Philippe Glade is the author of old-fashioned paper book “Black Rock City, NV – the Ephemeral Architecture of Burning Man“.
On his site, thisisblackrockcity.blogspot.com , he hands out “Golden Rebar” awards to the best structures at Burning Man. 2013 features some real doozies, incuding an igloo literally made of bread.
We’ve picked our favorite three. See the complete list of 2013 winners here at Philippe’s site.
Golden Rebar Grand Prize: Metal Pods Village by Scott Parenteau
When last year Scott “Tin Man” Parenteau came for the first time to Burning Man, he became an instant celebrity on the playa with his walking pod that since brought him several awards at Maker Faire, and with his two patented metal pods used for shelter was a big draw for his neighbors.
For his second time at Black Rock City, Scott upped the ante and decided to build a village for his friends. He was able to finish his own shelter by adding the third pod, the bedroom on top of a fully operational stainless steel custom made shower and a complete kitchen.
A bedroom with a view and bamboo flooring.
Golden Rebar for Only In Black Rock City and We Want to Keep it this Way: The Dome of Dough
This Shelter was entirely made of 850 Loaves of Bread with an insulation value of R-5 and lasted the week.
Do we witness the start of a new building trend at Black Rock?
On the blackboard were some possible names: Rye Not? Flour Power, Dill Dough, Make loaves not War…
Golden Rebar for BRC Landmark: The Chiton by D’Milo Hallerberg.
Shelter and community space made of steel tubing and nylon cloth, the Chiton blurs the lines between
architectural concept and art installation, a feat few architects in the default world are capable of. It measures 21 feet high, 22 feet wide and 45 feet long.
It’s great to see the experimental architecture of Burning Man being celebrated and highlighted like this, and we appreciate Phillipe’s efforts. He must be favored by the BMOrg, since he is allowed to use their trademarked term “Black Rock City” to promote his book.