Design e2: Gray to Green
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 06.23.06
When I was a kid I loved construction toys. From the UK we got Meccano sets, but my passion was a Kenner Girder and Panel building set from the USA. The remarkable thing about all of those toys (unlike the despicable LEGO sets of today where you buy them with plans and put them on a shelf, imagination is removed from the equation) is that you kept re-using the parts and designing new buildings and new cities and new worlds. Gray to Green, Tonight's episode of design:e2 reminded me of my childhood, as I watched the building of Paul Pedini's modern house from components of the "big dig"- the burying of a Boston expressway. All buildings should be like Paul's house or my Girder and Panel set- we should be able to take them apart and re-use the components. This episode is a revelation that should change the way we think about building- We should design and build as if the components will be used forever. ::Design:e2
The sad thing - in the Wash, DC area, the premier PBS channel is WETA-TV They aren't even shoing this show over the next 2 weeks - its only aired on their HDTV sidechannel - at 10:30 AM - great for kids but its not gonna be seen by anyone who has much voting clout ... sigh.
Did you know that those toys have been re-released by a small company in Massachusetts...
Here is the URL. http://www.bridgestreettoys.com/
And the house is AMAZING, I just got to see it in person. WOW.
I agree, we should design as if the components will be used forever, either recycled, reused or given back to nature to enter back into the natural cycle of life.
When i was a kid, I'm 21 now, I would play with my dad's old set (It had the same box design as the header to this post). Thew were great, they were durable, as long as you knew how to treat them.
The new ones i bought a few years later (blue girders instead of red and a different panel material were the major changes) didn't seem as durable. the little joints would snap off easier and they were much much harder to get in and out of the board to fit together. The girders were also much softer.
So try and find an older set in good condition to play with. it's quite fun.
Was anybody able to record any of these episodes? I wasn't able to catch any of them, and you can't buy them till Fall.
If anyone can possibly post an episode or two onto Google Video for just a little while, I would be very grateful.