a seedbag for resourcefulness
Celebrating maker-carer-user-hackers from around the world, to inspire local making, wherever you are. This is a continuation of the printed publication ‘a seedbag for resourcefulness’, published by HFBK Materialverlag in 2019.
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new handles
Great examples of new/replacement handles, often improving upon the original, as seen in Hamburg, Solingen & Freiburg.
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Freeboxes
During my time living in Germany I have enjoyed coming across these ‘Freeboxes’ on my wanderings around the cities, where people leave things for others to take, often housed in handmade structures. Sometimes you also come across things on the sidewalk, with the note ‘Zu Verschenken’. – Xin
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Sandwiching
Useful technique for fixing things onto grills and fences, here seen used by professionals and non-professionals alike, at subway and shop entrances around Hamburg.
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Circular seating
Outside an icecream kiosk in Berlin, seating made from a variety of salvaged wood pieces.
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Sidewalk seating & gardens
In certain neighbourhoods of Berlin, a local regulation (Baumscheibenpatenschaft) allows and encourages the modifications of the space immediately around the trees along the footpath by locals. Walking around, I found a variety of seating, made from pristine and salvaged materials, accompanied by different gardens.
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Epiphytic berm garden
Extraordinary example of a ‘tree-grate garden’, with epiphytic planters, a spirit house and various creatures in the gardenbed.
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Hand-made bowling ground
Along the Landwehrkanal in Neukölln, Berlin, one could encounter the personalities of the locals by walking: there is a bowling ground made with scrap wood, beer bottle caps as the washers, and tin cans as ashtrays. Although made by the association 1. Boule Club Kreuzberg e. V. , it is open to use by anyone,…
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planters
Great examples of reuse found at the community garden at Tempelhof Airfield in Berlin.
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bike carriers
Various ways of increasing carrying capabilities of bicycles. See in Hamburg, Berlin, London. Core-flute with slots, tied to existing rack with zip ties. The inner-tube lashing enables several banana boxes full of grocery to be transported.
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bikes as signage
To get around city regulations on not cluttering streets with sandwich boards, bikes have been fitted and parked semi-permanently to advertise wine bars and neighbourly convivial gatherings. Here observed in Hamburg and Berlin.
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sweatlodge in Basel
By the river Rhein, beside a self-made skating ground, a sweatlodge with a wood-burning stove within. Made of various blankets, insulation material tied together, on a frame of wooden sticks. Pegs secure the ropes to the ground. Enter through a low opening on the side. Note the chimney visible on the left of the structure.
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Repairing a Machete
After fixing the roof, PK started to make a new handle for one of the machetes used by the volunteers. PK was so delft at this it was hard to take good photos. Using another machete, he carved a new handle out of fresh bamboo to the diameter of the metal part. Then some used…
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Bamboo structures
In Northern Thailand, human-dwelling is an arrangement of the local forest We helped with building cob houses from local clay and elephant dung, and took shelter under roofs made from leaves. One week, PK, a local carpenter, came to repair the kitchen roof. How finely he could split freshly-cut bamboo into thin strips for fastening…
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Variable Multihook
Coathanger-turned-multi-purpose hooks made by Jim from the shop ‘Odds and Ends’, Dunedin 2016
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Washers
In an eco-village a stone’s throw from the most expensive apartments in Korea, many ways of insulating dwellings flourish. Fold-up plastic bags, bits of vinyl flooring are all used as washers for fixing bubble-wrap and similar sheets onto windows and walls.