Low-Tech Design Challenge

As the students developed the design further, the idea of using household objects to maintain a low-cost, low-tech project that was still intriguing and engaging came into play. The room would be filled with 8 modules that attached to each other to shrink the size of the room. One module is consistent of recycled wood for the structure and frame, a household floor fan sealed by a plastic bag, LED’s, fabric and black bristol board paper for the textile skin.

Using Arduino technology, a monitor is being mounted above each module which sensors as a person walks by, this will cause the LED’s to turn on behind the black skin and the fan to expand the bag onto the fabric, resulting in the skin imposing on the individual. FRAKTUR focuses on a modular assembly to achieve the breathing walls without over complicating its design.

The Gladstone Hotel, being a heritage building offered a list of restrictions on the team; small door and corridors, few outlets, unlevel floors. The students visited the space several times while developing to ensure the design was possible to achieve.

CUTMR 2019: FRAKTUR meets Gladstone

As the school year is coming to an end, the deadline’s continue… Submissions for the Gladstone Hotel’s annual Come Up To My Room exhibition are making way. #CUTMR2019 is all about exploring interactive design that stimulates creativity and imagination. This year the [R]ed[U]x team made a proposal to represent Ryerson for one of the small rooms of the hotel.

Exploring the means of expansion and contraction through kinetic design, FRAKTUR intends on making the static room feel alive. It breathes life into an otherwise dark and confined space. Akin to the mechanics of organic beings, FRAKTUR will create the sensation of breathing that is naturally associated with life and its reaction to humans. It may evoke fear, claustrophobia, curiosity, or maybe even comfort as visitors enter the room. As soon it senses the presence of a wanderer, it reacts defensively. The walls begin to breathe and expand, occupying a greater amount of space. Glowing cracks are revealed in its once uniform jet-black skin as it attempts to interact eerily with the foreign entity. One may feel as if they had entered into the belly of a beast as the pulsating walls close in...

Winning entry for Winterstations 2018 announced!

After a department-wide competition, the jury of DAS professors and staff have selected the winning design to represent Ryerson at the 2018 Winterstations installation... Nest! The students' proposal is inspired by this year's theme RIOT, drawing inspiration from structures built in impromptu protests. The exterior of the station is reminiscent of being bombarded by information, reflecting the current chaotic lifestyle.

DME Lab Locker Room Production

A great deal of production can be accommodated in the architecture studio when students are not working on deadlines. Fortunately the [R]ed[U]x Lab team working on the DME Lab project were able to utilize the studio space to assemble and prepare their components. Keeping track of components, laying out joinery, and applying finishes require a great deal of work space. Sometimes it seems as though the team was having too much fun...

Digital Media Experience Lab Locker Room

One of the projects the [R]ed[U]x Lab team had the privilege to participate in was the renovation of a space at the back of the Digital Media Experience Lab. Converting it from a small office to a locker room for the facility staff as well as students from the Masters of Digital Media program. Storing everything from coats and backpacks to microprocessors and printing filament, the facility had to securely store materials, make accessible resources for the lab, and inspire a sense of creative innovation. The [R]ed[U]x Lab team led by Liam, Arnel, and Erik pulled off a fairly ambitious proposal.

This past year has been quite intense despite the dearth of updates and posts. With the end of the academic year, the [R]ed[U]x Lab has been literally building up a few projects that continue to attest to the Department of Architectural Science's commitment to provide students experiential learning opportunities and make connections to the greater community. This summer will be quite busy with two notable projects right off the start: the Bata Shoe Museum window celebrating Canada's 150th anniversary and the City of Toronto's Parklet project.

It's that time of year - let the fabrication and building begin!

Aqueous: Night Market 2016 Cart

The [R]ed[U]x Lab Night Market Cart 2016 was a big hit this year and showcased a great deal of inventiveness by the students on the team in their reuse of materials from the studio renovation currently underway in the Architecture building. It was quite a rewarding event for yet another generation of students from the department in the execution of the design.




Video courtesy of Farah