[HN Gopher] Show HN: Brutalist Concrete Laptop Stand (2024)
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Show HN: Brutalist Concrete Laptop Stand (2024)
Author : sam-bee
Score : 677 points
Date : 2026-04-07 11:07 UTC (11 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (sam-burns.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (sam-burns.com)
| jb1991 wrote:
| There are some subtly weak desks out there, quite a few actually,
| where placing this on top could be brutal.
| ramon156 wrote:
| Next up: Brutalist desk
| mft_ wrote:
| Next up: structural engineering assessment of my office floor
| HPsquared wrote:
| There are some subtly weak floors out there, where placing
| such a desk could be fatal.
| rob74 wrote:
| Never mind placing it, bringing it to the place where it
| should be, er, placed might also be a challenge. Unless you
| can drive a forklift into your office...
| sam-bee wrote:
| I took it to the office on a little trolley thing
| chasd00 wrote:
| how much does it weigh? it looks like maybe 20-30lbs
| rob74 wrote:
| I didn't mean the laptop stand, I meant the concrete
| _desk_ one of the parent comments suggested...
| mmsimanga wrote:
| Turtles all the way down.
| marcosdumay wrote:
| The funny thing is that in the 21st century, concrete can
| be quite light.
|
| Well, there were people that made light concrete on the
| 20th century too. But not it's accessible to anybody.
| pjc50 wrote:
| I've seen quite a few blog posts of "old door on breeze
| blocks", the canonical brutalist/abandoned warehouse desk.
| aquir wrote:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_fFqBhLBcE
| bpavuk wrote:
| if we give it a little more polish, colder/greyer tones and
| "newness," it would fit very nicely for a Control fan :)
|
| EDIT:
| https://store.steampowered.com/app/870780/Control_Ultimate_E...
| jesse_faden wrote:
| as a control fan, i agree. the art direction in that game is
| something else.
| queuebert wrote:
| I was delighted to see that a sequel is coming:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJTBoQhWaC0
|
| The maze level on the original game has to be an all-time
| best level design.
| bpavuk wrote:
| > I was delighted to see that a sequel is coming
|
| the sequel trailer got me into the first game, actually :))
| and I'm already sold on these recursive pigeons. is it
| multiplicative resonance?
|
| > all-time best level design
|
| well, the only worthy contenders are DEATHLOOP and
| Dishonored 2 :>
|
| but yeah, Remedy does deserve every award they got with
| Control
| bpavuk wrote:
| oh, Direc- excuse me, Jesse! have you met esseJ?
| pwython wrote:
| At first I thought you were talking about an actual rotating
| fan, which would be an awesome addition to this. Just a small
| PC fan running at a very low RPM built into the side in a
| circular cutout, with that worn metal patina look.
| polyterative wrote:
| My favorite video game of the universe.
| xpe wrote:
| Also known as an inertial mass dampener for your sit-stand desk.
|
| I appreciate++ the design except for the too-perfect rebar and
| the exposed wire directly _in_ the concrete. Pros would use a
| conduit methinks.
| sam-bee wrote:
| The conduit is a good idea. I'm working on a Raspberry Pi stand
| in leather and walnut right now. Think I'm going to incorporate
| that somehow
| crimsontech wrote:
| This is pretty cool looking, I like it, it must be really heavy
| though.
|
| > For a medium-sized piece like this, a vibrating dildo is
| actually the best thing to use. Just think of it like any other
| power tool.For a medium-sized piece like this, a vibrating dildo
| is actually the best thing to use. Just think of it like any
| other power tool.
|
| I used work on foundations for warehouses, huge concrete blocks
| as anchor points and this is exactly how we got the bubbles out,
| we had a huge metal vibrator they call them high-frequency
| concrete pokers.
| sam-bee wrote:
| Felt a little silly doing the work, but to be fair it did get
| the bubbles out.
| egl2020 wrote:
| When I did a small concrete project at home, I was advised not
| to over do the vibrator.
| tokai wrote:
| Isn't the ornamental 'urban decay' detail kinda the opposite of
| the utilitarian and functional style of brutalism?
| seeeeebt wrote:
| Yes, Sam is probably just having a bit of fun here, but I think
| it's worth presenting brutalism correctly as it's often so
| misunderstood.
|
| Concrete is simply the mass production medium of the time, many
| of the patterns and moulds used in Barbican for example feature
| pretty timber imprints, scalloping patterns, painstakingly
| pick-hammered textured panels, or pleasing swooping shapes.
|
| Further there is always space for glass, brass, Terrazzo and
| lighting.
|
| Sam's design does feel cold, unnatural and broken, definitely
| not what brutalist living is about.
