Examples of enduring good design?

[dellzeqq]

Rammed earth indeed!

The brick is a multi-activity tool eccentric uncle Simon, what would smash and grab thieves use if we got rid of the brick?

good point. You'd look remarkably silly trying to break in to a jeweller's with a lump of mud.

 

[Andy in Sig]

I'm hoping to get one of these in a couple of weeks:

And thanks to my support crew: RichP, Aperitif and Rigid Raider.

 

[Globalti]

We come full circle here: the Art Deco house I so admired on Grand Designs was built with aerated cement blocks. He filmed a bit at the block factory; I hadn't realised that the bubbles came from a reaction between the alkalinity of the cement and a small amount of aluminium powder that is added to the mix. The reaction generates hydrogen, I guess?

Edit: maybe they use a coffee machine to blow bubbles through the cement?

 

[theclaud]

Thanks very much!

3BM - you're in luck! And it does indeed have your name on it (assuming you have the name of a 4th-century female Christian martyr, that is.) PM your address to Santa Claud and it's on its way...

 

[BrumJim]

Clearly this one too:

 

[theclaud]

Bloody hell, if FM and Dell keep posting can we have this thread moved back to P&L

Shut up and pass the popcorn.

 

[mr Mag00]

 

[Over The Hill]

Have we mentioned the brick yet?...

I just love the way the dimensions of a brick work out (three high equal two deep and one wide) and this can give endless variations when built.

Unlike Lego (which I hate) real bricks can go round curves too!

Are they not just heated up clay? Not sure how that is damaging any more than any other mined building material. Is the cement not more damaging? Bricks only need lime mortar.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

3BM - you're in luck! And it does indeed have your name on it (assuming you have the name of a 4th-century female Christian martyr, that is.) PM your address to Santa Claud and it's on its way...

Very kind of you TC.

Just contacting deed poll as I'm unfortunately named after a 16th century male martyr and it would be so nice to have my name on a bottle opener!

 

[dellzeqq]

Are they not just heated up clay? Not sure how that is damaging any more than any other mined building material. Is the cement not more damaging? Bricks only need lime mortar.

sadly, very sadly, yes. I love bricks, but they're even worse than middleweight blocks made from foamed aggregate. And much, much worse than timber cladding. They can be justified on grounds of durability in locations where they might be subject to attack, but that's about it.

 

[Tim Bennet.]

The J Class yachts.

These were used to pitch the might of the British Empire against the precocious American super power. No expense, no effort nor even underhand manoeuvre was spared in gaining the upper hand. These races for the America's Cup personified everything about the Edwardian era including, or even especially, reckless excess.

When the dust settled after the Second World War, all this had become an irrelevance; society and the social scene had changed so much that nothing like them could ever been seen again. The boats themselves retired to become house boats, stuck in the mud around our coasts with their classic hulls peeping out from under the crude corrugated iron additions to their cabin houses.

As a child, family folk lore was filled with stories from Grandad and his friends about their time as paid hands on these boats. On walks beside the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, we were shown the decaying hulks and every time he would comment, "Beautiful aren't they?" but always added "you'll never see the likes of these sailing - no one will ever have that much money again".

If only he could see them now! Not only have all the old hulks been restored (sometimes only saving the name board in the rebuild!) but there has been a flurry of building new ones, including many that had originally been deemed too expensive for even the likes of the Vanderbilt family, at the heart of their powers, to consider. They no longer race for national glory, their design outdated by carbon fibre and titanium, but their owners lavish tens of millions of pounds on them solely because they agree with Grandad; "beautiful, aren't they?"

 

[threebikesmcginty]

sadly, very sadly, yes. I love bricks, but they're even worse than middleweight blocks made from foamed aggregate. And much, much worse than timber cladding. They can be justified on grounds of durability in locations where they might be subject to attack, but that's about it.

Are you more of a wattle and dawb man dell?

 

[Proto]

Spitfire anyone?

We occaisionally get them flying over our house, sometimes playing dogfighting. A fabulous sight and the noise is fantastic.

 

[swee'pea99]

The Spitfire is unquestionably gorgeous. If anyone asked me to name a more beautiful machine - of any kind - I'm pretty sure I'd be stumped.

 

[Globalti]

The later versions with the bigger props and more power must be almost literally the ultimate piston-engined fighter. They were a huge testosterone-fuelled rocket for the pilot, only improved upon by the first jets.

I would drop my pants for Elton John if I could be given the opportunity to fly in the 2 seat version.