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Parking Lot Low-Tech Structure Building

Workshop Parking Lot

As shown in the pocket guide on pages 55 and 56, we encourage you to experiment with building low-tech structures in a parking lot, park, or your driveway to get over any apprehension about building these for real. These simple exercises can:

  • be great team-building
  • simulate many of the safety and logistical concerns encountered
  • get you familiar with the basics

Plus, the ingredients can be sourced from what you can find laying around or a quick trip to the local building supply store.

Topic Covered in Virtual Workshop

In the 2020 Virtual Workshop, we presented this topic in Module 1F: What You Came For - Your First BDA.


BDA Parking Lot Example

Pocket Guide BDA

The above figure shows the ingredients, tools, and instructions for a parking-lot version of the common post-line with willow wicker weave BDA (Figure 4.38 in Chapter 4).

Postline BDA

Below is an example from two BDAs we built using a sidewalk as “the channel” and showing with ribbon the predicted zone of influence of the structures:

Parking Lot BDAs
Click for album 📷


PALS Parking Lot Example

The same can be done for PALS. Below is an example where Steve Bennett and Joe Wheaton built the first-ever parking lot PALS — including:

  • Two bank-attached PALS (one bank blaster, one constriction jet)
  • One mid-channel PALS

using a sidewalk as “the channel” with ribbon showing the zone of influence:

Parking Lot PALS
Click for album 📷

Details of Which PALS Were Built

Bank-Attached Bank Blaster

PALS Bank
See Figure 4.23 in Chapter 4

Bank-Attached Constriction Jet

PALS Constriction
See Figure 4.24 in Chapter 4

Mid-Channel PALS

PALS Mid
See Figure 4.25 in Chapter 4


Fun Examples from Past Workshops

Workshop Construction Parking Lot
Click for album 📷 from past workshops.

In the album 📷 you will find multiple time-lapses and photos like this one:

Twitter Example

Awesome group of students building parking lot #BDAs in #lowtechPBR workshop today @CNRUSU.
See on Twitter