|
| https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2016/feb/22...
|
| https://www.structuralrenovations.co.uk/portfolio/barbican-e...
|
| https://www.barbicanliving.co.uk/barbican-story/construction...
| pjc50 wrote:
| > cold, unnatural and broken, definitely not what brutalist
| living is about.
|
| This can often be the actual experience of it, though. Part
| of why it's so divisive. Personally I'm on the "looks great,
| wouldn't want to actually live there" side.
|
| The Barbican is an example of how good it can be when
| properly maintained by a community. There are plenty of less
| prestigious examples where the community cheered their
| demolition.
| isolli wrote:
| My subjective appreciation of building materials depends
| essentially on how gracefully they age. I find that
| concrete does not age well... and dislike brutalism for
| this specific reason.
| BariumBlue wrote:
| Yes I had the same thought.
|
| Imo brutalism is monolithic and unyielding. This is opposite,
| with the sturdy concrete yielding into plant overgrowth and
| exposed rebar.
| bluGill wrote:
| Most brutalism was never intended to last. It was intended to
| be a quick/cheap answer to get people acceptable housing in the
| cities. Then they would build something nicer for people to
| live in as the economy gets richer. Which is why it so often is
| associated with decay these days - the structure still stands,
| but it has outlasted the expected lifespan.
|
| There are burtalism structures that were intended to be
| beautiful and last. They do that well (well beauty is in the
| eye of the beholder), but the majority was quick and cheap
| above all else.
| subjectsigma wrote:
| 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.
| gcr wrote:
| If you like brutalism, you might also enjoy the Quake Brutalist
| Map Jam 3, which released last month:
| https://www.slipseer.com/index.php?resources/quake-brutalist...
|
| My favorite map is 'One Need Not Be a House' by Robert Yang,
| which was inspired by Louis Kahn's "brick brutalism" masterpieces
| in Bangladesh and India, as well as contemporary level design
| like The Silent Cartographer. The artist writes about their
| process on their blog post,
| https://www.blog.radiator.debacle.us/2026/01/one-need-not-be...
|
| The map jam is standalone and uses custom assets so you don't
| need a copy of Quake to enjoy it. Check the website for the
| 'standalone' variant.
|
| Sorry for derailing! Cool laptop stand!
| mock-possum wrote:
| Yang also regularly writes really interesting blog posts,
| mostly around game design. Very much recommend keeping tabs on
| him.
| gcr wrote:
| agreed! i was reading his posts this morning on the subway
| and he's now a part of my RSS reader :-)
| bitwize wrote:
| Was just gonna say this is a great accessory to put your
| computer on while playing QBJ3!
| ge96 wrote:
| Just finished reading Masters of Doom crazy Quake is still a
| thing today
|
| I do really like the fast pace of Doom Eternal and Dark Ages
| which you can see here I think
| bityard wrote:
| Neat! I was big into Quake years ago. This looks like something
| I could waste a weekend on.
|
| Are these all single-player maps? Are there any that are
| designed for (or would at least be suitable for) 1-4 player
| deathmatch?
| cm2187 wrote:
| You just need to cover it with graffitis to fully depict the
| experience of the poor souls living in brutalist buildings.
| xgulfie wrote:
| The author mentions urban decay and dilapidation multiple times
| and very clearly worked that into the design here
| mghackerlady wrote:
| I've always loved this style of architecture. People think commie
| blocks are ugly but I've always appreciated their simple
| utilitarianism
| CSP_LIBRARY wrote:
| post-apocalyptic vibes
| jagged-chisel wrote:
| Did they actually show the tools used to remove bubbles?
| sam-bee wrote:
| That got cropped out of all photos in the interest of taste
| and decency.
| jagged-chisel wrote:
| A pic of a post-apocalyptic cement vibrator (perhaps not
| the dildo kind) would definitely have fit the aesthetic
| sam-bee wrote:
| Sure is! It was a lot of fun to make, and I think it ended up
| with a nice urban decay feel to it
| pjc50 wrote:
| I 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 "Ziggurat":
| https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/stark-ph... ;
| at the end it had plants growing from much of the upper levels,
| making it look extremely Horizon Zero Dawn.
| swiftcoder wrote:
| > Maybe with clever use of fillers and thin walls you could
| have a version of this you could actually lift
|
| You could likely also pour something like this out of aircrete,
| which would make it a lot lighter even at the same thickness
| throwthrowuknow wrote:
| People who make concrete counter tops use a lot of fibreglass
| fillers to get them fairly thin but if you wanted it truly
| light weight you'd probably need to make it out of a dense foam
| and coat it with something that looks like concrete.
| ssharp wrote:
| Concrete counter top mixes usually use either much smaller,
| or no aggregate and use more sand. The mixes resemble mortar
| more than concrete and they are typically a little harder and
| less forgiving to work with.
| scottyah wrote:
| My bathroom is a couple mm of microcement over Schluter
| Kerdi-Board foam, it's fairly strong. I think it can hold a
| laptop no problem.
| TheJoeMan wrote:
| 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...
| chasd00 wrote:
| 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.
| lostlogin wrote:
| There have been ships made of concrete.
