Jailhouse Tech

January 14, 2010 by kris de decker Filed Under: Jailhouse technology, Random

jailhouse tech

Kevin Kelly notes an emerging category of street technology which might be called Jailhouse Tech:

“The material constraint of a prison inspire fantastic innovation and re-use of made parts. A lot of the devices made in this manner are crude weapons, but others include eating implements, tattoo instruments, music, and other tools.”

Above you see an electric cooking stove made with wire and brick. Kelly previously linked to Escape Devices, the work of photographer Marc Steinmetz. Also of note is Prisoner Inventions, a 2003 book which includes many drawings,some of them online (review 1 & 2).

Copenhagen is not the Bicycle Capital of the World

January 13, 2010 by kris de decker Filed Under: Bikes, Travel

I am a fan of Copenhagen Cycle Chic, because it combines two of my favourite inventions ever: bicycles and, well, women. However, reader Rogier forwarded me a link to a well-researched post that clearly shows that the popular Danish blog (or rather its sister site Copenhagenize) is exaggerating the success of cycling in Copenhagen. David Hembrow argues that many Dutch cities have much higher cycling rates and that cycling in the Danish capital actually faces some serious obstacles. Related: Cars, out of the way.

Sailing Directly into the Wind

January 12, 2010 by kris de decker Filed Under: Boats, Sailing ships, Travel, Wind Power, Windmills

Sailing into the wind 5

“In the late 90s/early 2000s my interest was in developing boats that can sail directly into the wind. To some, this seems impossible, and they find it hard to accept that it is possible to overcome the wind using the force of the wind itself. This technology has further implications also, it can allow a boat, or a buoy, to remain stationary in the water, unsecured, no matter how hard the wind blows without using any fuel. Having revived the project recently (2008) I am doing further research.”

I cannot help but admire the simplicity of the design. Find all information here.

Wovel Wheeled Snow Shovel

January 12, 2010 by kris de decker Filed Under: Hand tools, Snow-tech

Wovel wheeled snow shovel 2
“Replace the intricate wheel casting with wooden spokes and it’s possible to believe that the Wovel was designed and built a thousand years ago”. Read more.

Post-Oil Automobile Drives on Wood

January 6, 2010 by kris de decker Filed Under: Low-tech cars, Travel

Woodmobile joost conijnJoost Conijn travelled through Europe with a wooden car burning wooden fuel.

Update: “Wood gas vehicles: firewood in the fuel tank“.

Timbrel Vaulting in South Africa by Peter Rich Architects

December 21, 2009 by kris de decker Filed Under: Construction, Random, Roofs

Mapungubwe 12 Reader Sergio Carratalá informs us of yet another recent example of timbrel vaulting – a medieval building method that we described extensively in “Tiles as a substitute for steel“.

It concerns the Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre in South Africa, designed by Peter Rich Architects from Johannesburg. The project won the World Building Award at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) held in Barcelona last month.

The Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre, which is built to house artifacts from the region’s prehistory, was constructed using local materials and using the skills and labour of local people. Unemployed South Africans were trained in the manufacture of earth tiles and in building the
timbrel vaults.

Mapungubwe 17 Timbrel vaulting (or “Catalan vaulting”) is being rediscovered as an ecological building technique because it saves large amounts of building materials and thus embodied energy. This also makes it a cheap building method, at least in regions were hand labour is affordable. Via Sergio Carratalá.

More pictures below (courtesy of Peter Rich and the WAF).

[Read more…]