Last year, ReadyMade broke the news about the dumpster pools of Brooklyn—a story that quickly grew wings and took off, gathering attention from corners of the mediasphere as varied as the New York Times, BoingBoing, ABC News and NPR. This year Macro-Sea, the company that conceived and built the pools, is back with a new project, a "psychological recycling center" called Glassphemy! (Read the New York Times article about Glassphemy!, here.) And ReadyMade is teaming up with Macro-Sea to sponsor a contest to get our readers involved in the recycling and design process, too. Read on for the details…
Not so long ago, in Philadelphia, a meeting of architects and urban planners was convened by the Community Design Collaborative to think of 'interim uses' for empty lots around the city. One of the lots in question was always strewn with piles of broken glass. The architects and urban planners furrowed their brows in thought: would it be possible to create a project that would lure people away from their littering ways, converting the lot for more constructive uses?
And then, a brave woman in the audience, Bethany Edwards, said: "What if we just create a place for people to go break glass?"
David Belt was a panelist at that event. Taken by Edwards' comment, he brought the glass-breaking idea back to his company, Macro-Sea. And that's how Glassphemy! was born. Part game, part art installation, part mobile recycling center, Glassphemy! is a 20-by-30-foot steel structure lined with bulletproof glass. A person standing on one side can throw bottles at a friend or enemy who is standing in safety behind the clear wall on the other side. Satisfying crashes and bright lights ensue upon impact. Glassphemy! is about relieving psychological tension, having fun, and getting your recycling done all at the same time.
The project was brought to life by Macro-Sea, the same group behind 2009's mobile Dumpster pools. Glassphemy! is opening on May 20 at the Dumpster pool lot in Gowanus, Brooklyn. The bottles that are broken there will be recycled on site. When the installation is through, the Glassphemy! structure will be broken down and recycled or moved to a new location.
To honor the spirit of innovation and smart material re-use, and to keep the conversation and ideas flowing, ReadyMade is teaming up with Macro-Sea to offer the Glassphemy! contest.
Here's how to enter.
Submit an idea or design that answers the question: What would you make from broken glass?
The glass can be in shard form, or it can be ground up further, melted, mixed with other materials–transformed in any way you can think of. Your design must incorporate broken glass, but it can include any other materials you like. You don't need to make the thing you're designing (though you can!). But you do need to provide a general description of how to make it: what the materials are and how it would come together.
You may submit your design in any form you like: Drawings on the back of a cocktail napkin, a 300-word essay, SketchUp files, a video of yourself describing it in words and hand gestures. Whatever best gets your idea across!
Send your design to info@readymademag.com, or mail it to: ReadyMade Magazine, attn: Glassphemy! Contest, 125 Park Avenue, 18th Floor, New York NY 10017
The contest starts on May 12.
The entry deadline is Friday, June 4.
International entries and multiple entries are accepted.
Entries will be judged by the ReadyMade and Macro-Sea teams based on: originality, usefulness, visual appeal, and executability
Prize: The winning design will be built by the Macro-Sea—the same group that built the Glassphemy! installation. One copy of your design will go on display at the Glassphemy! site in Brooklyn, and one copy will be sent to you. The winning design will also be featured in ReadyMade magazine.
Runners up will be féte-d in this blog, and rewarded with coveted ReadyMade ceramic travel mugs, a ReadyMade tee shirt, and a one-year subscription to ReadyMade.
Need more inspiration? Click through for more pictures and info about Glassphemy!
Macro-Sea's Glassphemy! storyboard (click for larger version)
Halfway done: At the Glassphemy! construction site
Another construction shot
A diagram showing how the steel, Plexiglas, and wood infrastructure of Glassphemy! will be recycled into outdoor lighting after the project is through
Diagram of lighting to be constructed from recycled parts
[All images courtesy of David Belt/Macro-Sea]
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