Latest masterplan and detailed drawings

Ok, this is my newest, cleaner version of the masterplan with more platforms, other elements and the wider context with the Imagination Machine and our camp depicted.  If this were placed just where we were placed last year at Apo, the big tree would be in the upper right, the main road where it says "NEW MASTERPLAN", the imagination Machine would be where it was, and our camp similar as well.... all along the bottom side of this drawing.

The Crows Nest:  I think we should try to do this. I think it would be awesome for a bunch of reasons, and not that much more work. It can be tied in pretty easily to the existing base structure without too much fancy bracing.  It can be accessed from the 10' high platform just left of center, and extend up to 16'. That way it is the tallest part of the structure, you can pass beneath it on the 8' platform, and it seems very tall when you look over the right side of it, 16 feet down to the ground. With a railing on three sides (top, right and bottom here) it is safe enough.  It would also be a great thing to attach aesthetic things like flags, draping down to the sides, and lighting.

This shows an approximation of what the middle of the structure would look like with extra timbers coming up to support a crow's nest platform. The details of how we tie in everything can be figured out more precisely though... especially how to tie in railings.  You get the idea though.

Sorry I can't rotate this.  Probably could with more time, but getting ready to fly out in the morning. 

This is the more detailed drawing of the "AB" arch.  

Things to note:  each arch is a pre-fab piece that is screwed and glued for stability.  

There are two ERRORS on this drawing.  

1) The slots for the AE beam and the BF beam should be designed for 2"x8" pieces, not 2x6. 

2) The long allthread and bolt depicted in the middle of the right side should not connect all the way through the "C" post.  It needs to only connect the bottom of the 45deg brace to the "B" post.  The B and C posts are bolted together, as accurately depicted above and below.  

So, this is the shortest arch.  Each arch has a taller one paired with it.  The CD arch pairs with this one.  Each short arch of the pair includes top beams that extend laterally beyond itself so it can attach to it's taller neighbor.  That is depicted here with the dashed-line "C" post shown. 

 Each platform, regardless of height consists of two major pieces, and one timber.  One major piece is a tri-fold hinged piece that folds out to be vertical support on three sides.  You connect the top of the small sides with a single timber to form the fourth side.  A 4'x6' sheet of plywood with some extra support from 2"x6" goes on top, and is attached probably just screws.  I want these to be simple to set up, very transportable and durable as fuck.  I'm thinking they would be useful at any party we throw etc...  They can also be connected into the main structure on the "weak" side with 2'x4' at the same height, or just below the height of the platform.  The platforms step up in increments of 16", partly for simplicity, and partly because that's about sitting height (ass to ground).  They can really be arranged in whatever ways we want, and we can make as few or as many as we want.  They are self contained little pods, and can be modified as desired to be little caves, cubbies, stackables, whatever.  And, each one folds flat into a package that is 6' long, 8" thick, and however wide the platform is high.
Everyone still with me?  And again, this is just what I"m designing over here in Asia.  Let me know what you think.

This one was previously published, but just wanted a slightly better picture, and with the little text box indicating that the measurements all over the page are the height of whatever element, whether a post, a cross beam, whatever.  The dashed lines in the middle indicate a set of platforms at 8ft, and a set at 10ft off the ground.  This is also to use as a reference for the other drawings (like the "AB" arch).



Hopefully this all gives everybody a pretty detailed working idea of what I would like to see us pull off.  It's a lot of sawing, screwing, and bolting, but not super crazy.  Things to be done next:

0) Critique, tweak, give your building, engineering, construction, expert, and hunchy opinions!
1) Estimate how much 2'x6' we need for all of the 6 arches (it's all 2x6 as designed.)  And what sizes.
    I haven't done detailed drawings of each arch, but each can be extrapolated from the one that I did detail (the shortest one).  Each one simply gets one foot progressively taller.
2) Estimate how much 2'x8' we need for all 8 of the super simple attaching crossbeams.  They can all be identical.
3)  Estimate the screws and bolts needed for this (Horsey... you probably have the best idea).
4) Start either ordering shit, or buying stuff to prototype an arch.  I'm a bit worried about weight.  These are designed to transport whole, and they get big!  We need to be able to move each one with 4 guys max.

The intro and intent from the art grant

Introduction:

Why would alchemists aim for boring gold when they can aim for many more valuable things, like friendship, play, fun, amazement, beauty health and relaxation? This project improves the Unicorn play structure from 2012 by making it more durable, reusable, safer, easier to construct and deconstruct, all while allowing for more variety in forms of play and relaxation. Multi-level platforms, swings, hammocks, aerial apparatuses, nets and ropes join with a rainbow of shade, flags and lights to form a magical playhouse for all ages and abilities.

Describe your project in detail: *

Be as descriptive as possible. For example: Why does it exist? What will it look like? Where will it be – in the open/trees, stand alone/part of something larger, moving around? Does it encourage interaction and participation? How, with whom, and when – children/adults, daytime/night? What does it inspire – reflection/discussion/action? What materials will be used? SELL US YOUR IDEA!

