A Berlin street art collective is hitting the streets of Europe again, touring major cities to turn infrastructural patterns into (quite literal) streetwear across the continent. Each of their unique creations is tied to public art and design patterns often overlooked as we walk by (or on top of) them.

Raubdruckerin (AKA Pirate Printer) press apparel to painted street objects featuring a level of relief, soaking up the top layer to create impressions of manhole covers, vents, grates, bike lane symbols and just about anything else with some depth to it.

In German, there is some nuance to their name as well: ‘Rauber’ means both pirate and robber, while “drucken” is both press and print. Effectively, they press and steal patterns (though since their source material is quite literally in the public domain, no one so far seems to mind).

Like graffiti artists or mobile street painters with portable canvasses, their work tends to draw a crowd and has a performative aspect to it by its nature. In turn, they aim to raise awareness of overlooked and everyday design objects.

So far they have made their way through Amsterdam, Athens, Paris and Lisbon. In each location, they press cotton bags and apparel to street surfaces coated in eco-friendly ink, then wash up behind themselves to leave no trace.

The individual structures are impressive as is the fact that they have moving parts, but their rate of construction is particularly compelling: the man behind this project is creating an additional mini-building each and every day.

Charles Young has an advanced degree from the Edinburgh College of Art where he learned to make models – this project was a challenge to himself to not only remain continuously productive but to continue to improve his craft day by day.

With fresh posts every day, Paperholm represents a growing micro-troplis populated with buildings, buses, cars, planes and trains, the motion of which is animated via gif-formatted images.

But the movement goes well beyond vehicles and into the realm of rotating radar dishes, spinning flywheels, sliding cranes, opening and closing garage doors and other elements that give this growing urban experiment a sense of life.

Before the abandoned railroad tracks of Paris officially disappear – which is bound to happen, as cities realize the potential for reclamation as High Line-style parks – some intrepid locals are taking the opportunity to explore. “Train Project” by French design studio HeHe is a series of fun, quirky handmade vehicles that traverse the city on a line that most local residents never get to experience firsthand.

The autonomous vehicles include ‘Metronome’ and ‘M-Blem,’ two transparent, cylindrical solar-powered electric vehicles, and the sailboat-inspired ‘Radeau de Sauvetage.’ HeHe also developed additional vehicles made for train tracks in other cities, like an individual transport system to transfer objects from one place to another in Slovakia, and a one-person platform making use of the urban tracks in Istanbul.

HeHe calls The Train Project “an ongoing body of speculative investigation into the language and aesthetics of transport culture,” proposing personal rail travel as “a temporary, imaginative solution to question our industrialized conscience in relation to locomotion.”

The collective invited members of the public to travel on the vehicles, “journeying through space and time to experience the past and future of local transportation networks.” The idea is to take a picturesque trip through areas of the city that can’t be seen from the roads, reclaiming spaces that have been left to deteriorate until they’re inevitably integrated back into the functional urban landscape.

A similar project (above) explored sections of the 5,500-plus miles of abandoned railroad tracks in Mexico with the retro-futuristic SEFT-1, modeled after a midcentury vision of a spaceship.

Over 5500 miles of abandoned railways stretching from one end of Mexico to the other enticed two brothers to build an incredible retro-futuristic exploratory car. The SEFT-1 is modeled after a midcentury vision of a spaceship with an all-metal exterior and faceted windshield, and it’s equipped with modern sensors and navigation tools as well as wheels that can ride on rails.

The railroads of Mexico were abandoned in 1995 due to flagging profits, and have been left to decay ever since. Ivan Puig and Andrés Padilla Domene, both artists, wanted a novel way to experience these nearly-forgotten transportation corridors.

The SEFT-1 can drive on roads like an ordinary car, or use its extra set of front wheels to guide it along the rails. SEFT-1 stands for Sonda de Exploracion Ferroviaria Tripulada, which translates as Manned Railway Exploration Probe.

From 2010 to 2012, the brothers took the SEFT-1 on a journey that took them all the way to Ecuador, gathering data, videos, photos, objects and stories that tell the tale of what has happened to all those miles of tracks after their official use came to an end. Those findings are currently on display at London’s Furtherfield Gallery.

Have you ever thought about what your mailbox says about you? A standard box can say that you like to play by the rules, or that you just don’t pay much attention to things like that and Locking Mailboxes could suggest you are a person of security. But an offbeat custom mailbox can reflect your personality and let people – or at least your mail carrier – know a little about you. These mailbox designs are weird, unique, and a little bit crazy.

These mailboxes were all photographed by the community at Waymarking. Members search out the most interesting mailboxes and, as long as they’re homemade or heavily modified (not hardware-shop standard), post them to share with everyone. They’ve captured some of the most amusing and amazing mail boxes from all around the world.

Some mailboxes clearly show that the owners are interested in a particular hobby or pastime. Whether it’s snorkeling, fishing, photography or tinkering with cars, you can bet that some creative mail receiver has made a clever mailbox to display their passion in a particular activity.

People love their vehicles – whether they drive a Harley, a hot rod, or a John Deere tractor. These clever mailboxes display a decidedly motor-driven slant to the homeowners’ tastes.

For many of us, animals are an important part of life. They provide companionship and stress relief, and often they entertain us like nothing else can. These mailbox modders have taken their love of animals to a weird new place by creating mailboxes that look like their favorite animals.

While some are hilarious, others are simply works of art. Animal-themed mailboxes – and any custom mailboxes – can run the range from extremely simple to very complicated. The best ones seem to be those that the owner has put many hours of thought and work into.

Businesses wouldn’t let homeowners have all the fun, though – these mailboxes are all in front of businesses, and they all reflect the type of business that’s carried on inside. Clockwise from top left, the owners of these fine mailboxes are: a chiropractor’s office, a plumber, a BBQ restaurant, and a waste management company.

Businesses who pay attention to little things about their customers’ experience would do well to include little touches like these. The whimsical mailbox in front of the company’s building may just help that business to stick out in customers’ minds. The businesses associated with these mailboxes, clockwise from top left: a dog groomer, an auto repair shop, a dentist, and a beverage outlet.

If you find yourself with a nearly-useless piece of junk in your house, think twice about throwing it away. These enterprising homeowners used the most unlikely of materials to create their own distinctive, personalized mailboxes.

It’s amazing what can be used to receive mail. These homeowners used everything from old lawnmowers to a drill press to an old gas pump and even more unusual recycled materials. This type of upcycling lets homeowners reduce waste while creating an unforgettable feature for their home.

Some people choose to show off their artistic skills by making an artsy mailbox. There’s virtually no limit to what one can do with a mailbox, a pole, and some imagination. A Ned Kelly effigy would seem like an unlikely mailbox, as would a scary tiki, but their unexpectedness is what makes them so delightful.

(all images via: Waymarking)

Of course, weird mailboxes don’t always have to have a reason. They can be as silly and as offbeat as you want them to be. Unless, of course, you’re dealing with a homeowners’ association – then you’ll have to convince them that having a spaceship mailbox is somehow in the best interest of the entire neighborhood.