FIXES

Non-Intentional Design: Investigating alterations of space/objects at the public/private boundary in suburban Tokyo, Japan. A resource by a-small-lab.com. Contact: Chris Berthelsen chris@a-small-lab.com

Plant Training in Electrical Wire

Heavy duty electrical wire used to train a garden shrub remains as skeleton of long-gone life.
P1110437
P1110436
Materials: Electrical Wire
Location: Mitaka, Tokyo

Tomato Web in String

Growing tomatoes in a web of string in the apartment complex carpark.
P1110448
P1110447
P1110449
Materials: String
Location: Mitaka, Tokyo

Tree as Storage

Tree as outdoor storage/drying space for mops and dustpan. Mops hang off hooks on branches.
P1110511
P1110510
P1110509
P1110508
P1110507
Materials: Hooks
Location: Mitaka, Tokyo

Tree Training in Rope

Tree trained to grow over entrance gate with rope attached to fence.
P1110512
P1110514
P1110513
Materials: Rope
Location: Mitaka, Tokyo

Washing Line as Dead Bush Restraint

Washing line as dead bush restraint. Note method of attachment to supporting post. (Note bored daughter in background)
P1130809
P1130808
Materials: Rope
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

Tree Training in Elastic Rope

Tree trained to grow over entrance gate, tethered with elastic rope. Note fastening to post.
P1130825
P1130824
Materials: Elastic Rope
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

String Supported Bonsai

Bonsai trained/supported with string on a breeze block shelf.

Materials: String, Breeze Blocks
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

Garden Edging in Plastic Plate

Garden edging constructed from old plastic storage drawers.



Materials: Plastic Board
Location: Tachikawa, Tokyo

Breeze Block Shelves

Breeze blocks support shelves in suburban green house.



Material: Breeze Blocks
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

Wire Rack Planter

Wire rack support/drainage for planter, attached to post + wooden base remains.



Material: Wire Rack
Location: Ome, Tokyo

Breeze Block Planter Garden

Front-of-house planter garden fashioned from breeze blocks. Note broken block wedged into drain to secure planters in front of breeze blocks. Note also that holes in breeze blocks are filled in with dirt and used to support the plant trainers spanning the width of the garden.



Materials: Breeze blocks
Location: Ome, Tokyo

PET Bottle Seed Storage (?)

Seed holder fashioned from an empty PET bottle. Holes drilled in bottom to for protection from moisture (If you know what this is, please leave a brief comment).



Materials: PET Bottle
Location: Ome, Tokyo

Pot Plant Shelf in Wire and Plastic

Shelf for outdoor pot plant garden constructed from wood and wire. Drip protection from attached plastic sheeting.





Materials: Wire, Plastic Sheet
Location: Ome, Tokyo

Awning Support in Wire

Awning for side-of-house pot-plant garden supported by wire.



Materials: Wire
Location: Ome, Tokyo

Mega-Cities: Design Anthropology and Urban Landscapes
I'm delighted and honoured to have my FIXES work included in Jared Braiterman's Tokyo University graduate seminar on mega-cities.
You can download the syllabus [HERE]


Thanks to the URBAN DESIGN Lab 西村・北沢・窪田　都市デザイン研究室, Department of Urban Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo for making this a featured resource of their lab [LINK]

Vision Plus 2010
Thanks to the organizers of the conference for selecting this project as a featured resource, even though I was not able to attend.

Article: Small Places of Anarchy in the City: Three Investigations in Tokyo on This Big City

Article: The Non-Intentional Landscape of Tokyo - read at This Big City

Article: Framework for Neighbourhood Creative Climate - read at This Big City

Tokyo Green Space from Jared Braiterman is a great inspiration [LINK]

Urban Bricolage by @ehooge is an inspiring site on a related theme [LINK]

Treepolis by Christoph Rupprecht inspires me with investigations into informal green space, cities, and urban ecology with a focus on Australia and Japan [LINK]

Everyday Structures by @alanwiig is another fine site in the same vein [LINK]