Todd McLellan pays an explosive homage to the world of tinkerers, mechanics, and industrial designers with his newest book Things Come Apart: A Teardown Manual for Modern Living. The work, an expansion of his Dissasembly Series, is a study of 50 classic design items including a Swiss Army Knife, an accordion, a fire extinguisher, even a grand piano.
Bicycle, 1980s; Raleigh; Component count: 893, image courtesy of Dwell
Bicycle, 1980s; Raleigh; Component count: 893, image courtesy of Dwell
Things Come Apart is broken down into three parts: one shows the product in it’s organized, disassembled component stage, the other is an explosion of those parts floating mid-air, and the last is a feature of four essays on technological innovation, online repairs, restoration, and product disassembly—one essay is by Gever Tulley of The Tinkering School.
Chainsaw, 1990s; Homelite; Component count: 286, image courtesy of Dwell
Chainsaw, 1990s; Homelite; Component count: 286, image courtesy of Dwell
The most impressive disassembly and subsequent explosion featured? A two-seater Zenith CH-650 light aircraft. It’s deconstruction and unbelievable last flight is captured in an airplane hangar and displayed over a three-page gatefold.
Find this and all the books in our series at Brazos Bookstore, located at 2421 Bissonnet Street in Rice Village.
Book Reviews for Houston Creatives is a shared collaboration between Jeremy Ellis, store manager of Brazos Bookstore; Josh Higgins, AIGA Houston’s Associate Director of Education Programming; and Chelsea Thomas, AIGA Houston’s Chief Blogger.
