ALTSpace is a Community Art Workshop in Seattle. Creative people of all kinds share this spacious workshop, teaching, experimenting, making and learning. Members can spend time bouncing ideas off one another, hold or attend classes, work away from home and have the space to get even large projects done.
| Location | 2318 E. Cherry Street, Seattle, WA |
| Members | 37 |
| Website | airlighttimespace.org |
Co-founder Mike tells us about his space:
Tell us about your meeting space!
We have a total of about 2800 sq ft. We have two garage spaces for industrial machines, loud and dirty operations. (about 700 sq ft total) The rest of the space is for personal workspaces and public areas for working, meeting, hanging out. We have 2 showers, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, a laundry room and an outdoor patio.
What tools do you have in your space? (Soldering stations? Oscilloscopes? 3-D printers?)
Full list of ALTspace’s tools & equipment.
Are there any tools your group really wants or needs?
A laser cutter would be our next purchase.
Does your group work with embedded tech (Arduino, Raspberry Pi, embedded security, MCU-based designs, etc.)?
Yes, we do quite a bit of electronics. One of our more well known projects, the Groovik’s Cube (A 30ft playable Rubik’s Cube) is an arduino driven project.
Can you tell us about some of your group’s recent tech projects?
Groovik’s Cube:
We first built the cube as an art project for Burning Man 2009 and we’ve since been working hard to try and bring this project to the general public. We’ve been collaborating with the Science Center since summer ’10 and we’ve been doing a number of refurbishments including a brand new light-weight aluminum structure to create a neater look suitable for an indoor museum environment.
Groovik’s cube is a fully playable, LED driven Rubik’s cube, hung from the ceiling, corner down. (the motion is of course simulated, not mechanical, i.e. the colors move around, not the structure itself). It can be played and solved by the visitors. A particularly interesting feature is that we have split the controls into 3 stations placed around the cube, each allowing only one axis of rotation. This means 3 people have to collaborate together to solve it. The stations are ~30-50 ft apart from each other. This makes the puzzle considerably harder with a current record solution time of 50 minutes (achieved on Friday night @ Burning Man 09). It also turns a very introverted game into a collaborative challenge which is fun to watch. Imagine people shouting instructions to each other and running around checking on the state of the cube from different angles.
Temple of Shame:
by Alissa Mortenson, Nebunele Theatre, The Temple of Shame was a 6ft wide, 18ft tall wooden Temple dedicated to the collection of shame from the participants of Black Rock City. The temple was ceremonially burned on the last night of the festival to symbolically release all the shame collected.
From shameproject.org: “The experience of shame is part of our shared humanity, yet paradoxically, the times when we are ashamed are the times when we feel most alone. But within shame lies a capacity for human connection. The Shame Bearers seek to explore this emotion as a powerful medium for reaching a state of shared vulnerability. In order to make connection –the core human desire– we must believe that we are enough, that we are worthy of love and acceptance. In our vulnerability and our recognition of our mutual imperfections, we can find worthiness and connection. That is the power of this project.”
What’s the craziest project your group or group members have completed?
Groovik’s cube for sure.
Do you have any events or initiatives you’d like to tell us about? Where can we learn more about it?
Indeed: http://lsc.org/grooviks. We’re trying to raise funding for a new Groovik’s cube that will travel the World for 7 years together with Liberty Science Center and Erno Rubik!
What would you like to say to fellow hackers out there?
Hack more! Not satified with availability of hackerspaces near you ? Start one! It’s easier than you think and people come out of the woodwork to come and help and donate time and tools.
Metal:
- 2HP Metal Mill & Lathe
- Lincoln 220 MIG Welder (up to 1/4″ steel)
- TIG 200Amp DC/AC (i.e. Steel, Aluminum & other non-ferrous)
- Plasma Torch (Up to 1″ steel or aluminum)
- Stick Welder
- Metal Grinding wheels, belt sanders
- 4×6 Metal Bandsaw
- Deburring wheel and 2 buffers
- Wire bender
- Abrasive metal chop saw
Machine Shop (Wood):
- 3/4HP Table saw
- Router table & Hand Router
- Various Sanders (Orbital & Belt)
- Miter Chop saw
Other Machine Shop amenities:
- 90 PSI Compressor
- 3/4HP 1/2″ Shank Drill press
- Hand drills, Sander
- 110V/230V Power (50A)
Glass:
- Glass fusing/slumping/casting kiln, up to 1600 deg F
Jewelery setup:
- Small Propane/Oxygen torch for soldering/annealing
- Flexshaft Rotary grinder
- Rolling Mill
- Disc Die Cutter & Hemisphere punch
Electronics benches:
- Maker bot
- Soldering station with fume extractor and static pad
- Multimeter
- 100 Mhz Oscilloscope (Techronix)
- Basic tools (snippers, strippers, screwdrivers, etc)
- Variable voltage / current power supply
- Stock of common components
- Anti-static worktop
Sewing Area:
- Pfaff industrial sewing machine
- Janome domestic sewing machine
- Hoseki HK757G is a 5-thread industrial serger
- White domestic 4-thread serger
- irons, cork-topped layout table, digitizing table, pattern plotter
- Janome Computerized domestic sewing machine
- Rowenta domestic iron
- Sleeve board
- Tailor’s ham
- Pattern Drafting Rulers and curves
- Costuming books
Read more about ALTspace’s Groovik’s Cube project on indiegogo or on Mike’s website, or about The Shame Project on shameproject.org!
You can read about more of ALTspace’s projects on their art page.
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