6/18/2009

Twenty Ways to Reuse an Egg Crate

Apparently when we started this project, I did not do due diligence in searching online for spontaneous egg crate usage. Here is a fantastic website with 20 ways to Reuse an Egg Crate. Below are pictures from some of the more interesting ones, which include more lighting solutions, more furniture, apparel, decoration and toys. Maybe we aren't yet the world's experts in egg crates after all








And for a few more artistic pieces (and some other spontaneous architecture, including the Heidelberg Project I showed images from in the first month of class) see another post on the same website

And Some Decor



And for spicing up the living space, how about an egg crate vase, seen here, or an egg crate table, seen here.

Spontaneous Lighting Ideas


Here's an idea we might use for the lighting of our structure. See more images here
Another egg crate lamp can be seen here.

6/16/2009

Spanning

After the penultimate review, we arranged our structure into its final form. However, it was clear that while the rear section, supported by two 8mm rebars could support itself, the narrower front section could not. As a temporary measure, we introduced a column inside, "borrowing" one of Bang's tubes. The result is a rather nice entryway, and a structure reminiscent of the tradition dwelling on Tatooine.





The next step was to try and strengthen the front half, so that the column would be unnecessary. Since the rebar was so successful in the rear half, we decided to try adding some to the front as well. However, we were concerned about reopening the whole structure, and instead decided to try and insert the rebars with the structure semi-intact. To make this easier, we elected to use 6mm, smooth rebar. However, this did not prove to be strong enough, as the building stood initially but experienced delayed structural failure.

After much deliberation, we elected to add another 8 mm rebar to the front section. So far, it appears like we have success!



A short video of the interior of our structure:

What remains is to complete the floor, minor rearrangements of the envelope, some decisions regarding skylights and partitions, and a general cleanup.