Fabrication and Assembly

We here at the [R]ed[U]x Lab are trying to ensure that we are ready for full production mode with the new school year and Nuit Blanche fast approaching.  Due to the size and scale of the Aura installation it is important that we have a good sense of the fabrication and assembly process.  With so many components (both large and small), the Aura team decided it was important to assemble some panels together to have a realistic idea of what to expect once we begin to assemble the final installation.  Doing so allowed us to see what steps would take the most time, where problems lie, and more importantly, how and where we could improve the installation.  

Getting Ready to Assembly Syringes

Many Many Syringes

Assembling Prototype Panel

Front Panel

Adding of Caps and Syringes to Panel

Applying Membrane to Panel

Close up of MDF Cap

Component Experimentation

The team has spent the past few weeks trying to develop the prototype and experiment with new panel ideas, lighting, and overall form and expression of the installation.   As with the previous prototype, the team is looking to expand on displaying the mechanics of the installation to those engaging it.  Below are a few examples of the tubing and their subsequent lighting effects.  We wanted to look at the installation from a user's perspective to make the installation as engaging as possible and dealing with how they would interact with the components both visually and through touch.  Simultaneously, we are looking at developing the correct form for the installation using digital and physical methods.  

Testing Out Various Colours Within Tubing

Membrane Condition

Various MDF Cap Conditions

Playing With the Idea of Light Penetrating Through MDF Cap

Back of Panel

A Glimpse of Aura in Action

Here is a brief glimpse at how the Aura wall components would operate.  The synergy of the lighting, mechanics, and membrane make the project an engaging, interactive surface for visitors to the installation.  As this is simply a prototype, the team has begun investigating interesting geometries and configurations that will only make the project more playful.

Onward to Nuit Blanche 2012: Aura

Not content with simply enjoying the summer, the [R]ed[U]x Lab team has moved on to its next project, an installation for this Fall's Nuit Blanche 2012 in Toronto.  Once again students from Ryerson University's Department of Architectural Science will be putting up an installation for in the downtown core at the city's largest annual night-time arts festival.  The initial concept was prototyped in the fall of 2011 and accepted by the festival organization team. Unlike other design programs, the Department of Architectural Science ensures that its students are both innovative designers as well as able to bring these ideas to built reality.

Here is a sneak peak at some of the early prototype work, entitled Aura, that was proposed by the team:

Art and architecture are often regarded as two separate realms of creativity. However, one could argue that these two terms are synonymous because both creative methods are about manifesting an expression upon a wide variety of mediums through a wide variety of techniques. Both art and architecture can be practical or impractical, tangible or intangible - normal or abnormal. What resonates through both creative methods is ones ability to relate, interpret or reflect upon the ‘thing’ at which they are experiencing. Some of the most successful art or architectural works offer the possibility of their audiences to impact the formal nature of the piece. This is the essence of the Aura Installation proposal for Toronto’s Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2012.

The installation aims to challenge any trace of a threshold between art and architecture by deriving key characteristics from both realms. The use of light, craft and experiential quality in addition to becoming a sense of environment or enclosure are key conceptual considerations. The Aura takes advantage of digital design and fabrication methods in order to optimize efficiency, constructability, cost and performance in order to yield a truly effective result. Through a component-based approach, the installation can be considered a hierarchal series of elements from the large scale panel unit to the hundreds of small scale cap and plunger components.


Intent: 1
The Aura concept revolves around the idea of a user being able to manipulate their environmental conditions. By allowing the experiencer to not only observe, but also change and interact with their surroundings, they would therefore be enabled to imbed their personal identity through any given contextual medium. Another dimension of this concept is an element of surprise, which will facilitate interaction between users. The installation aims to formulate a dynamic response in an attempt to stimulate users.


Intent: 2
In further exploring the concept of dynamism, the team looked to manipulating both natural and artificial lighting conditions of the installation. This was first conceptualized through manipulating light through the use of the moving components of the design. Daylight and artificial lighting qualities would therefore be directly impacted by the users of the space, thus furthering the original idea of formal manipulation by the occupants of the installation. The configuration and orientation of the installation would also be derived from the daylight qualities of the space, therefore allowing altering exterior lighting conditions to become an additional dimension contributing to the experiential nature of the installation.

Interviews from The Stop Night Market 2012

Filmed and produced by Cassandra Juradinho and Jeyan Jeganathan from Ryerson University, this video gets a few sound bites from the designers and organizers while also providing a glimpse at the actual activity and energy of The Stop's Night Market.