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

Self Supporting Rubbish Sack System

Full nets support emptier ones waiting to be filled. Organic self-supporting structure.

Self Supporting Rubbish Sack System

Materials: Net Sacks
Location: Setagaya, Tokyo.

This example is a note for a pamphlet on “Hand Made Aspects of Mass Produced Housing”. Subscribe to my somewhat-frequent letter HERE if you want to keep in touch easily.

Menu Stabilization in Bricks

Easel legs thread through bricks for stabilization of a entrance menu.

Menu Stabilization in Bricks
Menu Stabilization in Bricks
Menu Stabilization in Bricks

Materials: Bricks
Location: Nagoya

Lantern Stabilisation in Brick and Rope

Lantern decoration for restaurant secured with a length of rope and a brick.

Lantern Stabilisation in Brick and Rope
Lantern Stabilisation in Brick and Rope
Lantern Stabilisation in Brick and Rope

Materials: Brick, Rope
Location: Nagoya

Mailbox Latch in Rope

Mailbox facing the city street latched shut with a twist of rope.

Mailbox Latch in Rope
Mailbox Latch in Rope
Mailbox Latch in Rope

Materials: Rope
Location: Central Nagoya

DIY Sound System

Tokyo based design researcher Celine Mougenot introduces this great DIY sound system spotted in Okinawa.

Materials: Plastic Twine (?)
Location: Okinawa

Street Marketing Stabilization in PET Bottle

Sign stabilized against wind with water filled PET bottle.

Street Marketing Stabilization in PET Bottle
Street Marketing Stabilization in PET Bottle

Materials: PET Bottle
Location: Minato-ku, Tokyo

Tree Stabilisation in Plastic Twine and String

Trees decorating the entrance are stabilised with plastic twine and string

Tree Stabilisation in Plastic Twine
Tree Stabilisation in Plastic Twine
Tree Stabilisation in Plastic Twine
Tree Stabilisation in Plastic Twine

Materials: Plastic Twine, String
Location: Minato-ku, Tokyo

Gate and Wire

Garden gate held together with wire.


Materials: Wire
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

Packing Strap Drain Pipe Bracing

Packing straps bracing two drain pipes together. A bucket forms the repository.



Materials: Packing Strap, Bucket
Location: Tachikawa, Tokyo

Emergency Kit Storage in Hook and Tape

Train station emergency kit stored on a hook and secured with tape.

Emergency Kit Storage in Hook and Tape
Emergency Kit Storage in Hook and Tape
Emergency Kit Storage in Hook and Tape

Materials: Hook, Tape
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

Support and Barrier

A construction of traffic cones and barriers held together with wire and plastic twine supports an old awning and cordons off the unused shop front.

Support and Barrier
Support and Barrier
Support and Barrier
Support and Barrier
Support and Barrier

Materials: Plastic Twine, Wire, Traffic Cones, Traffic Barriers,
Location: Nagoya, Aichi

Towering Tethered Sunflowers

As I rode my kick scooter across Tokyo from Shibuya to Ochanomizu, on the way to the Tokyo Mapping Workshop in the heat of summer I turned a corner in a deserted backstreet and ran straight into these monsters…… so tall they need to be tethered to the chain link fence for support as they wither.

Towering Tethered Sunflowers
Towering Tethered Sunflowers
Towering Tethered Sunflowers
Towering Tethered Sunflowers
Towering Tethered Sunflowers

Materials: Plastic Twine
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

Lots more Tokyo sunflowers [HERE] and on Tokyo Green Space [HERE]

Originally posted on Tokyo-DIY-Gardening

Breeze Block Signage Stabilization

Signage stablized with a chain threaded through a breeze block.

Breeze Block Signage Stabilization

Breeze Block Signage Stabilization

Materials: Breeze Block, Chain
Location: Minato-ku, Tokyo

Signage Stabilization in Wood Strip

Commercial signage stabilized through use of simple wooden strip.

Signage Stabilization in Wood Strip
Signage Stabilization in Wood Strip

Materials: Wood
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

Barrier Secured with LAN Cable

A roadside barrier is held together with a LAN cable. I’m still not clear on the purpose of this barrier, however. I think it is to discourage bicycle parking, as seems to be the function of most ‘official’ barriers in the area.

