are some pictures of a prototype I've made:

multiples

2010-11-03T19:09:00.000-07:00

i saw some wooden palettes around my building recently. it could be a nice source of free material.
couple of days later i realised someone had similar idea:

shuttlecock feathers

2010-11-03T18:53:00.000-07:00

one of my pound-shop treats

those feather structures remind me of this lamp by patrick jouin

multiples: illusion

2010-11-03T18:30:00.000-07:00

x=120

x=60

x=30

the whole bunch

pegs + latex

2010-11-03T16:32:00.000-07:00

i wanted to fix the pegs permanently with each other, create a sort of panel, or a tile, where pegs are embedded into another structure. decided to pour some latex into the box.
once dry, its milky colour disappears to reveal amber-translucent view of the surface beneath it.
it allows for creating flexible but rigid structures.

it took ages to dry - eventhough i left it on a warm heated floor, it was at least 3 days before i could take it out of the box

i have tried painting some old fabric with latex - it gives a nice outcome. it is very rigid, probably waterproof and you can make it thicker by using thick fabric + leaving the latex to dry for couple of hrs before applying it (it thickens). i think i'm going to use it to make my camera-skin.

multiples - pegs

2010-11-02T10:02:00.000-07:00

i started by connecting 100 pegs together, without using glue. it is a nice structural element, or a surface? the pegs hold together when i lift them (up to a certain point).

chair model

2010-10-11T17:00:00.000-07:00

the braincase

2010-10-11T16:34:00.000-07:00

rao proved that expanded polystyrene used for creating bike helmets doesn’t help much in absorbing the impact, but distributes it over the head. He developed Kranium – eco-friendly, lightweight ultimate solution. It is impregnated which makes it water-proof. Can be custom made to fit perfectly by using digital head scan. Most importantly – it absorbs 4 times the amount of impact energy comparing to regular helmet.

Rao’s webpage

not only for animal lovers

2010-10-11T15:45:00.000-07:00

Amazing furniture range by french company Ibride.

slinky toy

2010-10-11T12:30:00.000-07:00

'...his jobs was to test the horsepower on the mighty naval battleships. To do this, he would use a torsion meter, and a torsion meter required the use of a torsion spring.

One day, Richard saw one one of these springs fall off his desk. It rolled over itself in the most fascinating way. He brought it home to Betty and said, ''I think I can make a toy out of this."'

By Jeanne Marie Laskas

...shifting its weight from hand to hand, and it can be awfully hard to stop. But, sometimes you have work to do. That's when Slink-O-Matic comes in:

now my own slinky 3d model - it doesn't exactly represent the original, but its slinkiness is indubitable

sculpture by Syann van Niftrik