Tripping on manhole covers

As a young architecture student at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY I always found myself looking up at the buildings. Invariably, while my eyes were assessing cornices, my feet would trip over whatever was at ground level. Most of the time I tripped over manhole covers, whose decorative graphics began to hold my eye. The pure geometry of the iron circle coupled with the often-concentric designs within is the result of a functional art. The graphics, by nature, provide grip and communicate. While at Pratt Institute I came across George Nelson’s seminal book How to See and saw that he had a section dedicated to the art form. An affinity for both his work and manhole covers took root.

During my architecture studies, I had the opportunity to study abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark. There the manhole cover is truly an illustrative art form. With an analog SLR, I photographed each unique one I came across. Traveling further into central Europe I realized that many countries cherish the functional art of the manhole cover. Comparatively, the United States has become very pragmatic in its approach to manhole cover design; see Los Angeles for example. American pragmatism is a virtue and simultaneously a lost opportunity. With manhole covers, urban branding is ever-present. Like Guimard’s Paris Metro entrances, London’s red telephone booths, NYC’s yellow cabs, and Rome’s water fountains, manhole covers are a subtle way to provide unique urban brand identity.

On manhole covers, Japan understands. Their manhole covers raise the art to the highest level with thousands of unique designs throughout the country. Many of which are colored with resins providing a visual punch to the streets.

Manhole cover design in Japan was elevated in the 1980's as a means to expose the hidden network of sanitary lines. Many rural Japanese villages did not have adequate sanitary lines, so a public employee, Yasutake Kameda, came up with the idea for local municipalities to provide decorative covers. This approach showcased the need to upgrade below-ground conditions and subsequently opened up wallets and enabled taxes to be hiked to pay for the endeavors.

With this personal collection of manhole cover imagery, I set out to celebrate these designs, some of which are historic, through a common houseware, the trivet. Most of my products through RethinkTANK are licensed or sold off by an anonymous designer. But here, I wanted to do the entire production arc from conceptualizing, to iterations, to material acquisition, to mass production, to packaging, promotion, and sales. I have learned quite a bit in the process. The Under Cover series developed from laser engraved wooden coasters to cork trivets and unique coaster sets and wooden magnet sets.

The packaging went through many iterations as i contemplated all the factors: what does it show? who does it communicate to? how does it protect the product? what happens after use? most packaging is tossed after opening, thus sustainability was crucial. in the end, the upcycled cardboard used in the manufacture was cut, scored and slotted to engage a reusable rubber band. easy to update stickers serve as the graphics.

Discussions with retailers allowed me to better understand the crowded market for a common product. The uniqueness of the designs along with their manufacturing process provides tactility, incredible detail and permanence all while being sustainably produced and packaged in Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia Phever set featuring four designs from the City of Brotherly Love was the first coaster set and is still the best seller. Since then, requests for other cities such as NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, London, and Copenhagen have evolved into their own sets. Amazingly, this process has led to a commission for a real manhole cover at the former Pencoyd Ironworks.

the series is updated weekly with new cities. display racks have been added to the collection. more retailers, including museum stores, have brought the series to consumers. the products have sold across the globe to hawaii, japan, ICELAND, Ethiopia, spain & canada. special orders have been fulfilled, which in turn led to the custom dozen set. lastly, we’ve done local pop-ups selling our goods at street and maker fairs. the reviews have been glowing and now people are more likely to look down to see what is often overlooked, but always underfoot.

-jason lempieri

FOUNDER/TOMBINOPHILE