I don't like it, from a pure brutalistic view point this obviously doesn't make any sense, it isn't practical and it doesn't make any effort to create a shape that is esthetically pleasing. The urban decay is even more outrageous, the whole appeal of urban decay is that it is "real", it's the thinking about all of people that went through the same structure throughout the years. Of cause it doesn't mean you can't make art about or featuring urban decay, but you have to be smart about it.
Show HN: Brutalist Concrete Laptop Stand (2024)
71–80 of 256 posts
Re: Show HN: Brutalist Concrete Laptop Stand (2024)
#72I wonder what the practical limit is on how thin and light you can make concrete for non-structural items? I can see someone selling concrete mugs on Etsy, for example. Maybe with clever use of fillers and thin walls you could have a version of this you could actually lift. It looks great, especially in contrast to a white IKEA-style office. Re: decay, I regret not taking more photos of the final days of the RBS "Zig…
Even structural items can be made quite thin! There is a college design competition to make concrete canoes which can be 3/8" to 7/16" thick: https://www.concretecanoe.org/2008Triva/Florida2008DesignPap...
oh wow that takes me back. I remember touring, i think it was Texas A&M, in HS and they showed off their "concrete canoe" to the group. This would have been in the late 1900s.. 1995 or around there.
Re: Show HN: Brutalist Concrete Laptop Stand (2024)
#73It can't be a good idea to condition yourself to be comfortable around an exposed wire that's near to a real power socket.
Re: Show HN: Brutalist Concrete Laptop Stand (2024)
#74Isn't the ornamental 'urban decay' detail kinda the opposite of the utilitarian and functional style of brutalism?
My understanding of brutalism is that it’s an extreme interpretation of “function over form”. The most brutalist laptop stand would be a cardboard box turned upside down, not a slightly impractical block of concrete carefully manufactured to evoke a certain aesthetic.
Re: Show HN: Brutalist Concrete Laptop Stand (2024)
#75I wonder what the practical limit is on how thin and light you can make concrete for non-structural items? I can see someone selling concrete mugs on Etsy, for example. Maybe with clever use of fillers and thin walls you could have a version of this you could actually lift. It looks great, especially in contrast to a white IKEA-style office. Re: decay, I regret not taking more photos of the final days of the RBS "Zig…
I've read that adding a little bit of graphene can make concrete much stronger, lighter and easy to shape, so would allow for thinner objects.
Re: Show HN: Brutalist Concrete Laptop Stand (2024)
#76This is so weird. I love it. Thanks for sharing!
Re: Show HN: Brutalist Concrete Laptop Stand (2024)
#77I love this! The pure weight of it is amazing, and distinctly makes a statement. Its a fun concept one could play with if they were making their own!
I think a "clean" and "contemporary" version of this would look amazing as well:
Along the lines of: https://www.modustrialmaker.com/blog/2018/8/14/making-an-imp...
Maybe with: (for weight) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foam_concrete (there are plenty of DIY versions of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4_GxPHwqkA
Re: Show HN: Brutalist Concrete Laptop Stand (2024)
#78Oh man... I've never worked with concrete, but I would love to make a desk stand that looked like a little montréal métro station. They're all rather brutalist, and have flat tops haha
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Station_Radisson_Met...
Re: Show HN: Brutalist Concrete Laptop Stand (2024)
#79@dang, I'm not sure what's changed with the Show HN lately, but it's been much more lovely to read. Thank you for whatever changes which were made.
Looking at https://news.ycombinator.com/show , it's definitely no longer a raw feed of show HN: from /new.
It's not clear what the change is, whether it is curation by hand or some other metrics, but it's a positive change, the old Show HN was getting flooded, as recently discussed. ( Although I can't work out how to find that discussion. )
Re: Show HN: Brutalist Concrete Laptop Stand (2024)
#80How much does it weigh?