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

No One Home

Duct tape across post box signals an unoccupied house.

No One Home
No One Home

Materials: Duct Tape
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

Potplant Stand, Inorganic Rubbish Dump

Unneeded refrigerator covered in plastic sheeting and secured with duct tape acts as potplant stand at the back of a building in Sendagaya, Tokyo.

Materials: Plastic Sheet, Duct Tape
Location: Sendagaya, Tokyo

Queueing in Duct Tape

Duct tape queueing lanes at the train station.




Location: Tachikawa, Tokyo
Materials: Duct Tape

Unoccupied in Duct Tape

The practice of taping up post boxes in apartment complexes stops excess junk-mail and also serves as a signal as to which apartments may be available for rent.

Material: Duct Tape
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

Cardboard Box Storage in Tape and Board

Wooden board leant on airconditioner and affixed with tape completes the transformation of dead-space to storage space.
Cardboard Box Storage in Tape and Board
Cardboard Box Storage in Tape and Board
Cardboard Box Storage in Tape and Board

Materials: Wooden Board, Tape, Duct Tape
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

Real Estate Sign Collage

Take a clothes rack, decorate the telescoping poles with red and yellow electrical tape. Then design (in Excel), print and laminate some promotional posters and affix them to the top rung with more electrical tape. Stabilize the whole thing with four full PET bottles of water secured with duct tape to the base.
Real Estate Sign Collage
Real Estate Sign Collage

Materials: Clothes Rack, Duct Tape, Electrical Tape, Laminated Paper
Location: Aoyama Dori, Tokyo

Post Box in Yanaka via @janlindenberg

From the inspiring and learned Jan Lindenberg comes “an extreme case of post box fixing with massive amounts/layers of duct tape. And interesting enough, it still seems to be in operation and recognised by the mailman as a legitimate interface to deliver the newspaper” – Fantastic!
post box in yanaka

Materials: Duct Tape
Location: Yanaka

Signage Affixed with Tape

‘Official’ signage in laminated A4 affixed to railing with duct tape.
Signage Affixed with Tape
Signage Affixed with Tape
Signage Affixed with Tape
Signage Affixed with Tape
Signage Affixed with Tape
Signage Affixed with Tape

Parking Signage in Cone, Chain, Perspex etc….

Parking Full signage in constructed on a cone base. Handle in duct tape and shoelace. Sign in perspex frame, attached with bulldog clips and chain. Magnificent!
P1170536
P1170537
P1170548
P1170540
P1170541
P1170544
P1170542
P1170545
Materials: Cone, Chain, Shoelace, Clip, Perspex, Duct Tape
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

Hose Reel Fix

Handle for hose reel fashioned out of duct tape and metal strip.
P1170227
P1170228
P1170230
Materials: Metal Strip, Duct Tape
Location: Harajuku, Tokyo

Duct Tape Signage

Once upon a time this duct tape signage on the side of a vending machine signaled the availability of cigarettes (タバコ) to pedestrians and vehicles on the nearby main road.
P1170053

Materials: Duct Tape
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

Sensor Light Extension Cord Tidy in Duct Tape

Sensor light extension cord tidied up with duct tape.
P1160937
P1160936
Materials: Duct Tape
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

Archway in Duct Tape

Crumbling entrance archway held together with duct tape.
P1160920
P1160921
P1160922
Materials: Duct Tape
Location: Harajuku, Tokyo

Street Sign in Wire and Tape

Street sign in central Harajuku holding on with the help of wire and tape. Wire bent over walls is a common method of attaching something to the wall without nails, bolts or other methods which leave marks/traces or otherwise damage the surface (see last photo).
P1160852
P1160853
P1160854
P1160856
Materials: Wire, Duct Tape
Location: Harajuku, 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]