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

Clotheshanger Storage in String

Clothes hangers stored outside on a piece of string hung from the rafters. Compact, convenient.

Clotheshanger Storage in String
Clotheshanger Storage in String
Clotheshanger Storage in String

Materials: String
Location: Nagoya

Clothesline in String

Apartment structure and door frame form two posts for a clothesline made of string right in front of the washing machine.

Clothesline in String
Clothesline in String

Materials: String
Location: Nagoya

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

Drain Pipe Storage Beam

Beam attached to structure with string for storage in suburban greenhouse.


Material: Drain Pipe, String
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

No Parking in Cones, String

Traffic cones and barriers prevent parking in Shibuya side street. Flexibility (length, getting around power poles) provided by using string in place of rigid barrier poles.

No Parking in Cones, String
No Parking in Cones, String
No Parking in Cones, String
No Parking in Cones, String
No Parking in Cones, String

Materials: Traffic Cones, String
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

Lunchtime Signage Over Railing

Signs advertising local restaurants lined up and stabilized over pedestrial railing. A system which also keeps them off the thoroughfare. Stabilized with tape and string.

Lunchtime Signage Over Railing
Lunchtime Signage Over Railing
Lunchtime Signage Over Railing
Lunchtime Signage Over Railing
Lunchtime Signage Over Railing

Materials: Railing, String, Tape
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

Parking Bumper in Sponge Breeze Block

Sponge breeze blocks affixed to concrete breeze blocks with string form a safety bumper for errant parkers.
Parking Bumper in Sponge Breeze Block
Parking Bumper in Sponge Breeze Block
Parking Bumper in Sponge Breeze Block
Parking Bumper in Sponge Breeze Block

Materials: Breeze Blocks, Sponge Breeze Blocks, String
Location: Kamogawa, Chiba

Golfer’s Fence

Ornamental gardening fence/demarcation constructed from metal rods topped with golf balls (for safety and decoration) and slim bamboo sticks – all threaded with rope and string. A cute judo wrestler surveys the scene.

Golfer's Fence
Golfer's Fence
Golfer's Fence
Golfer's Fence
Golfer's Fence
Golfer's Fence
Golfer's Fence
Golfer's Fence
Golfer's Fence

Materials: Golf Balls, Golf Clubs, Metal Rods, Rope, String, Figurines
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

Eye-Level Potplant Rack

An interesting space-saving variation on the curbside/wall garden.

A thin plank of wood rests on top of a wire fence and is secured in place with wire and string tied to the guttering and drainpipes. Extra safety is added through a long plastic gardening rod which acts as a railing along the front of the garden. Precarious yet thoughtful, this construction does not intrude into the narrow thoroughfare any further than the curb line.

Simple and non-intrusive, and the perfect height for passing pedestrians to enjoy.

Eye-level Pot Plant Rack
Eye-level Pot Plant Rack
Eye-level Pot Plant Rack
Eye-level Pot Plant Rack
Eye-level Pot Plant Rack
Eye-level Pot Plant Rack

Materials: Wire, String, Plank of Wood, Plastic Garden Rod
Location: Nakano, Tokyo

(Originally posted on Tokyo-DIY-Gardening)

Tree Training

Trees are trained away from the driveway of a high-end residence in Shibuya with a length of string.

No matter the value of the real estate, the gardening fixes tend to be the same……

Tree Training
Tree Training
Tree Training

Materials: String
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

(Oringinally posted on Tokyo-DIY-Gardening)

Lush Green Wall Construction

In an expensive back street off Aoyama Dori in Shibuya resides this lush and intense pot plant collage. Piece by piece, plants in pots have been added to the structure, and secured with a variety of spur-of-the-moment wire and string fixes.

I love the sense of time and process present in these types of garden collages – unplanned and hectic but built up slowly over many years. Temporary in form and materials but not in presence. A type of green urban archeology.

Lush Green Wall Construction
Lush Green Wall Construction
Lush Green Wall Construction
Lush Green Wall Construction
Lush Green Wall Construction
Lush Green Wall Construction
Lush Green Wall Construction
Lush Green Wall Construction

Materials: Wire, String, Pots
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

(Originally posted on Tokyo-DIY-Gardening)

Secure Pot Plant Construction

The top of a wall in a residential back street of Shibuya acts as the scene for a precarious pot plant construction held in place with various pieces of string.

Even in one of the more expensive places to live in Tokyo there’s no shame in tying a few pots up on your wall with a bit of old rope!

Secure Pot Plant Construction
Secure Pot Plant Construction
Secure Pot Plant Construction
Secure Pot Plant Construction

Materials: String
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

(Originally posted on Tokyo DIY Gardening)

Signage in Tape and String

‘Deliveries This Way’ signage constructed from A4 printed sign between perspex and secured to cone with duct tape.
Signage in Tape and String
Signage in Tape and String
Signage in Tape and String
Signage in Tape and String
Signage in Tape and String
Materials: Cone, Tape, String
Location: Shibuya, Tokyo

Gate held together with String, Wire and Hook

String tied around a hook keeps this gate open. Wire binds it to the concrete block wall.
P1160593
P1160592
P1160594
P1160595
Materials: String, Wire, Hook
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

Holding the House Together in String

The wall/entrance to this shed is held up by string attached to the roof.
P1160590
P1160591
Materials: String
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

Pot Plant Shelf in Rods and String

Pot plant shelf constructed on the exterior of block wall with plastic rods. Pots secured with string and plastic grill.
P1160964
P1160963
P1160962
P1160961
Materials: Plastic Stake, String, Plastic Grill
Location: Akishima, Tokyo

Training a Creeper in Bamboo Rods and String

A creeper is trained up, out to, and along a tree with bamboo rods and string.
P1110424
P1110425
Materials: Bamboo Rod, String
Location: Mitaka, Tokyo

Plastic Bag Storage in String, Pegs, Clip and Bag

Plastic bags are stored in a cloth bag which is fastened to string with a clip. The bag is suspended from the roof of the apartment complex bicycle parking shed and secured (to guard against the wind) by pegs.
P1110427
P1110428
Materials: String, Pegs, Clip, Bag

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 Garbage Disposal Storage

String turns tree trunk into storage space for plastic bags, pegs and nets needed for the apartment complex garbage disposal space.
P1110456
P1110455
Materials: String
Location: Mitaka, 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]