Show HN: Brutalist Concrete Laptop Stand (2024)

I am a great lover of brutalist architecture. 1960’s concrete buildings may not be for everyone, but I love the aesthetic. I’ve made a laptop stand, to help me hack in true brutalist style. It has the characteristic beton brut (raw concrete) surface texture, and is quite possibly the heaviest laptop stand in the world. It also boasts 2 x 2.1 amp USB charge ports, a three-pin plug socket for my laptop, and an integral plant pot.

Key Features

• Brutalist style overhang
• Urban decay aesthetic with a damaged corner and rusted rebar
• 3-pin plug socket
• 2 x USB charge ports
• Exposed rebar rusted
• Exposed copper wire corrosion
• Integral plant pot with string of pearls plant
• Artificially rusted penpot

The Components

Concrete

There were two main pours of concrete, to do the base and the side walls. It intentionally wasn’t mixed very thoroughly, to produce areas on the surface where there was more sand or more cement. Sanding the sides has also exposed the gravel in the concrete. This help to make it look aged and weathered. For a medium-sized piece like this, a vibrating tool is the best thing to use to remove air bubbles.

Plant Pot

The plant pot is made of a ghee tin. Four bolts were drilled through it and covered in concrete during the first pour to fix it in place. I’ve chosen a string of pearls plant, because I liked the effect of a running plant hanging over the edge, reminding me of derelict buildings.

Exposed Wire

The exposed wire adds a sense of dilapidation. This isn’t actually the live power cable, but it has been made to look like one. The wire had to be wrapped in kitchen paper and sprayed with ammonia and water to produce the appropriate corrosion effect. The exposed rebar was rusted with water, salt, and hydrogen peroxide.

Penpot

The penpot was similarly rusted with salt water and peroxide. It has also had some moss added to it using acrylic paint mixed with sand to produce a realistic texture.

Summary

I’m delighted with my laptop stand, even if the aesthetic isn’t to everyone’s taste. The themes of brutalist architecture, urban decay, and dilapidation have worked out really nicely. It has pride of place on a desk it had to be carried to on a trolley because of the sheer weight, but nothing worthwhile comes easy.