Show HN: Brutalist Concrete Laptop Stand (2024)

(sam-burns.com)

78 points | by sam-bee 2 hours ago

11 comments

  • gcr 48 minutes ago
    If you like brutalism, you might also enjoy the Quake Brutalist Map Jam 3, which released last month: https://www.slipseer.com/index.php?resources/quake-brutalist...

    My favorite map is ‘One Need Not Be a House’ by Robert Yang, which was inspired by Louis Kahn's "brick brutalism" masterpieces in Bangladesh and India, as well as contemporary level design like The Silent Cartographer. The artist writes about their process on their blog post, https://www.blog.radiator.debacle.us/2026/01/one-need-not-be...

    The map jam is standalone and uses custom assets so you don’t need a copy of Quake to enjoy it. Check the website for the ‘standalone’ variant.

    Sorry for derailing! Cool laptop stand!

  • cm2187 22 minutes ago
    You just need to cover it with graffitis to fully depict the experience of the poor souls living in brutalist buildings.
    • xgulfie 1 minute ago
      The author mentions urban decay and dilapidation multiple times and very clearly worked that into the design here
  • crimsontech 1 hour ago
    This is pretty cool looking, I like it, it must be really heavy though.

    > For a medium-sized piece like this, a vibrating dildo is actually the best thing to use. Just think of it like any other power tool.For a medium-sized piece like this, a vibrating dildo is actually the best thing to use. Just think of it like any other power tool.

    I used work on foundations for warehouses, huge concrete blocks as anchor points and this is exactly how we got the bubbles out, we had a huge metal vibrator they call them high-frequency concrete pokers.

  • jb1991 1 hour ago
    There are some subtly weak desks out there, quite a few actually, where placing this on top could be brutal.
    • ramon156 1 hour ago
      Next up: Brutalist desk
      • pjc50 6 minutes ago
        I've seen quite a few blog posts of "old door on breeze blocks", the canonical brutalist/abandoned warehouse desk.
      • HPsquared 32 minutes ago
        There are some subtly weak floors out there, where placing such a desk could be fatal.
      • mft_ 1 hour ago
        Next up: structural engineering assessment of my office floor
  • bpavuk 1 hour ago
    if we give it a little more polish, colder/greyer tones and "newness," it would fit very nicely for a Control fan :)

    EDIT: https://store.steampowered.com/app/870780/Control_Ultimate_E...

    • jesse_faden 21 minutes ago
      as a control fan, i agree. the art direction in that game is something else.
  • CSP_LIBRARY 4 minutes ago
    post-apocalyptic vibes
  • mghackerlady 7 minutes ago
    I've always loved this style of architecture. People think commie blocks are ugly but I've always appreciated their simple utilitarianism
  • tokai 1 hour ago
    Isn't the ornamental 'urban decay' detail kinda the opposite of the utilitarian and functional style of brutalism?
    • seeeeebt 27 minutes ago
      Yes, Sam is probably just having a bit of fun here, but I think it's worth presenting brutalism correctly as it's often so misunderstood.

      Concrete is simply the mass production medium of the time, many of the patterns and moulds used in Barbican for example feature pretty timber imprints, scalloping patterns, painstakingly pick-hammered textured panels, or pleasing swooping shapes.

      Further there is always space for glass, brass, Terrazzo and lighting.

      Sam's design does feel cold, unnatural and broken, definitely not what brutalist living is about.

      https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2016/feb/22...

      https://www.structuralrenovations.co.uk/portfolio/barbican-e...

      https://www.barbicanliving.co.uk/barbican-story/construction...

      • pjc50 4 minutes ago
        > cold, unnatural and broken, definitely not what brutalist living is about.

        This can often be the actual experience of it, though. Part of why it's so divisive. Personally I'm on the "looks great, wouldn't want to actually live there" side.

        The Barbican is an example of how good it can be when properly maintained by a community. There are plenty of less prestigious examples where the community cheered their demolition.

    • BariumBlue 4 minutes ago
      Yes I had the same thought.

      Imo brutalism is monolithic and unyielding. This is opposite, with the sturdy concrete yielding into plant overgrowth and exposed rebar.

  • xpe 1 hour ago
    Also known as an inertial mass dampener for your sit-stand desk.

    I appreciate++ the design except for the too-perfect rebar and the exposed wire directly _in_ the concrete. Pros would use a conduit methinks.

    • sam-bee 18 minutes ago
      The conduit is a good idea. I'm working on a Raspberry Pi stand in leather and walnut right now. Think I'm going to incorporate that somehow