Overview of items fixed and back in use in the rubbish center. The center tool stock comes almost entirely of rescued items from apartment complex trash.
Broom saved from the trash heap with a large helping of duct tape. Now in use.
Detail of hand made rack in rubbish center. Construction in plastic twine and tape.
Materials: Duct Tape, Plastic Twine
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.
Park bench constructed from household seating and plastic twine.
See “Bus stop chairs are gifted, unmatched, and spontaneous” for an insightful take on the subject (on Tokyo Green Space).
Materials: Plastic Twine
Location: Akishima, Tokyo
Tokyo based design researcher Celine Mougenot introduces this great DIY sound system spotted in Okinawa.
Materials: Plastic Twine (?)
Location: Okinawa
Trees decorating the entrance are stabilised with plastic twine and string
Materials: Plastic Twine, String
Location: Minato-ku, Tokyo
Streetside storage for net used on rubbish day.
Materials: Shopping Basket, Plastic Twine, S-Hook
Location: Akabanebashi, Tokyo
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.
Materials: Plastic Twine
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo
Lots more Tokyo sunflowers [HERE] and on Tokyo Green Space [HERE]
Originally posted on Tokyo-DIY-Gardening
Pamphlet stand outside during business hours – tied to the pedestrian railing with plastic twine for stabilisation.
Materials: Plastic Twine
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo
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.
Materials: Plastic Twine
Location: Akishima, Tokyo
(Originally posted on Tokyo-DIY-Gardening)
A4 sign signalling a no-entry zone at rugby training.
Materials: Laminated A4, Plastic Twine
Location: Hino, Tokyo
Banned from smoking in the newly built residence (the last one burnt down) the man of the house has created a smoking area in his outdoor sink with an opened empty beer can tied to the stand with plastic twine.
Materials: Beer Can, Plastic Twine
Location: Akishima, Tokyo
[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.”)
Materials: Umbrella, Plastic Twine
Location: Meguro, Tokyo
Plastic twine strung from the top an exterior spiral staircase to the fence below creates climbing structure for an asagao (Morning Glory). An interesting take on the classic balcony green curtain.
Materials: Plastic Twine
Location: Akishima, Tokyo
Another entry in the “security or stabilization?” series..[e.g. 1], [e.g. 2].. This one looks as if it is secured to keep the tree from obstructing the front entrance.
Materials: Plastic Twine
Location: Yanaka, Tokyo
(Originally posted on Tokyo-DIY-Gardening.org)
A medium size potted bamboo plant is secured to a breeze block and signpost with a long length of plastic twine (one key item in the urban gardener’s arsenal).
What is the function of this construction? Is it a security device – being of just enough nuisance to discourage late-night strollers from lightheartedly taking it home (It is easy pickings for any determined thief)?. Is it a stabilizing defense against high-winds? Or, does it simply prevent the pot from falling/being bumped over in its precarious position?
(First published on Tokyo DIY Gardening)
Materials: Plastic Rope/Twine, Breeze Block, Signpost
Location: Sendagaya, Tokyo
Along the narrow no-man’s-land between the railway track fencing and the road there is just enough space for residents of the house that lies directly opposite to create an asagao (morning glory) garden.
Constructed of plastic/metal gardening rods, bamboo and plastic twine this simple 3m x 1.5m (approx.) construction provides the right amount of support for the plants to climb and bloom. I like that the seed packet has been left at the base of the plant to let pedestrians know what is growing (or maybe it is a reminder to the gardener).
This is a great example of the affordable, productive, and enjoyable appropriation of unused/unusable space that is characteristic of Tokyo DIY gardening.
Materials: Plastic Stake, Bamboo, Plastic Twine
Location: Akishima, Tokyo
(Originally posted on Tokyo-DIY-Gardening)
A large scale foundation for creeping greens constructed from simple materials – netting, plastic twine, and plastic rods. Coming up to, and through, the summer the climbers should take over this frame, creating shade and privacy in the summer months (like a living sudare (簾:すだれ)).
Materials: Netting, Plastic Twine, Plastic Rods
Location: Kokubunji, Tokyo
Sidewalk gardening space marked out in bamboo stakes and plastic twine.
Materials: Bamboo Stake, Plastic Twine
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo
Brooms are hung from a construction of wire and plastic twine.
Materials: Wire, Plastic Twine
Location: Akishima, Tokyo
A tree is trained over an entrance way by being tied to a plastic pole.
Materials: Plastic Twine, Plastic Pole
Location: Akishima, Tokyo
