The lowly metal lid

05.2014Design, Ideas, Places

By Ray McCaughey, RA

Designers of all stripes take mental pictures all the time. They build mental catalogs of elements of the world that many take for granted, or never notice at all. Designers like details that inspire them, or things that they note are beautiful, because adding those touches to an environment pays the design-karma forward.

Today’s example from the urban landscape is the lowly metal cap known around the world as “the manhole.”

Manholes. Pretty exciting stuff, heh?

Try browsing here.

Back so soon? OK, as you can see, sometimes grungy, sometimes beautiful, and in many cases, they may stop you in your tracks and get you pointing a camera at them.

Travel some streets in your own neighborhood or city. Have you ever wondered at the metal lids keeping the secrets of the underworld safe from prying eyes?

Look at the tree grates. Examine the hydrants. Your own neighborhood may be full of hundreds of hours worth of craft and workmanship spent on the “necessary infrastructure” that makes a street so complex and exciting.

But be careful, once you start building your mental catalog of fun details, it is hard to stop.

Take a peek at more lids of inspiration.