Thursday, June 06, 2013

Truth in advertising

3D warning
London, ON
May 2009
This sewer cover warms my heart for a number of reasons:

  • It's almost fully covered, lacking the linear grooves that have toppled so many cyclists over the years.
  • It's a great example of effective industrial design.
  • It's politely helpful - well, if you read English, that is - in that passive, friendly-Canadian kind of way.

I know it isn't concrete but it's suspended between the concrete curb and the crumbling asphalt road, so I figured it counted (head here if none of this is making any sense. Or even if it does.)

The urban landscape is filled with micro-examples like this, snippets of often overlooked design that quietly govern our day-to-day lives whether or not we choose to take note. Whenever I find myself in another city, I like to peek a little more closely at things like this, because there's just enough variation from one place to another to keep this little game of mine interesting.

Besides, what else are you going to do while waiting for the light to change?

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I've always like the personalized person hole covers Carmi.. ie.. City of London, Washington D.C. etc.. always thought that if I had the time (and the energy.. the damn things way a hundred pounds) I would like to swap them around in different cities.. have Seattle in Toronto, Windsor in Detroit (might be tough to get across the border)you get the idea..