The Great Pneumatic Tube Revival

Fake map · 2019 · Pneumatic tube connected library systems

TLDR

This map visualizes the extensive pneumatic tube system sending beer and library books whizzing at 1,000 feet per second from station to station.

Juicy details

Pneumatic tube systems, which propel cylindrical vessels at speeds of greater than 1,000 feet per second, are the forgotten marvel of the last century. During the heyday of pneumatic travel, it is estimated that over 50 million people per day traveled from place to place via this pollution-free technology. The pneumatic infrastructure was mostly abandoned and left to deteriorate below ground for over 50 years, until an alliance of forward-thinking libraries and breweries teamed up to restore over 8,000 miles of the original tube system. Instead of transporting humans, however, the network was downsized to support the speedy conveyance of library books and good beer from place to place.

Format

Format: Silk Screen
Size: 18" by 24"

Prints available

Silk Screen · 18" by 24"

More images

The route had to expand to reach far away locations based upon where Bean Brew No.9 was actually consumed.

The extensive Bay Area pneumatic tube network

The Levar Burton Continental Route was my favorite

Each Bean Brew participant had a station on the pneumatic tube network

The Bean Brew story

Bean Brew came about as a home brewing project transformed into a mapping project. It worked like this:

I would brew a batch of beer (generally a Saison) into about 16 large format bottles.
Every batch had a theme, which was almost always ridiculous, but just plausible enough to maybe be true? Accompanying this theme was a survey, which at first actually asked people about their Bean Brew beer drinking experience. However, these questions quickly went rogue.
The 16 bottles of beer were given away at first. In later years they were actually sold in highly exclusive batches. The beer was drunk. Usually without too much hounding, every person who obtained a bottle returned their survey results to Bean Brew HQ.
I analyzed these results with the help of my slide rule, then designed a map visualizing the Bean Brew experience.
The Bean Brew designs were then dispatched to Texas, where my friend Rand used his mad crazy printmaking skills to transform them into four-color silkscreens. Rand was always very busy (or falling off of ladders) and the silkscreening process generally took many months to complete.
On a happy day many months after the original beers were consumed, every person who participated in the experience received a beautiful map.

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