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_ship
| urikaduri wrote:
| 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.
| bluGill wrote:
| There are a lot of additives to concrete - the industry is
| large and has put a lot of money into research over the
| decades. You can read many many books on the pros and cons of
| different options.
| bookofjoe wrote:
| Translucent concrete:
| https://www.allplan.com/blog/translucent-concrete/
| augusto-moura wrote:
| You could mix concrete with other materiais too. I worked as a
| lab assistant in a engineering lab for some time. Putting
| styrofoam into the mix would result in lighter concrete within
| acceptable levels of resistance (for low level buildings). You
| might be onto something
| jnwatson wrote:
| I certainly haven't heard of that technique to get rid of bubbles
| in the cement.
| jagged-chisel wrote:
| Vibration? Thought it was pretty common.
| Rygian wrote:
| The article does mention a very specific choice of vibration
| equipment.
| jagged-chisel wrote:
| Same method though. There's a plethora of vibrating things
| to choose from. I suppose you could mold a large silicone
| tentacle to put on a jackhammer, too, and use that to fish
| for bubbles in your cement soup. Call the tool what you
| want, you haven't changed the method.
| sam-bee wrote:
| Yes, I did feel a bit silly buying and using it, but to
| be fair it did get the bubbles out.
| prmoustache wrote:
| Are you guys all trying hard not to say the words dildo,
| satisfier, or sex toy? Why so? AFAIK it is neither a rude
| nor a prohibited word.
| jagged-chisel wrote:
| Nah, I was just being pedantic about the "method" of
| removing bubbles.
| alnwlsn wrote:
| They make industrial versions of the same specifically for
| concrete.
|
| https://www.amazon.com/s?k=concrete+vibrator
| stavros wrote:
| Well now I'm going to make a dildo out of concrete and list
| it on Amazon just to fuck with builders.
| monocasa wrote:
| I've seen people use the same technique _and tooling_ for resin
| pours.
| sam-bee wrote:
| If it works, it works
| xgulfie wrote:
| When I first look at this I think "hey it would be nicer if it
| wasn't falling apart", but you could argue that's kind of the
| point. Well done
| qwertytyyuu wrote:
| Is that surface concrete? Will it scratch the laptop?
| sam-bee wrote:
| My laptop has little rubber feet, so it dosn't scratch on its
| underside. But yes, the piece is solid concrete, so you
| wouldn't want to bash anything fragile against it.
| weirdmantis69 wrote:
| I love concrete as a medium but that's got to be heavy af and I
| would manage to smack my elbow on it all the time as well as
| smash my coffee mug on it.
| sam-bee wrote:
| Yeah, getting it into the office was non-trivial!
| gwbas1c wrote:
| Related: Anyone know where to get that kind of keyboard in the
| photo? Specifically, where the number pad and arrow keys are on
| the left?
|
| I've been looking and looking, but the best I can find is using a
| narrow keyboard with a separate number-pad only keyboard on the
| left. I'm in the US.
|
| (It's better for your right shoulder to keep the mouse closer to
| your body like in the picture.)
| chipaca wrote:
| I went to https://www.keyboardco.com/ and searched for left-
| handed and the keyboard in the photo popped up, as well as a
| bunch of weirder and wonderfuler ones.
| wmwragg wrote:
| I believe it's this keyboard[1] from Posturite, but doing a web
| search for "Left-Side Numpad" of "Left handed keyboard" should
| show a few options.
|
| [1] https://www.posturite.co.uk/left-handed-mechanical-keyboard
| sushibowl wrote:
| keychron does make one:
| https://www.keychron.com/products/keychron-q12-max-qmk-via-w...
|
| found this one as well, don't know the brand:
| https://www.bloodyusa.com/product.php?pid=11&id=166
| vunderba wrote:
| +1 for Keychron. I have a Q5 Pro with brown switches (which
| is almost identical to that Q12 model) and it's one of the
| best keyboards I've owned.
| sam-bee wrote:
| The keyboard in the photo was bought from Amazon in the UK, as
| "Black Left-Handed Mechanical Keyboard".
