Following up on the Media Fallout from The Stop's Night Market 2014

Once again the Night Market has drawn to an end and designers and restauranteurs alike can take a bit of a breather before returning to the intensity of their daily routines. At the end of the final day, designers and chefs had a great opportunity to show of their skills, the general public had a great chance to take in all the great work, and most importantly, The Stop raised a great deal of money and attention towards their great cause.

From Toronto Life and BlogTO to Now Magazine and View the Vibe, the mainstream media converged on the event and had great things to say.  Congratulations to the Design Build Grow team with [R]ed[U]x Lab alumni, Margot and Sarah, on their "Best in Show" win from Designlines!

And of course, the public measure of success was the great in social media.

And still more PR

Ryerson Today did a quick spot on the Night Market carts from last week's event showcasing both the work from the [R]ed[U]x Lab in Architectural Science and the groups from the School of Interior Design.


At the same time, another article from (appropriately named) TorontoIsAwesome.com gave credit to the upcycled serving modules the team developed as it declared:

"BEST SERVING DISH – The boys from Cote De Boeuf really know their meat. So clearly this Mini Corned Beef Sandwich stacked high (and I mean HIGGGGH) really got everyone in the crowd motor running.  Best of all: it was served on a LED wooden light plank!  Neat."

Team photos from the second night

As with the first night, there were ample photos of the team posted up so in the interest of fairness, here are a few shots of the [R]ed[U]x Lab team on the second night of the Night Market.

Second Night Photos from the Second Annual Night Market

Here are some photos (courtesy of Mike) from the second night and it appears that the [R]ed[U]x Lab team had a great presence on par with the first.  Paired with Cote de Boeuf, the team's serving modules really complemented the restaurant's corned beef on a baguette offerings.

The second night seemed to be just as packed and filled with great tastes and excitement as the first night.  Unlike the first night however, the team was flanked on both sides by two other student designed carts - fortunately the [R[ed[U]x Lab design had illumination to spare and lit up the neighbours.

It was also great to also have past designers visit and support the current team.

 

The base comes together

Like an oversized puzzle, the CNC-routed plywood pieces come together during the evening prior to the big event.  The pieces were all cut on the CNC table, cleaned up with a hand router to ensure there was no burring and instead carry a rounded edge, and subsequently pinned and glued in place in order to offer the greatest amount of rigidity.  It is quite fulfilling to see the design emerge as a real, full scale piece relative to the scale model right beside the finished product.

Crunch time is nearly upon us...

This weekend was a point where the students in the [R]ed[U]x Lab team proved their mettle.  That the team came together and managed to assemble hundreds of serving modules and bring the cart structure together in a matter of days is an incredible feat and they should be applauded for their dedication to get the project done.  If this is what a team of first and second year students (with a sprinkling of third years) could do, the future of the [R]ed[U]x Lab would appear to be on a very positive trajectory.

The Canopy Takes Shape

With the event date getting closer, the team has begun bringing their ideas to built reality.  Like an over-sized jigsaw puzzle but with more painful repercussions (or concussions), the team put together the canopy of the cart together to get a sense of the scale, lighting, and assembly.  Let's just hope that the lower porttion of the cart comes together with the same efficiency...

Toiling at the production line

The evenings of assembly begin...
Here are a few of the team beginning the final push towards production of the serving modules and supporting structure from the up-cycled materials.

Making the trip to do "stakeholder research"

With the success of last year's Night Market cart project, more students from across the architectural science program have joined the [R]ed[U]x Lab's various initiatives.  Aside from the great experiential learning opportunities and portfolio skill building, the participants occasionally enjoy additional benefits  such as meeting clients and different stakeholders in the design process.

This year the team has been paired up with Cote de Boef and Woodlot as the Night Market will happen on TWO nights as opposed to the single evening last year.  With Woodlot, the [R]ed[U]x Lab team takes a great deal of pride in working with David Haman and his team for the second time in as many years at this great charitable event.  As with last year, some of the [R]ed[U]x Lab team went over to visit David at Woodlot and literally got a taste of things to come.  A quick streetcar and bike ride down from Ryerson University, the visit to Woodlot offered great insights and coordination with David in developing a stronger, more cohesive design.  A great time was had by all and the team hopes that this year's cart will complement the offerings the culinary stars have to offer!