Parking Lot Low-Tech Exercises

Parking Lot Low-Tech Structure Building

As shown in the pocket guide on page 55 and 56, we encourage you to experiment with building low-tech structures in a parking lot, park, or your driveway to get over 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.

Topic Covered in Virtual Workshop

In the 2020 Virtual Workshop, we present this topic in Module 1 F (What you Came for - Your First BDA).

BDA Parking Lot Example

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

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:

Click on image 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! Two bank-attached PALS (one bank blaster (Figure 4.23 in Chapter 4) and one constriction jet (Figure 4.24 in Chapter 4)) and one mid-channel PALS (Figure 4.25 in Chapter 4) were built . BDAs we built using a sidewalk as “the channel” and showing with ribbon the predicted zone of influence of the structures:

Click on image for album

The details from which PALS were built

Bank-Attached Bank Blaster

Figure 4.23 in Chapter 4

Bank-Attached Constriction Jet

Figure 4.24 in Chapter 4

Mid-Channel

Figure 4.25 in Chapter 4

Fun examples form past workshops

Click on image for album from past workshops.

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