|
| I am indeed a right-handed user, which is why I want my mouse
| within reach on the right.
| ffsm8 wrote:
| Personally I just switched to TKL keyboards (no numpad). While
| I did use it occasionally, it wasn't often enough to feel
| inconvenienced without it... All the buttons are still there
| after all, and if I'm already at home row, it isn't any slower.
|
| May be worth considering too, especially if you're looking for
| a good keyboard with eg magnetic switches vs shitty rubberdome
| swah wrote:
| Yeah I would suggest you stick some wood on your left side of
| your current keyboard, for a few days to see if you can
| adapt... I always used that space as a resting place, so having
| it occupied totally broke my flow.
|
| (If I needed a numpad I would have it standing alone.. those
| are easy to find)
| gwbas1c wrote:
| Like I said, I'm already using a separate number pad on the
| left.
|
| It's easier to adapt to than than putting the mouse in my
| left hand!
| chasd00 wrote:
| yeah that keyboard is definitely different than what I'm
| accustomed to. My son pointed out that shift-2 is not '@' but
| '"'.
| stevesimmons wrote:
| Standard for a UK layout keyboard. shift-3 is PS
| sam-bee wrote:
| It's an English (UK) keyboard layout
| ssenssei wrote:
| Is it just me or can you all hear the sound of the metal/aluminum
| scratching against the concrete?
|
| Loved the brutalist movie, this actually seems quite nice
| assthetically.
| bpavuk wrote:
| try playing Control then! that's your dream come true :) (well,
| maybe except the Hiss part)
| robotsquidward wrote:
| This is sick but sad that it has to live in that open office
| cubicle world :[
| aquir wrote:
| Looks awesome! I like raw concrete. Plays well with the tech
| around it.
| sam-bee wrote:
| Thank you!
| Qwuke wrote:
| @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.
| sam-bee wrote:
| I'm glad to hear you liked the post!
| xnorswap wrote:
| 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. )
| ryandrake wrote:
| Huge and positive change from the old "Show HN: Another vibe
| coded filesystem that I won't even use but it was done with
| an LLM!"
| dang wrote:
| I suppose the main thing so far is https://hn.algolia.com/?date
| Range=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu.... The hope is to be
| welcoming to new users while also nudging them toward the
| intended use of the site. I don't know how well this is going
| to work over time so your comment is encouraging!
| einpoklum wrote:
| Such a heavy stand might serve as a nice heat sink too, I would
| think. Doesn't have fins, but it could radiate evenly, and not
| even get that hot.
| ricardobayes wrote:
| We need to see a benchmark with a Macbook air during extended
| workload.
| progforlyfe wrote:
| I love it! I just wish I could enlarge the photos! EDIT: ah, it
| works to right-click open image in new tab.
| chasd00 wrote:
| this is really cool, what a great Show HN. i will try to make one
| this weekend :)
| smnplk wrote:
| Looks like a rat hideout.
| dodomodo wrote:
| 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.
| gred wrote:
| > this obviously doesn't make any sense
|
| That's debatable, but it's a moot point; it's pastiche, so it
| doesn't have the same goals or motivations as the original.
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastiche
| vunderba wrote:
| Exactly. This is more like the pre-ripped jeans version of
| brutalism.
| augustk wrote:
| Something that would be useful in my case is a monitor stand
| stand. Does anyone know why almost no current monitor can be
| raised so that the upper edge is at eye level? Is it due to
| incompetence among the current breed of designers? Quite a few
| of my colleges have a stack of books beneath the monitor stand.
| gnopgnip wrote:
| Many monitor arms on gas struts have extended range and this
| is no problem. Ergotron was one of the first
| bluGill wrote:
| Monitor arms are cheap enough and better than a stand. Clamp
| the arm to an edge and you can put things under the monitor,
| plus put the monitor where you want it.
| bayindirh wrote:
| Try getting "Enterprise" monitors like Dell UltraSharp or HP
| EliteDisplay. Not they only come with better feet (height
| adjustable & pivoting), they are calibrated and have really
| good panels which you can stare at for hours without fatigue.
| inanutshellus wrote:
| Law suits / claims, I'd expect, as tall is unstable.
|
| If I sell a Monitor With Really Tall Monitor Stand and then
| you lightly bump your desk and break your monitor, you might
| want a replacement and call my stand "an unstable PoS".
|
| If I sell you a Monitor and you stack books under it and your
| monitor falls... well... dummy, tall stuff falls over. Time
| to buy a new monitor.
| augustk wrote:
| Isn't the manufacturer to blame if I get neck problems
| then?
