Building the Maxon House: Week 13

Inside the workshop at Turner Exhibits, sharing some kinetic architecture "wonder" with my son Jack. The shop offers wall-to-wall inspiration for curious minds.

+ View Full Sized Image

A view through the clamp rack. The shop is pristine in its organization and cleanliness. Light pours in from overhead clerestory windows.

+ View Full Sized Image

A close-up of an ancient and artful detail of a Turner Exhibit-owned bandsaw.

+ View Full Sized Image

Two fabricated cast hand wheels rest on a desk.

+ View Full Sized Image

Jack Maxon inspects some chained mechanism components in the shop.

+ View Full Sized Image

Sprockets and chains rest atop a full-size shop drawing. The engineering and design of many of the kinetic creations are human-powered, rejecting current or trendy electronic solutions for more traditional and, in some cases, ancient technologies. There is beauty in simplicity.

+ View Full Sized Image

VP Greg Cain explains a pivot door system to Jack Maxon.

+ View Full Sized Image

The business side of the bandsaw. A no-fly zone for anything you don’t want to leave the shop without.

+ View Full Sized Image

Andrew Karewicz of Turner sets up a large steel tube for wet-sawing.

+ View Full Sized Image

The shop visitor board. Sometimes doubles as a pizza lunch announcement or a mechanical detail sketch board.

+ View Full Sized Image

Turner’s Mike O'Keefe preps a steel plate for the mill.

+ View Full Sized Image

Turner’s Todd Tucker grinding steel behind a welding flash shield.

+ View Full Sized Image

Small discussion models demonstrate a system's operation in the early design stages.

+ View Full Sized Image

Turner Exhibits founder Phil Turner.

Don't miss a word of Dwell! Download our FREE app from iTunes, friend us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter!

+ View Full Sized Image