World’s biggest periscope made from a shipping container
These days, a 12-meter-tall periscope in Brazil is attracting a lot of crowd fascinated by the views across Lagoa, Santa, a lagoon. The Architect, Pedro Barata e Arquiteos Associados, claims it to be world’s biggest periscope.
The periscope is cleverly designed and assembled using shipping container. The shape of a container provided them with a ready-made frame.
“That’s kind of the beauty of it: the container as a ready-made periscope. Just like making one out of a milk carton package when we were kids,”
said Barata.
Further, corrugated steel exterior of shipping container forms the shell of the giant instrument. Inside, an MDF framework holds two large mirrors, set at 4-degree angle at the top and bottom.
The interior and supporting internal wooden frameworks are painted black. Through a rectangular aperture at the bottom, visitors can gaze at a reflected view over the nearby lagoon.
The architect designed and assembled the structure in a month. To avoid any possibility of error; studio worked on several rough simulations on site.
“There’s always someone peeking through the vertical tunnel, trying to understand the ‘technology’ allowing them to do so. By connecting directly two different and faraway spaces, the Superiscope introduces people to architecture as hypertext,”
The periscope will remain in Brazil until November 2015. Currently, Barata is looking for new potential home for it.