| bookofjoe wrote:
| I bought this Hyper HyperStand some years ago:
|
| https://techaeris.com/2020/11/01/hyperstand-review-solid-
| por...
|
| It's perfect: nice looking, highly functional, beautifully
| designed, and collapsible.
|
| $29.99.
|
| Alas, discontinued.
|
| Perhaps eBay?
|
| Edit: I just found a tricked-out version on eBay here:
|
| https://www.ebay.com/itm/226769239456?_skw=Hyper+HyperStand+.
| ..
| p-e-w wrote:
| It's unfortunate that brutalism has become synonymous with
| "crumbling concrete". That was certainly not the intention of
| the brutalist architects, but rather a side effect of the poor
| quality of the (sometimes experimental) concrete mixtures. 21st
| century (neo-)brutalist buildings won't suffer from this.
| braelyn wrote:
| Whether this monitor stand was decayed through history or
| artificially makes no difference if he's compelled by the
| elements of decay that he's replicating. You can get angry over
| design philosophy or you can just appreciate that this man
| crafted something with a very unique aesthetic.
| biofox wrote:
| It can't be a good idea to condition yourself to be comfortable
| around an exposed wire that's near to a real power socket.
| red-iron-pine wrote:
| fair point. gotta trust that everything is properly hooked up
| and won't shift.
|
| you'll only know when you find out the hard way
| sam-bee wrote:
| It's soldered to the rebar, which is grounded through the
| actual power cable
| jamesjolliffe wrote:
| This is so weird. I love it. Thanks for sharing!
| zer00eyz wrote:
| I 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
| ricardobayes wrote:
| This one immediately came to mind:
| https://www.architonic.com/en/p/ivanka-concrete-genezis-clut...
| graypegg wrote:
| Oh man... I've never worked with concrete, but I would love to
| make a desk stand that looked like a little montreal metro
| station. They're all rather brutalist, and have flat tops haha
|
| https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Station_Radisson_Met...
| chasd00 wrote:
| yeah i really want to try and make something like this. I was
| thinking of getting some spraypaint and making it look like
| part of it had been tagged with graffiti. Maybe one edge is
| broken so it looks like something I just found. I don't have
| the faintest idea of architecture styles, just thinking what
| would look cool and contrast with polished, refined, technology
| like a macbook or something.
| pavel_lishin wrote:
| There's lots of makers on Youtube who have good tutorials for
| getting that sort of look.
|
| These two come to mind:
|
| - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06OQmIiYQMA
|
| - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUA0tOrNgpc
| wheybags wrote:
| That thing looks like giant pillbox bunker.
| lostlogin wrote:
| Or a cheap plastic/pressed steel footstool.
| graypegg wrote:
| They (tend to) open up to big spaces on the inside! So they
| feel like... bunker cathedrals maybe? I find them to be
| interesting spaces!
|
| https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Station_Radisson_Met.
| ..
|
| I'll accept that I'm biased by living here though haha
| masfuerte wrote:
| How much does it weigh?
| khalic wrote:
| Cool project, but not brutalist
| WesolyKubeczek wrote:
| Should have stolen a broken piece of concrete off a street and
| repurpose it to be a laptop stand. At least that would be
| authentic, and contributing to urban decay at his location.
| recroad wrote:
| Can't say I'm heavy into brutalist architecture and then sit on
| an Ikea chair
| atlgator wrote:
| This man poured concrete around a power strip, chemically aged
| copper with ammonia, rusted rebar with peroxide, faked a damaged
| cable for vibes, and vibrated out the air bubbles with a dildo.
| This is the most unhinged and delightful Show HN I've ever seen.
| sam-bee wrote:
| It's an honour just to be nominated <3
| michaelt wrote:
| Have your office's PAT test guys flagged those exposed mains
| cables yet? :)
| __mharrison__ wrote:
| This is cool. It's not for everyone and probably very heavy.
|
| But I love the hacker feel of it.
| jerf wrote:
| I would personally pay money not to have this thing.
|
| It's wonderful and I love that someone else loves it. The care
| put into it is fantastic. Vive la difference.
|
| (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vive_la_diff%C3%A9rence for
| those who may not recognize that phrase.)
| ada1981 wrote:
| How much money are you willing to pay? If sufficient I won't
| commission one and have it sent to your house.
| @AnthonyDavidAdams on venmo!
| vunderba wrote:
| This looks pretty funny paired with a sleek fancy MacBook though.
|
| You need a proper Soviet-esque workstation of a laptop to sit on
| that concrete block - go get yourself a nice, chunky ThinkPad
| T530.
| smm11 wrote:
| Thinkpad 765d
| neilv wrote:
| You know what has always needed a solid concrete foundation
| poured is the W700ds.
