Brutalist Shoe Cleaner – Upcycle Project Report

After researching and learning a long time and exploring different aesthetics, I was able to learn about and explore a vast variety of aesthetics and be able to label certain styles, ways of life, activities and subcategories within activities, and artifacts under an aesthetic.

It was in class and additionally from a classmate’s blog post in which I learned of Brutalist Architecture. It has been an aesthetic that was daily to me without much knowledge of it’s existence. From the Engineering Center which I am at daily to the half-century old buildings that surrounded me in my home town, I was always unknowingly exposed to brutalist architecture. It’s buildings are nearly dystopian-like. They tend to be grand, large buildings, and have hard angles and set shapes with a monochromatic theme. The colors are typically greys and blacks and bland colors. These buildings always had me both in awe and put me in an unsettling mood knowing mankind could wish for such a lack of expression and almost a sense of control while still expressing remarkable creativity.

Below is a picture from a previous post of a Brutalist building.

In the times where I sought for what to do for my upcycle project, I was lost. The open-ended project was very tough to get an initial inspiration and starting point as per what I would do.

Upon searching in ITLL scraps, I came across this piece of steel that caught my eye. It reminded me of my learnings of brutalism and it immediately set the tone for what my intended aesthetic would be in my upcycle project. From this initial y-shaped piece I was able to apply my creativity towards ideas as per what I could do with it. I am very thankful to add this as a limitation to my project as soon as I acquired it, as the initial constraint of what I could work off of was able to bring me more creativity and not over think the open-endedness. The angles and the monochromatic steel was perfect to allude to a brutalist aesthetic.

After inspecting this piece I wondered what to make of it. A stand perhaps? Maybe even a tire-block for a car. I placed it down and immediately thought of how ergonomic it was to put my foot on it while I was playing with it like a car’s accelerator. It came to me about converting it to a shoe cleaner. A portable shoe cleaner, similar to the fixed ones you may find at the base of a heavily trafficked hiking trailhead. Now I had to make the project.

My first issue was that the initial piece of steel was pretty skinny, not quite enough to fit the width of a shoe. Additionally, I felt as if the piece was too top heavy and could easily be toppled. I headed back to the ITLL in hopes of getting lucky, and ultimately I did.

I was able to find an identical piece along with 16-gauge wire and another piece of steel at the ITLL. My only complaint was the contrast in color on the new piece. I utilized the holes in the three pieces of metal to secure it all together with the 16-gauge wire. It was not quite as affective as welding, however I wanted to stay true to the upcycle nature where minimal tools and outside resources would be found. The additional piece that is attached to the bottom acted well for a counter weight and giving more stability in the event a foot is pushed against the steel structure. This trip fixed my first two concerns.

At this point, my only concern was acquiring steel bristles to act as the brush. I spent two weeks searching for where I could obtain this, and considered taking old grill brushes and such to cut off the bristles and super glue them apart.

I never came across a sufficient amount of tools and bristles without having to purchase additional. I wanted to stay true to the upcycle process and keep the project completely free and used materials.

Here I had to improvise, and I came across a large roll of weather stripping used in windows for insulation. This was a sufficient amount and already had 3M tape on it for easy application. I utilized this material and applied it to the structure to complete my upcycling project.

 

I am grateful to hold true to the upcycling process and my project was completed for free and with 100% recycled materials.

In terms of my functional goals, I believe I was able to meet the vast majority of what was initially intended. The simple design with holes could be easily customizable. A great use of these holes would be to insert spikes in them. The shoe cleaner could be inserted in the edge of a garden in soil or dirt and could be well secured with spikes. Additionally, a plate could be added to catch dust and dirt and other grime that may get on your shoes in an indoor application. The counterweight does a great job in keeping the shoe cleaner from toppling and I was able to configure the 16-gauge wire in a manner that would keep the pieces well restrained to one another.

My only functional complaint is how effective the weather stripping is in comparison to what a steel or metal bristle may have done. The roughness of the bristles could have been more effective in taking off dirt on your shoes, however usage would likely be limited to heavy duty shoes and boots as the bristles may have severely damaged softer shoes and typical sneakers. While the weather stripping is soft, it is thick and deep enough to do a decent job on cleaning off your shoes.

 

Aesthetically, I would compare my initial goals to final results very similarly as I did with my functional goals. I feel that the angular pieces of steel perfectly represent something of brutalist aesthetic. The weather stripping does a great job in holding the duller and monochromatic themes from the pieces of steel. I was even able to hide the wires with the weather stripping so they are not exposed and even if viewed from the underside, the black wires would blend well. My only grievance for deviating from the aesthetic is the piece of steel that is shiny in the counter weight. I feel it may contrast heavily with the rest but with the addition of the weather stripping it was not as eye catching and did not contrast as much.

 

Above is an example of a boot brush. These could be found at trailheads of hiking trails and served as a subtle inspiration for my project. It was found that with proper maintenance, people are very willing to utilize them.

I considered having flared angles on the sides for my design, However, with how ergonomic the angle is in my design, it is easy to orientate your foot to clean the intended spot on your shoe.

Overall I am happy with how my upcycle project ended up and intend to use it for personal use. It currently sits just outside my front door for now and I get a bit of gratification when I use it on my way back home to clean off my shoes. A refinement I may make to it is to have some way of locking it there. Being in Boulder, everyone knows keeping anything unattended may get it stolen. While I have pride in my project, I sure would be confused as to why someone would take it if it does get stolen in the near future.

 

Thank you for reading on my upcycle project and I look forward to exploring everyone else’s. Furthermore, what would you add to this project? What would best suit your needs? This feedback would also dictate how I may refine it in the future for a more specialized function.

 

 

 

 

 

 

sources:

Boot Brush Stations: Are They Effective?