Bender

LOCAL BENDER
2006

Part of an interdisciplinary programme  to research the potential of the ‘Bender’ – a low-impact structure traditionally used in Northern Europe  – for re-appropriation as a contemporary low-impact housing solution.

Local Bender was built using a mix of green hazel poles harvested from within walking distance, and upcycled post-consumer waste gleaned from local construction projects. Part of the intention of this project was to explore to what extent necessity can take precedence over aesthetics in sustainable design, and how this in turn creates its own aesthetic. The project also expounded the problematic reliance on post-consumer waste as a basis for sustainable design.
 
Images from construction process:

Blueprint for a bender


BLUEPRINT FOR A BENDER

Dialine Blueprint – edition of 50
2006

Originally designed for use by engineers on construction projects, the Dialine Blueprint medium fades quickly in sunlight, mirroring the impermanence of the bender structure. The existence of Blueprint for a Bender is enigmatic. Local Bender was an experiment in ‘designing with no design’, the structure and overall appearance being governed by the reclaimed materials found at the time of construction. The blueprint could only be made after the build had been completed.

This project was developed with Michael Hormann, Architect and specialist in eco design.