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6glQCMpqH7M&t=58s
| quijoteuniv wrote:
| And while at it... Why not a concrete laptop case?
| fjlunky wrote:
| Or a hi-fi? [1] I've heard concrete is a popular material in
| the DIY speaker crowd for reducing resonance
|
| [1] https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1227026/concrete-
| stereo-...
| goestoo wrote:
| It's hideous.
| ghm2199 wrote:
| If you want to get a feel of what brutalist architecture is like
| up close, go to the Barbican in london if you can.
|
| Its quite surreal. Very much in-your-face concrete exposure. Yet,
| to walk and experience it with your eyes is a study of contrasts:
| a giant, comparitively modern, greenhouse, has a glass roof open
| to the sky and yet many floors have no light or windows at all.
| And in the outdoor spaces, like the fountain/canal running
| through the complex the concrete will sort of be in the
| background and lets you focus on everything else: the water, the
| swans and the people around.
|
| Juxtapose that to low hanging exposed concrete roofs and walls in
| closed passages could make one feel
| constrained/claustrophobic/yearning for light.
| rors wrote:
| The Barbican is not a typical brutalist construction. The term
| brutalist refers to beton brut, which means raw concrete. I.e.
| you can see the shape of the wooden slats used as a cast. The
| concrete in the Barbican was finished by drilling to create a
| dappled pattern, which obliterated the shape of the slats.
|
| There are also lots of post modern elements. For example, the
| columns of the girl's school have pyramids at the top to
| resemble pencils.
|
| The south bank has more buildings that are a purer expression
| of brutalism.
| benjijay wrote:
| If you find yourself in West London, also check out Brunel
| University, all of the older buildings are pure brutalism
| stavros wrote:
| Sure, but as someone who likes the aesthetic, the Barbican
| hits all the right spots for me.
| deafpolygon wrote:
| go visit any major "third world" country city ... probably see
| those everywhere.
| tonymet wrote:
| e.g. Philadelphia
| falsemyrmidon wrote:
| Literally just looks like some trash sitting on their desk. Well
| done if that's the goal?
| ricardobayes wrote:
| I love it, although if you're not into urbex or didn't grow up
| with brutalist architecture (soviet union, east germany, even
| parts of Zurich downtown) I guess in that case you don't really
| have anything to tie it to and without that connection it just
| looks like a piece of junk.
| JoeAltmaier wrote:
| I asked for a monitor stand at work, back in the day. No money!
| So I went to the loading dock, found a wooden pallet for the
| little AC units we installed in racks, put that on my desk. Voila
| - monitor stand.
| GaryNumanVevo wrote:
| That's one way to prevent people from taking your desk at work
| zoom6628 wrote:
| I'm waiting for the man to make a laptop case out of concrete.
| That will be truly brutalist!
| sam-bee wrote:
| I had to wheel the stand into the office on a trolley, I'm not
| making a laptop case lol
| thesuitonym wrote:
| Do I like it? No. Do I want one on my desk? Absolutely not. Do I
| think it's even brutalist? Not in the least.
|
| But it's still a cool as hell project. People need to do more
| things just because they want to, and to hell with what anyone
| else thinks.
| sam-bee wrote:
| It's very liberating, crafting something for yourself with no
| intention of selling.
| Gracana wrote:
| Yes! Trying to make something that other people want is a
| good way to take the joy out of a project, and it dulls the
| uniqueness that could the result something truly special.
| Fnoord wrote:
| Sums up my mother's sculptures, or my kids' drawings.
|
| If it serves the artist, it served a purpose.
|
| Personally, I have an aluminium laptop stand which makes the
| laptop dockable but which isn't portable or makes
| screen/keyboard usable (secure for cats though) and I have a
| portable, foldable, lightweight plastic one [1].
|
| I also do not enjoy the idea of using the bottom of a laptop on
| concrete. The latter material isn't nice for scratches (and
| every time it is put or leaves concrete is a potential mark).
|
| So in this case, I believe a second monitor (or larger primary
| one) plus a vertical laptop stand would fit in the shown
| office.
|
| [1] https://nexstand.eu/collections/foldable-laptop-stands
| NathanielK wrote:
| Perhaps having a scratched up laptop matches the concrete
| stand.
| overfeed wrote:
| > I also do not enjoy the idea of using the bottom of a
| laptop on concrete.
|
| How else could your laptop echo the theme of "Urban decay?"
| Fnoord wrote:
| I mean, maybe you should not? The desk does not pertain
| that idea either. Nor does the monitor frame or laptop
| frame. It also does not fit in dynamic desks which are
| common these days. To me, the concrete laptop stands out
| too much in the office picture compared to the desk.
