High Desert Test Sites: HDTS 2011

Yucca Crater by Ball Nogues

Here There, There Here by ROLU & WELCOME projects

Space Post by Von Tundra

Trail Registry offering

Trail Registry by Scout Regalia

HDTS 2011 was pretty amazing. We saw such incredible work from so many talented designers, artists, musicians, and all around awesome people. Thanks to everyone who treked out to the Pioneertown site to take a peek at our Trail Registry!  More pics are on our flickr page and facebook page.

Scout Regalia at HDTS: Trail Registry

Rendering of Trail Registry

Trail Registry at HDTS, Pioneertown

Introducing Trail Registry, our project for HDTS 2011 at High Desert Test Sites. We hope you can join us on October 15-16 in Joshua Tree, CA as we debut this long-term installation in Pioneertown!

Trail Registry is inspired by the registries found at trailheads. We created this registry to help delineate the entrance to the HDTS Pioneertown site. The registry encourages people to leave and/or take a memento tied to the enameled aluminum rods, similar to the way people leave rocks in a pile at the top of a mountain or leave artifacts near trailheads. We hope that this creates a sense of exploration and personal narrative of both the site and the area as a whole. Trail Registry is inspired by totem poles and nudie suits, with representations of the variety of flora and fauna of the high desert. The registry is made of Doug Fir that has been CNC milled to create the form, and includes an aluminum strip between the "front" and "back" of the two vertical totems, creating a juxtaposition between new and old materials.

Scout Regalia at HDTS: Laser Cut Messages

Our Trail Registry for HDTS 2011 will also include laser cut messages on tyvek that will hang on the enameled aluminium rods. We want to encourage people to take or leave messages on the rods as a way to create a sense of exploration and personal narrative of both the site and the area as a whole. The messages range from descriptions of the local flora and fauna, street names, and messages such as "Take One" and "Leave One".

Special thanks to 2ndwnd Studio for the use of their awesome laser cutting facilities. 2ndwnd is part of the Knowhow Shop collective in Highland Park, where we did the milling of our totem poles.

Scout Regalia at HDTS: Pregame Milling

We've been busy at headquarters getting ready for the HDTS 2011 event at High Desert Test Sites, which is happening on the weekend of October 15-16. We're really excited to be part of the event featuring art, design, and installations from so many talented designers and artists. Special thanks to curator Brooks Hudson Thomas who invited us to be part of the weekend event.

We'll share more of what we're up to as the project comes together. Part of our project involves milling forms from laminated Doug Fir. We've been working with the all-around awesome guys at Knowhow Shop for our millwork. They have a great cooperative shop space in Highland Park that has been indispensable in our fabrication and prototyping process.

More to come about HDTS!