For me, one of the most memorable parts of Terry Gilliam’s dystopian classic Brazil was the pipes. If you haven’t seen the film, go watch it; if you have, you’ll remember the way that pipes are everywhere in the built environment. I always thought that was vivid and strange; now, though, I realize that it was one of those pieces of dystopian culture that is an absurd magnification of real life.

There are exposed pipes everywhere. In this bathroom, you can see them serving the hot water heater (which looks like it was added as a total afterthought):

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In this pub, the exposed pipes run around the toilet (you can also see the old timber, not quite covered up by they tile).

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And this house has running water, but it runs out of pipes on the exterior of the house.

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