|
| I am reminded by Mathilde uP's 'stone age computer' [1]
| which gave people a terminal in summer 1993 (at HeU 93
| hacker conference) at a time where terminal access was more
| sparse. It served a purpose and gave a real feel through
| interfacing, but not ergonomic.
|
| My smartphones have leather cases (not fake leather, real)
| and this gets interesting results with regards to
| scratches, grease and other wear and tear. My laptop case
| has the same (again: not fake leather, real). I could keep
| the laptop in the case if I use a hub to connect it. The
| heat goes up, and peripherals can connect. Put that in a
| vertical case and it fits in the shown office environment.
| Another option could be a wooden case for the laptop; these
| exist.
|
| [1] https://oertijd.home.xs4all.nl
| ricardobayes wrote:
| This is awesome, one of my friends actually wanted to make a
| laptop top and bottom case from concrete. Thin enough it could
| even work but would still be heavy. Definitely very stylish.
| Related: this design studio in Hungary creates a lot of concrete
| products, including designer bags.
| https://www.stylemagazin.hu/kiemelt-hir/A-het-designere-Ivan...
| brunoTbear wrote:
| Chalk it up to far too many hours in the Sci Li but I quite like
| this.
| bherms wrote:
| For a larger piece, I used a massage gun and walked around the
| mold hitting the sides with it. Worked out
| wolfi1 wrote:
| ok, it's stable (at least from the photos), but I would prefer a
| more lightweight approach
| thenthenthen wrote:
| Now I need to make a concrete laptop
| erickhill wrote:
| OK I thought this was a late April Fools until I kept scrolling.
| declan_roberts wrote:
| This is the kind of content that I come to HN for. Well done, OP.
| I love the product and inspiration.
| sam-bee wrote:
| Thank you!
| jherskovic wrote:
| So many naysayers. I love it! So what if it doesn't come from the
| Brut region of France and thus it's just sparkling cement, it
| looks great and is clearly a labor of love.
| sam-bee wrote:
| Thank you!
| OrvalWintermute wrote:
| More Industrial interior design than brutalist architecture
| valeriozen wrote:
| love the brutalist vibe of this. concrete is such an underrated
| material for desk setups. It looks way more premium than the
| plastic xD
| zelphirkalt wrote:
| And yet that laptop stand is not even the slightest bit slanted,
| one of the crucial details. I could simply take a book and put
| the laptop on top of that, to get the same ergonomic features. I
| am aware that ergonomic use is not the main point, but it would
| certainly not have hurt to consider that angle at least a little
| bit.
| eru wrote:
| That would have destroyed the brutalist cred.
| whstl wrote:
| Use a random cement brick instead of a book, then.
| eru wrote:
| No, gotta use concrete.
| throw-the-towel wrote:
| Haha, consider that _angle_. (I 'll show myself out.)
| bepitulaz wrote:
| Before I was scrolling down the web, I was thinking that this guy
| went to any construction site and just took any good looking
| rubbles.
| throwanem wrote:
| Well, from the look of it, to touch the thing wrong must be its
| own punishment, which is brutalism indeed. It insists on itself
| far too loudly, though, in what I would call a
| pseudapocalypticist or "Falloutpunk" manner. Too bad. There's
| nothing much wrong with it for its own sake, other than the
| ergonomy, but it sticks out from its environment like a sore
| thumb, adding nothing of value save the demand its presence be
| flattered and celebrated for its own sake - you know what? I take
| it back; you've not only recapitulated the brutalist concept, but
| apotheosized it. Congratulations on a successful work! It must
| have been a blast to build, which is where the real joy always is
| to be found of course, and I look forward to seeing which school
| of design you satirize next.
|
| (Did you really immure a power strip in cement? The MOVs in those
| are wearing items, you know, and can though rarely do fail short
| circuit...)
| xguz wrote:
| I imagine its good on heat disipation...
| qq66 wrote:
| I don't like it but I like that you did it.
| dominictorresmo wrote:
| looks like trash. congratulations man
| ibm-freak wrote:
| This is quite tasteless... a betrayal of brutalist honesty. And
| the dildo thing is plainly disgusting. Let's all be gentlemen and
| keep that sort of thing off the Net.
| stuff4ben wrote:
| First day on the Internet huh?
| ThrowawayR2 wrote:
| The tool used in construction for releasing trapped air bubbles
| out of poured concrete is called a concrete vibrator (SFW if
| anyone cares to Google for it). A vibrating ... ahem, personal
| toy is actually rather a clever substitute for a small scale
| project like this.