This is essentially a wooden structure created with relatively simple post and beam methods that creates spaces for a wide variety of activity. The idea for this came from the amazing Nexus structure at Burning Man 2010... but WAY scaled down. The structure exists to for people to rediscover playfulness and relaxation in a very physical ways. Playground equipment for kids is great, but when we get big we don't lose the benefits of similar pieces of play. This project will help people sit around, hang out, dance on platforms, climb on posts, swing on swings, learn new skills on aerial apparatuses, push physical ability boundaries, and appreciate life from a safe perch. It will also be the formal setting for specific aerial hoop and aerial silks teaching workshops offered by the F-ing Unicorns, and possibly the setting for a coordinated performance, including the aerial points, platforms and the aerial rig attached to our mutant vehicle.

The setting would ideally be near center camp, near, or in the Fucking Unicorn theme camp, and on flat ground. Essentially this means the ideal location would be exactly where it was last year, or near there. This allows the structure to be accessible to all 24hrs a day, throughout the festival. Pretty lights, and more lighting will be added this year to ensure safety at night and more beauty throughout the day and night. The structure will be timber construction, held together with bolts and large screws. Large bedsheets in a full rainbow of colors will come off the sides adding shade and creating intimate spaces. Flags in full rainbow colors will add festive flair and tie the structure together with the rest of the Unicorn camp thematically.

Next round of drawings... More detailed explanations

Hopefully these will help convey my ideas about this thing a little more.   I think I said this in a previous post, but I want this to be a collaborative project, so all of the stuff you see here is as I see it, but can change.  The drawings here detail only the main structure (equivalent to what we built last year).  The platforms that I would like to see around two sides aren't discussed here.  I see them as very important for the social goals of the playhouse, but they are a bit easier to build and deal with a bit later.

You can see that I started a lettering system so that talking about the actual structure of the playhouse is more feasible. The posts are lettered A through L, from shortest to tallest.  That way we can refer to the the posts by letter, and the cross pieces by the two letter combo that they connect.  Make sense?  Bueno.
 

Note the heights of everything marked on the plan view.  The plan view correlates with the other two drawings, so if you are familiar with plans, elevations, and cross sections, this should all make sense. They are not fully detailed though, so don't assume these drawings are exhaustive.

The way this thing is designed, there are 6 prefab arches:
AB, CD, EF, GH, IJ, KL.  The arches consist of sandwiched 2x6 posts.  The outer pieces of each post are continuous, and the inner piece is broken up, allowing for the other cross pieces to slot in.  The breaking up of the inner piece  of each post sandwich also keeps the overall weight down a little bit.  The drawing below shows the middle two arches, attached side by side (EF + FG). The rectangles in the posts show where the cross pieces would slot in. It doesn't show the exact makeup of the middle part of each post sandwich, because that's not all that important to the structure right now, and can be detailed later.
Not shown on the cross section below are 2x4 pieces that will connect the bottom of each arch for transport. For instance, Arch EF would have a piece connecting the ground end of posts E and F so that the huge legs wouldn't act like levers.  They can be removed on site once the arches are up, connected and braced.

Their are 8 cross pieces that consist only of a 10 foot long 2x8, and 2x6 bracing below.  Two of the cross pieces (DH and HL) are shown below.  They slot into the posts.  They can also be prefabbed.  They can also all be identical.  This will make construction off-site easier, transport simple (stack them) and set up easier too.  

That's all for now.  Just wanted to introduce the structural stuff with more detail, and accurate, diagrammed drawings.

Thoughts? Comments? Ideas, questions, hoorays, sparkles?

First round of plans for UP2.0

This is what I've come up with.  This is also intended to be a collaborative project, so please give feedback & new ideas!

More details and better drawings to come.

Primary differences in features (from version 1 from last year):
1) stepped platforms on two sides
2) hammocks coming off outer posts
3) slide and/ or fireman pole for coming off top platforms

Primary differences in structure:
1) prefabricated "bays" are 8 feet wide, and various heights.  Transported intact and attached in pairs.  Each "bay" is visible in the elevation below.  This will be similar to the tallest section that we built on the ground on playa, then stood up.
2) prefab bays are attached to one another by 10 foot long prefab cross beams.  In the plan view above the "bays" run across the screen top to bottom, while the cross beams are represented running across the screen.
3) structural support in the "z" plane (parallel to the ground plane) is from long diagonal pieces from post to post rather then the corner bracing from v.1.0 (Horsey added something similar to the on playa version.
4) the bays also include a 2x4 base designed to keep the legs (vertical posts) from moving/ stressing as huge lever arms during transport.  These can be removed once the sections are up and secured.
5) 2 foot wide sections for standing and sitting on the top are attached directly to the crossbeams rather than supported by an additional 2x6 crossbeam.

Unicorn Playhouse 2.0 is in the works!

This Blog is dedicated to the creation of Unicorn Playhouse v.2.0!
As a reminder of what the playhouse looked like early in the festival at Apogaea 2012: