Each time I go to north america, I am struck by how infrastructures are more apparent than in continental europe (= home). Pipes, tubes, sprinklers look simply more present to me, perhaps because they're made more visible through colorful signage. See for example this gas tubes in Montreal:

Or these nice tubes on a wall:

This lovely yellow tube to refuel indoor heating systems is also stunning:

A favorite in MTL is the "siamoises", these dual sprinklers which often comes with this intriguing signs (way up because it needs to be visible when there is snow):

Another favorite is certainly this kind of huge tape in san diego:

Why do I blog this? simply this helps to frame and understand the large technical systems of our urban environments. What I find interesting here in this made-visible process is the fact that it reflects how buildings are "process" with flows coming in and flows coming out.