Barrier Secured with LAN Cable
Barrier Secured with LAN Cable
Barrier Secured with LAN Cable
Barrier Secured with LAN Cable
Barrier Secured with LAN Cable

Materials: LAN Cable
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

Streetside Display Stabilization in Bricks

Bricks stablize a streetside display which juts out over the curb and onto the road.

Streetside Display Stabilization in Bricks
Streetside Display Stabilization in Bricks
Streetside Display Stabilization in Bricks

Materials: Brick
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

Menu Secured in Bricks, Twine, and Tape

The outdoor menu for this food store is secured with plastic twine taped to two bricks, the base evened out with broken paving tiles.

Menu Secured in Bricks, Twine, and Tape
Menu Secured in Bricks, Twine, and Tape
Menu Secured in Bricks, Twine, and Tape
Menu Secured in Bricks, Twine, and Tape
Menu Secured in Bricks, Twine, and Tape

Materials: Bricks, Paving Slab, Plastic Twine, Duct Tape
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

Stable Pamphlet Stand

Pamphlet stand outside during business hours – tied to the pedestrian railing with plastic twine for stabilisation.

Stable Pamphlet Stand
Stable Pamphlet Stand
Stable Pamphlet Stand

Materials: Plastic Twine
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

Goya Tunnel

This goya is being trained up and over the pathway in front of the apartment building to the balcont of a first floor apartment.

I like the way that the owner has not only appropriated the patch of earth in front of her residence but also created a physical (and visible to all) connection between the two.

Young Goya Tunnel
Young Goya Tunnel
Young Goya Tunnel
Young Goya Tunnel
Young Goya Tunnel

Materials: Plastic Twine
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

(Originally posted on Tokyo-DIY-Gardening)

Keeping it together in rope

Residential fence held together with a length of rope. In a neighbourhood bordering a new subdivision.

Keeping it together in rope
Keeping it together in rope
Keeping it together in rope

Materials: Rope
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

Sunflowers vs. Wind via Joseph Tame

[Thanks to Joseph Tame, Tokyo-based freelance marketing manager, new media producer, entrepreneur, performer and marathoner for this garden fix originally posted on his microblog]

“With the onset of string winds, I replace *Twinkle’s* ex-jewellery stand with this ex-umbrella, carefully dismembered with my favourite pair of pliers.” (Joseph adds – “I did actually ask my wife before I took her jewellery stand to use as a stake to hold the sunflowers up.”)

Joseph Tame: Sunflowers vs. Wind

Materials: Umbrella, Plastic Twine
Location: Meguro, Tokyo

Tree Supported Washing Line 002

Trees support a laundry pole construction in Tokyo’s Tachikawa suburbs.

Tree Supported Washing Line 002
Tree Supported Washing Line 002

Materials: Laundry Pole
Location: Tachikawa, Tokyo

Tree Supported Washing Line

Trees support a bamboo pole based washing line construction in Tokyo’s Tachikawa suburbs. I love the way the structure blends in with the surroundings – its temporary form touching lightly on the landscape.

A flexible, elegant and economical solution to a very domestic need.

Tree Supported Washing Line
Tree Supported Washing Line
Tree Supported Washing Line
Tree Supported Washing Line
Tree Supported Washing Line
Tree Supported Washing Line

Materials: Bamboo, Twine
Location: Tachikawa, Tokyo

Support Structure Safety in Mayonnaise Bottles

The sharp ends of these bamboo support stakes are made safer by placing the cut off ends of mayonnaise bottles on top.

I like the strongly practical, domestic feel that this has. No fuss, no pretense of elegance. Just growing some plants and keeping kids’ eyes out of harm’s way.
Support Structure Safety
Support Structure Safety
Support Structure Safety
Support Structure Safety

Materials: Mayonnaise Bottles
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

S-Hooks are Tokyo’s Super Glue

Thanks to my Tokyo-DIY-Gardening collaborator/co-instigator Jared Braiterman for this lovely short post on the super-glue that holds together much of Tokyo’s DIY green.
http://tokyogreenspace.com/2010/09/25/s-hooks-are-tokyos-super-glue/
“I love how someone has intervened in the landscape, and done so in a way that is completely removable and dependent on what already exists.”

Materials: S-hook

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]

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]


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 @jbraiterman is a great inspiration [LINK]

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