A Form Emerges...

After careful consideration of the materials and resources available, the [R]ed[U]x Lab team has begun consolidating its design ideas under a unified concept.  Though the waffling of the structure may seem elementary, the infrastructure provides an interesting solution to how the serving units will be displayed and dispensed.  Staying true to the fundamental idea of dissemination of light and food, these renders illustrate the impact the cart design would have during the event once the sun goes down.

And then there were more iterations...

The wonderful thing about having such a diverse composition of teammates in [R]ed[U]x Lab is that everyone from first years to faculty get a chance to have an equal say in how the design of any given project emerges.  Here are some additional iterations of the project as the evolution continues.  These quick renders illustrate a sampling of not only the formal investigations but also the material palette and lighting ideas the team had.

The Cart Design as it Developed...

As with several of the previous projects in the [R]ed[U]x Lab's portfolio, the team developed several early iterations based upon the concept outlined at the outset but experimented with forms and methods of deploying the individual serving units. The options varied while staying true to the fundamental idea however these concepts had to be refined over the course of the design period to work with the parameters of the event, those of the matched restaurants. and the team's collective aesthetic choices.

The Beginnings of Panel Assembly

A lot of the day was spent getting the 30 panels started.  Each panel is constructed of a series of MDF, acrylic and plywood planes held together through the use of perimeter skirts and spacers for support. Syringes are mounted in a backer panel comprised of a plywood sheet routed to accommodate the syringes which are held in place by an MDF plane allowing plungers to move in and out of the barrels. The plungers are attached to a dowel which is in turn fastened to a circular MDF cap which acts as a pushing surface. The frontal plane of the panel is comprised of an acrylic sheet fastened to the back of a final MDF plane which lies behind the outer membrane. So far the Aura team built and assembled the perimeter skirt for each panel, as well as attached the spacers and the frontal plane of the panel.      

Gluing the Perimeter Skirts Together.  

Frontal Plane of Panel

16 More to Go!

Key to Efficient Production - The Assembly Line

Acrylic Layer of Frontal Plane

Adding the spacers

Horizontal Frames of Structure

Attaching Spacers to Vertical Frames

Horizontal and Vertical Frames For the Supporting Structure

Always Clean Up!

Coming Soon!

Aura Installation Coming Together

It's nice to see everything coming together after cutting so many individual pieces.  The structure is being framed and now that the individual components are finished, the panels are ready to be assembled.   The Aura team has been working hard over the past week to ensure that everything is ready and continually progressing.  A big thank you to all the volunteers that continue to help us in their spare time!

Acrylic Sheet Ready for CNC Router

CNC Router in Action

Dremeling MDF

Removal of Tape Used to Hold Acyrlic In Place When Being Routed

Our Electrician Preparing For a Day of Wiring

Assembly of Structure

Just Fits Through the Door!

Painting of Spacers to Reflect Light

30 Panels=Lots of Spacers

Ballasts

Ballast Wiring

Digital Startpoint

Here are a couple of screenshots of Rhino model that we did in order to get a sense of how the installation would look and take shape in its location at Ryerson University.  It allowed for us to determine how many panels we would need and the angle that we would connect each panel.  

View From Entrance

View From Exit

Plan View

Side Elevation