![We [have seen] phone booths being converted into lending libraries and now … aquariums. The Japanese art collective Kingyobu (Goldfish club) have been turning phone booths into goldfish aquariums throughout Osaka as part of the city’s Canvas Project art festival. Kinda crazy. Kinda fun.
Perhaps surprisingly, Unconsumption covered an earlier phone booth-as-aquarium project here. But still.
Broad selection of phone booth reuse projects here.
More on this one (which is still pretty awesome), here: Phone Booth Aquariums: Kingyobu «](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_manwq5EZU11qzv12bo1_400.jpg)
We [have seen] phone booths being converted into lending libraries and now … aquariums. The Japanese art collective Kingyobu (Goldfish club) have been turning phone booths into goldfish aquariums throughout Osaka as part of the city’s Canvas Project art festival. Kinda crazy. Kinda fun.
Perhaps surprisingly, Unconsumption covered an earlier phone booth-as-aquarium project here. But still.
Broad selection of phone booth reuse projects here.
More on this one (which is still pretty awesome), here: Phone Booth Aquariums: Kingyobu «
New York starts turning payphones into free Wi-fi hotspots
The hotspots are initially coming to ten payphones in three of the boroughs and will be open to the public to access for free. You can see a list of sites here. Users just agree to the terms, visit the city’s tourism website and then they’re up and running. Currently, there are no ads on the service, but there could be in the future.
The effort is part of the city’s larger goal of providing more digital inclusion for residents. And it’s also aimed at helping figure out the future of the city’s payphones, which are a source of complaints from many residents because they attract crime or are just plain ugly.
The payphones have been outfitted with “military grade” antennas, that provide service up to 300 feet away. The $2,000 installation is being provided for free by Van Wagner Communications, which owns many of the city’s payphones. The plan is to eventually spread the Wi-Fi hotspots to more of the city’s 13,000 payphones with the maintenance and ongoing costs paid by the payphone companies.
We’ve come across obsolete phone booths turned into community book-swapping spots, bars, art venues, EV charging stations, and now, in New York City, free Wi-fi hotspots — excellent!
A couple of years ago, there was talk in China of converting many of that country’s unused phone booths into Wi-fi spots. Mentioned here.
We’ve spotted various new uses for phone booths and boxes, and even though this red telephone box is a replica of the classic British K6 kiosk, it could serve as inspiration for what could be done with an actual — decommissioned — phone box.
The “box lounger,” made by artist Benjamin Shine, is one of several artist-enhanced reproduction phone boxes on display in London.
Later this summer, the phone box art pieces will be auctioned off to raise funds for ChildLine, a children’s charity celebrating its 25th anniversary.
Click here to see other boxes in the BT ArtBox collection.
Phone booths re-purposed as micro-libraries in New York City. (via Designboom)
I love urban interventions, especially when books are involved. (Check out this newspaper stand converted into a community lending library, if you haven’t already seen it.)
Anyway, this NYC phone-booth-turned-book-swap is a great addition to the group of repurposed phone booths featured previously on Unconsumption (here), which includes other micro-libraries in various cities.
Are there other repurposed phone booths that we — your friendly Unconsumption hosts — haven’t yet come across?
(via wnyc)
In England: Another obsolete phone booth’s repurposed as a community lending library.
(via TreeHugger; hat tip to Do The Green Thing)
Check out other phone booths converted to new uses here.
The closing of a pub in the English village of Shepreth inspired residents to “turn a redundant phone box into an alehouse” for a weekend.
(via BBC News; hat tip Do The Green Thing)
This converted phone booth is a great one to add to the Unconsumption gallery showcasing new uses for them.
Well, thanks to friend of Unconsumption Kirsten Hively, I’ve learned we haven’t yet featured this charming phone booth-turned-lending library in Somerset, England. More information about the library, where area residents can swap books, DVDs, and CDs, can be found in this 2009 BBC News story.
Scroll down on this page to see other repurposed phone booths we’ve shared on Unconsumption. Are there others?
This phone booth-turned-art gallery in Yellow Springs, Ohio, was part of a 2009-2010 public project — known as the Telephone Booth Project — led by artist Migiwa Orimo, who invited various artists to “create site-specific works at the phone booth.”
(photo: Telephone Booth Art by Joe Gauder)
See also: http://unconsumption.tumblr.com/tagged/phone+booth. If you’ve seen or read about other repurposed phone booths, tell us via Disqus. Thanks!
Via emergentfutures:
China to Convert Phone Booths to Wifi HotspotsWith mobile phones nearing 100% market penetration, the Chinese government appears determined to transform the country’s widespread telephone booths into wifi hotspots.
via @Competia
Full Story: ReadWriteWeb
Now what to do with all those phone booths now that everyone has a mobile phone? Madrid has decided to turn several of them into charging stations for electric vehicles. The stand-alone booths already have power supplies, so the transition is relatively easy.
(thanks, Fast Co)
