More Coverage on Aura at Nuit Blanche

BlogTO
Can you blame the visitors for their enthusiasm and excitement?

From the Best and Worst of Zone B Nuit Blanche:
"An interactive light tunnel? Sign me up! This was close to being a hit for me, but by the time I rolled through, the installation seemed to have taken a bit of a beating, which seemed to diminish the lighting effects."

Aura Begins to Shine

Between assembling the illuminated panels and talking to Vince, the Aura team took a few moments to discuss their project with the media, including the university's Eyeopener newspaper.  Aside from looking quite engaged with their own work, the team was well represented by Tony as he described the project's mandate to "put architectural science and Ryerson on the map as as cutting-edge campus that knows [its] stuff."  Good job so far!

Let's see if James' dialogue with the Ryersonian folks will elaborate upon this more!

Improving Assembly and Overhead Panel Construction

One of the many benefits to building a full scale mock-up is finding new ways to improve upon the installation for the final set-up on Sept 29th.  Previously, the Aura team completed one side of the ribbon, and while we were happy with how it came together, we felt it could use some improvement in the construction phase.  In construction the next phase of the ribbon, we used a hinge connection between the panels that greatly improved the time and ease of connecting nine panels at an angular layout.  It also resulted in a cleaner looking segment that achieved the result we intended when we first began designing and modelling the Aura installation.

A shot of our hinge connection.  This allowed us to easily secure the panels before mounting the conduit and also enabled us to determine the right angle that each panel would be placed at as each panel could be manipulated to achieve the right look.

The hinge connection also also cut down our construction time  as well as the number of people needed for setting up each panel, thus making the overall construction more efficient.  

The second section of our ribbon showing the angular layout of the panels.  

Our work over the weekend also involved completing the overhead phase of the ribbon, which proved to be quite challenging.  We wanted to ensure that the right transition would occur from the wall mounted panels to the overhead ones and allowed for us to determine the best way to assemble them on-site.  Each panel is first raised with rope and the lifted in place.  We then secure the panels with the braided steel cables and then the next panel is added sequentially.  Once the panels have been attached to each other and the frame we then began to adjust the angle and placement of each to ensure the correct form.  

As shown in our initial mock-up, each of the panels are suspended by braided steel cables fastened to an eye bolt. 

Undershot of the overhead panels with hinge connections. 

Fastening the hinge connections to the panels.

Lifting the third panel in place.

Determining how best to transition the overhead panels to the vertical (wall mounted) panels.

View of overhead panels from above.

View from end segment of ribbon.  This is just 1/2 of the overhead condition as a symmetrical segment would continue on the other side.  

Close up of the panels and their seams.

View from underneath panels looking towards the end of the segment

Panels lit up to make sure everything is properly connected and to demonstrate the overhead illumination.  

The Aura team documenting their work.

View of panels from below.

Fil (6'-3) demonstrating how high the panels are suspended (7'-0" at its highest)

Stay tuned this week for more updates as it is sure to be busy with Nuit Blanche fast approaching!

Initial Mock-Up Time Lapse

In order to ensure all the construction and connections will proceed smoothly during the assembly at the end of the week, the Aura Team has been steadily working away at a full scale mock-up of their Nuit Blanche Installation.  The team and its volunteers have been finalizing assemblies and logistics to ensure the project will be yet another great success for Ryerson University and the Department of Architectural Science. Though there is not too much visual activity in these clips, the team is sorting out the best way to efficiently deploy and assemble the structure on site.

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

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.

And Another Look from Spotlight Toronto

Here's another post about the Stop Night Market from Spotlight Toronto. Nice to see he's a fan of the work on the carts! (Images courtesy of Suresh Doss)

"Each of the food vendors at the market partnered up with a local designer to create unique cart installations that represented the chef or restaurant's brand or culinary focus. Unfortunately, due to the crowds, the cart designs were easy to miss, but it was easily the highlight for me. Typically at food events in Toronto, vendors are caged within the confines of grey tables and white tents (public health), but the night market brought a very Asian feel to the show with the unique cart installations."

Initial Stop Night Market Coverage

The response from the general public and media has been extremely positive and we are glad to see that the Ryerson University, Architectural Science Department's two booths were so well received.  Here are a sample of a few online reviews and postings about last evening's Night Market event (images courtesy of the respective media outlets).

The Grid

 “But the night just wasn’t about the food and booze, as each vendor was also outfitted with cool booths created by local design firms and students; Brockton General‘s cardboard pegasus (courtesy of Fugitive Glue) and Woodlot‘s LED/wood structure (built by a group of Ryerson students) were incredible.”

“Woodlot’s beef crudo served from a beautiful wooden booth built by architecture students from Ryerson.”

BlogTO

“…[R]ed[U]x Lab's sculptural wooden creations also showcased the creative innovation behind some very talented designers. It almost made you forget that you were walking into the everyday alleyway you always pass by.”

Postcity

“The impressive cart was the work of [R]ed[U]x Lab, a collective from Ryerson’s Architectural Science Program.”

FoodPr0n

(Congrats to our colleagues in RhombicD!)

"Neptuno – Oysters. What a great booth! They had a custom tray to display for their oysters too. Did not eat (long line) but appreciated the workmanship of the booth."

[R]ed[U]x Candids

The [R]ed[U]x Lab team had a great time last night; whether it was mingling with celebrity chefs, drinking and eating to their hearts' content, getting interviewed by the media, or deploying and transporting the cart, they thoroughly enjoyed the evening's energy and ambiance.

 

A Pan of the Preparation Day

This is a nice panorama of the Honest Ed's parking lot where the festivities of The Stop's Night Market took place.  It is quite incredible to see the difference between the space without the activity of the evening's crowd and the slowly populated parking lot in the day.

Congratulations to Everyone Involved in The Stop Night Market

Let us be perfectly clear - The Stop Night Market was a monumental success.

Everyone who participated and contributed to The Stop Night Market should be commended on a well-executed event! From the legions of volunteers running the operations to the chefs who had to cook in the sweltering heat, this charitable event would not have been possible without every person's input.

Every single person in attendance, whether a restaurateur, a designer, a foodie, or a member of the general public, must have been pleasantly overwhelmed by tonight's inaugural event.  Here are a few snapshots which do not do justice to the complete ambience, experience, and energy of this evening.