| jmrgz wrote:
| The contrast between raw industrial material and polished tech is
| what makes it work. There's something satisfying about building
| things purely for yourself with no product roadmap attached, the
| "dildo for air bubbles" detail alone proves this wasn't designed
| by committee
| bluescrn wrote:
| A really complicated way to scratch your shiny expensive Apple
| device
| elmean wrote:
| my annoying ass coworker has one of these, he keeps trying to
| migrate us to raw sql and C
| spiralcoaster wrote:
| I guess "I poured some concrete into a mold and put a power
| outlet in it" wouldn't be as eye catching of a title.
|
| This is one of those things where someone does something
| incredibly simple, but dresses it up in pretty language and even
| some totally irrelevant chemistry equations (because they r so
| smrt) to make it look like more than it is. Which LLM did you
| paste the equation from?
|
| And of course those who also have no idea how anything is made
| are unbelievably impressed. You can tell by the amount of
| exclamation points in all of the toxically positive reactions.
| Good work in that respect!
|
| But hey, I guess it's not another vibe coded project with an LLM
| writeup. Progress.
| marssaxman wrote:
| I have not done much with concrete, but I have made lots of
| things out of many other materials over the years, and in
| general I have found that making things - and making them come
| out the way you want them - is _never_ as simple as it looks.
| "Reality has a surprising amount of detail", it was once wisely
| written:
|
| http://johnsalvatier.org/blog/2017/reality-has-a-surprising-...
|
| This project is not to my personal taste but I respect the work
| which went in to it, and I'm glad its creator got what he
| wanted.
| JAG_Ecalona wrote:
| They'll never steal it gg
| bookofjoe wrote:
| I read every comment. What HN can be at its best.
| herecomesthepre wrote:
| Summarily ruined yet again by massive British sockets requiring
| removing 25% of the volume.
|
| Brits build their homes around the sockets, not the other way
| around.
| nunez wrote:
| This is beautiful. Definitely beats the minimalist "cardboard
| box" stand. Bravo. I wouldn't want to move it though.
| mhh__ wrote:
| I'm not an art theorist but I think the decay makes it something
| other than brutalist IMO
| NetOpWibby wrote:
| This is dope af. I love concrete (was just gifted a book about
| concrete buildings for my birthday last week). I see things like
| this and remind myself that I have free will.
|
| Thanks for the inspiration.
| mobiledev2014 wrote:
| I see things like this and remind myself that I have free will.
|
| What a compliment for an artist- I hope somebody says something
| like this to me some day
| tonymet wrote:
| I'm about 75% confident this content is AI generated. Just
| intuition , no tools used. And I'm assuming our audience is
| autistic enough to put in the effort to build this. Composition,
| shadows & lighting seems synthetic.
|
| Kudos to the creativity and no offense to the author. Partly
| running off a-priori risk model for internet content.
|
| Curious to see if my prediction holds up.
| hacker_88 wrote:
| Use a Keychron concrete keyboard with it .
| kriz9 wrote:
| This is pretty cool. How much does this weigh?
| liendolucas wrote:
| It's too much concrete for me, but hey, not every day you see an
| original and unique piece like this!
| holoflash wrote:
| Really solid laptop stand!
| nephihaha wrote:
| The most obvious issue here is that there needs to be a mat on
| the top to avoid scratching the bottom of the laptop.
| sharadov wrote:
| work of art!
| hypnot wrote:
| Looks amazing, I love it. Nice work!
| rambambram wrote:
| Nice!
|
| I've always wanted to build a computer like the iMac G4, with the
| half sphere, the arm and the monitor. In my street there was a
| pebble/rock (the size of a rugby ball, pretty smooth surface)
| laying around near a tree, and I thought of taking it with me as
| the base for this computer. It's beautiful stone. I should have
| grabbed it, because now it's gone.
|
| But it required a lot of grinding and sanding to make it ready. I
| think pouring concrete is a better option for my idea.
|
| Thanks for the inspiration!
| CapitalistCartr wrote:
| The professionals actually use a tool that looks about like a big
| (BIG) vibrator, along with various other vibrating tools.
| MegagramEnjoyer wrote:
| Me when the contractors forget a bag of cement after their job
| smsm42 wrote:
| I hate the brutalism and would never have anything like that in
| my home, but I certainly admire the work. Great job. It is true
| art, even if not for me.
| lukasholzer wrote:
| love it! WHERE CAN I PUT MY MONEY?
| Vektorceraptor wrote:
| crazy idea - but no thank you :)
| stavros wrote:
| I love it. I also really really like the brutalist/derelict
| aesthetic, and I think this nails it. Well done.
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