fantasy structures

[antron]

what would you build if you could on the playa?

me? i'd build a structure with a basement. cool underground space.

[Chai Guy]

I gotta go with Water Slide. This isn't entirely out of the realm of possiblity either. A few weeks ago I was a street fair and they had this large yellow slide that they just pulled a hose up to the top and "ta-da" instant water slide. The whole thing was huge, about 2 1/2 stories tall, but fit on the back of trailer. I bet you could rent one for the week cheaper than you could build it. My only problem would be figuring out a way to A. recycle the grey water and B. pump it back up the top. Ideas anyone???

[precipitate]

C. Deal with the Health Department

I'd find out what their regs are on public pools before you do the
engineering on the pumping. Or not. Engineering is fun in its own right.

I'd think a pool pump would be fine to return the water to the top. I'd also
think you would need to treat the water somehow between bottom and top
to make the Health Dept. happy.

And you'll be taking out almost as much water as you brought in.

[Skyhawk]

hmm.. a fantasy structure.. well.. Im working on domes using a different angle then most anything you will find commonly used. but the only fantasy there is managing to find the free time to actually Build it.

[blyslv]

Pods with Skye Chairs, mmmmmmm.

Perhaps not very fantastic, but fun as hell.

[consumer]

Antron, I couldn't agree with you more on the subterranean tip. The time has come for BRC to have tunnels and modern plumbing.

Seriously, though... I'd love to a have large bucky ball with a transparent covering (vinyl?) so as to not hide the surrounding landscape. But I think that would just end up being a greenhouse unless it had air conditioning.

Playa-mud "igloos" would also be a hoot.

[Skyhawk]

well, if your willing to settle with just the look, it would probably be easy enough. just make yourself a small dome, probably a higher frequency, then cover it with foam (styrene or whatever) that you can "carve" the image of blocks into. then seal that stuff (or have it professionally hardened, how is that done?) and set up on playa. you could pre-paint it or just rely on a dust storm and a lot of elmers glue.

[robotland]

one word....Playadobe.

[Chai Guy]

one word....Playadobe.

This is something I've been thinking about for a long time. Constructing a dome (something small), covering it with mesh and then smearing playa mud all over it. Of course there are two concerns here

1. How to excavate the dirt without creating a hole or other damage to the playa.

2. How to dispose of the thing after the event. I was thinking maybe a chainsaw, just saw then thing into manageable pieces? I dunno.

Help?

[Remark]

Have an art car run it over.

[robotland]

The way the dust acumulates out there it seems like you could just shovel up a coupla drifts and have enough to THINLY cover a canvas or paper mache surface....that way you'd still be able to burn it! Wheeee!

[Angry Butterfly]

Ok, mine is a fantasy vehicle, I want to build a big butterfly that I can ride around on that shoots fire out it's wings. It may not be next year, but eventually I am going to have a space and eqiptment and skill to build such a thing.

[robotland]

...and have a loop of "Inagattadavita" (sp?) to play in the background!

[Angry Butterfly]

OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH! that would make it even better! I might have to make it electric if I do that, I want to build it on a motorcycle so it has a narrow body mabe I can find an electric motercycle engine, that would be ideal, I will go to one of those salvage places to get an old bike, but I want it to hold passangers, too, because that is the best part but they would have to straddle it and hold on, the body would either be furry or be black vynil, and the antennae would be the hanlebars, and it would have boxing gloves on it front feet and the eyes would be headlights that lit up!

[Kinetic]

A multi-level camp using scaffolding that had a chill out area on the bottom, storage and living space on the main level, and the top would have a small dome shade structure to sleep in.

If scaffolding and plywood wasn't so heavy and I had to haul it 3600 miles I'd try it next year.

[diane o'thirst]

Sounds similar to the setup we had with the Atlantis Pyramid in 2000. It had three levels, the top level was an observation post and not enclosed. I imagine one could enclose it with canvas dropcloths. Second level was accessed by loft ladder, had beds in three corners and was actually more like a catwalk; and first level was our temple/ritual space.

It had a 24' footprint and stood about 24' high. That thing was GIGANTIC; during the Friday night storm, we fit the whole village of 75 plus some stragglers far from home on the Esplanade.

You may or may not want to make it that big. Our master woodworker, Professor Rubik, bought 5000 pounds of wood on a flatbed and built it onsite; think he was out there a couple weeks ahead of time. He built the Pyramid in camp while Pepe built the Yoni Gate and Lingam Tower out on the Playa.

