Breaking Bottles in Brooklyn

Nice piece in NY Times about David Belt’s new project in Brooklyn called “Glassphemy!”. David’s the guy who created DIY pool parties in dumpsters last summer and obviously he’s trying hard to one-up himself by creating a bottle smashing venue in Gowanus. Designed by Belt & Vamos Architects it is essentially a 20′ x 30′ box made from steel tubing, bulletproof glass and a lighting system designed by Jason Krugman that flashes when bottles smash.  Users stand on a raised platform and throw bottles onto the opposite wall where they smash before the faces of people standing behind the opposite clear wall 30 feet away.

Recently unveiled at a private party in the undisclosed section of Brooklyn, “Glassphemy!” is inspired by a desire to mix the visceral pleasures of breaking glass with the socially conscious needs of recycling. And what happens to all the broken glass? Belt plans to have it all recycled on-site in a variety of ways. There’s a machine to make sand for one a local beer garden and local designers Hecho have built a bicycle-powered glass polisher from a concrete mixer.

“Glasssphemy!” will officially open on May 20 to invited guests. Though not as awesomely simple as a Dumpster Pool, its nevertheless a nifty way to mix our lust for breaking things with saving the planet.

Circus Knie Tent Setup

Zirkus Knie Timelapse tilt shift from SanktGallen.ch on Vimeo.

A few years ago I traveled with a circus friend and was able to see Circus Knie in a beautiful Swiss town. After the performance was over we got to see the real show – watching the teardown! I think it took about 2 hours for the crews to completely disassemble the tent, load everything on lorries and get it all on the road to the next town.  Very impressive!  At the time I was living in New York  after several years on the road with circuses – the most recent being in Oklahoma with a long & disorganized takedown and long drives between towns.  I was so impressed that Knie’s system was so efficient and I was also jealous that their travel between shows was so short (small country, you know….). Anyway – saw this link on swissmiss and it took me back a few years…

We Are Happy To Serve You

Nice piece in the New York Times on the passing of Leslie Buck, designer of the ubiquitous “We Are Happy…” take-out cups. Some designs become the air we breathe…