Weekend Work

This weekend I went home to celebrate my dad's b-day, and also got a chance to hear his engineering opinion about my project. He had lots of thoughts/suggestions, which all culminated in a lengthy trip to Home Depot to purchase supplies. In a moment I will include updated illustrations that show the proportions of the materials we bought today.

Here's what we got: (It will make a lot more sense when you see how they will all fit together in the drawing. Don't worry.)

• Schedule 40 1" PVC pipe
• Schedule 40 1.25" PVC pipe
• 1" PVC cap (to secure the top of the structure)
• A christmas tree stand

Still to be purchased:

• A bunch of 1/8th" birch plywood
• Paint
  

I know what you must be thinking. These materials are not flat, and isn't PVC sort of toxic? Well...yeah. Here are my thoughts: The initial draft of this project is a prototype. If I had the time and resources to mass produce these shelves, I would use natural materials and design the base to be flat-packed. At this time, however, these materials will allow me to assemble a very functional and similar version of the final product, and for the most part still meet my three main goals:

1. Organic form
2. Easy to assemble, disassemble, & reassemble. No tools.
3. Flat

With the prototype, I will still fully satisfy criteria #1 & 2, and mostly satisfy criteria #3.

Proposals

A DIY Sunday

Last Sunday the cooking group and I worked together to cook a meal on open flame for a group of about 12 people. It was a great success. I made a "quick and spicy tomato soup" courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis (I just realized that I forgot to add red pepper flakes to make it spicy) and a caprese salad. I've included the recipes for both dishes below:

Quick and spicy tomato soup:

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 (26-ounce) jar marinara sauce (recommended: San Marzano brand)
• 2 (14-ounce) cans chicken broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Warm the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onion, and garlic and saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the jar of marinara sauce, chicken broth, cannellini beans, red pepper flakes, pasta, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls and serve.

Caprese Salad:

Several ripe tomatoes

Fresh mozzeralla

Fresh basil

2 cloves of garlic

3 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil

3 tbsp Balsamic vinegar

Salt and Pepper to taste

Slice the tomatoes, mince the garlic, and chiffonade the basil and combine. Grind fresh salt and pepper on the mixture. Add the mozzerella and add the olive oil. Just before serving, add the vinegar.

The Problem...

The group "restructuring personal space" has helped me think about my surroundings in a new way. I recently moved into a new place and have had trouble condensing the furniture that used to furnish a whole apartment into the space of one bedroom. I've watched design shows on HGTV and made some trips to The Container Store. It is surprising to me how profitable the industry of organization has become. I consider it a problem that in order to organize my things, I must go out and purchase many more things. When I take stock off all my possessions (as I recently did during the move) I notice that about 40% are organizational in nature. When it comes down to it, despite their utility, those items take just as much energy to move as they items that they store. There must be a way to modify the items I already have to work as organizational tools. If I need to create new organizational devices, why not design them myself so that they are inexpensive, flat-packed, and therefore easy to assemble, breakdown, and re-package?

Mind Map

Click here to see a larger version of the image.