[Kinetic]

I don't want to go that big...I'm thinking that for 04 it will be Shannon, Dragontear and myself, and we don't need that much space. I just like the idea of having something elevated...after all my work spent building my cargo box w/sleeping space I should be happy but no, I want to go bigger. I'm even debating a bus with an elevated platform on top of that.

Of course I'm still trying to pay for all the stuff from this year but as with anything playa related, anything is possible.

[diane o'thirst]

I don't want to go that big...I'm thinking that for 04 it will be Shannon, Dragontear and myself, and we don't need that much space.

Maybe a twelve-footer, then. That would be <i>plenty</i> big enough for four, plus the inevitable visitors The thing to remember with pyramids is the length of the base of the wall is the height of the structure so you'd almost need a 24' pyramid for a walk-in: a 12-foot would be crawl-in (not that there's anything wrong with that) unless you hung hammocks to sleep in, then you could have a full 12' atrium with catwalk levels. Pyramids are gigantic, exceptionally stable structures that make incredibly efficient use of interior space: there's a reason the Luxor Pyramid has an atrium that ten stacked 747s could fit into.

[Bob]

<img src="http://www.strandbeest.com/popup/images/strandbeest0012.jpg">

http://www.strandbeest.com

[Bob]

<img src="http://www.strandbeest.com/popup/images/strandbeest0003.jpg">

<img src="http://www.strandbeest.com/popup/images/strandbeest0010.jpg">

[THE ORIGINAL DIGIMAN]

that site is tight
http://www.strandbeest.com
the most scareist thing i've ever seen.

very very cool

[Skyhawk]

subtly horrifying, bob.. and now I wont be able to get that click.. the horrible clicking.. out of my mind..



the horror.. the horror..

[spaceboy]

A ski jump w/ snow.
Rotating Krispy Kreme restaurant.
Genie bottle you could get into.
A wave pool.
Exact replica of Yoda's pad on Degobah. (cept taller)

[Raheer]

The Space Needle. Can't you see it? The real thing, transported from Seattle Center to Black Rock City?

Raheer, who needs to stop dropping acid before logging on.

[Kinetic II]

Spaceboy's idea of a genie bottle stands a good chance of becoming reality...after all for 03 we had the JOTS exhibit in the wholly other, we had the giant chandelier, and the temple of gravity...I could see someone building a large lamp and maybe even have it move around like the infamous duck did in 02. It's not a project I would build but one I'd love to see.

[robotland]

The three-level dome that we brought out this year kinda looked like the "I Dream of Jeannie" bottle- It would be easy to modify a geodesic structure to resemble her bottle, and have a ring of overstuffed cushion crashspace inside.....(hookah optional!) How about "Camp Nelson"?

[diane o'thirst]

Genie Bottle's been done...a couple years ago. They were on the next spoke street up from our camp in 2001, 7 o'clock between Esplanade and Infant. Not really a camp, more like an in-city installation/chill space where you could come, sit on comfy cushions in a cozy space, faerie lights, and chat with whoever's there. It looked like you could get about ten <i>very</i> friendly people in there at any one time.

Don't let that stop you, just because it's been done. It's do-able, it's a cool idea, see what you can bring to it

[yupimthenewguy]

you could build a dome, and excavate the interior for a below level pit, then adobe the outer walls with the dirtpile. almost like a sphere on the inside a 12' diameter circle could give that much spherical volume with only a minimal amount of work, one little u-haul could yield you almost 7000 cubic feet of living space on the playa and ill bet it'll withstand 100 mph winds.

[Chai Guy]

you could build a dome, and excavate the interior for a below level pit, then adobe the outer walls with the dirtpile.

Actually, they don't want you digging holes on the playa.

Digging Holes

Do not excavate holes in the playa. Small postholes (6 inches or less in diameter & less than 2 feet deep) used for structural support are the sole exception. When digging such a hole it is best to use an auger or a posthole digger, NOT a shovel. Bag the dirt you are removing so that it does not blow away in the wind. Refill the hole by carefully tamping the soil back into place. Repeat this process every few inches while dampening the soil. An inverted sledgehammer works well for this. Experience has shown that larger holes, sometimes used to sound-insulate generators or for pools, easily erode within a year's time, even when carefully backfilled. They leave a visible mark and create a serious safety hazard.

http://www.burningman.com/preparation/event_survival/protecting_the_environment.html

[yupimthenewguy]

after you are done the same amount of dirt would be replaced, very minimal divoting. kind of like the law of conservation.