Kickoff 2026 I Prototyping

Design is an iterative process, and every prototype brings the team closer to the final installation. This week the team continues testing, refining designs and collaborating to bring the installation one step closer to reality.

(Photos Taken By Andy Nguyen and Allie Male)

As the project has entered the construction phase, the team reaches an exciting milestone by completing the 1:6 physical scale prototype and begins preparing for the next phase of development. The team's focus had now shifted toward fabrication, testing and refining the technical details of the node connections.

Completed 1:6 Scale Model of the Kickoff Instillation

In collaboration with the shop supervisors, the team troubleshoots, refining fabrication methods, testing connection details and preparing components using the CNC machine. At the same time, Project Leads Saad Malik and Jose-Miguel Calle manage material orders and project timelines, gaining valuable project management experience required for a large-scale installation.

Students use CNC machine to begin prototyping node connections

 

Collaboration remains the heart of this project. Students have begun working alongside members of TMU's Engineering Department to develop and integrate the LED lighting system into the structure, ensuring the structure maintains the original design concept.

With each prototype and design review, students gain hands-on experience in fabrication, interdisciplinary collaboration, and iterative problem-solving. Each iteration provides new insight, allowing students to evaluate, improve and finalize the node and edge details before beginning fabrication of the full scale structure.

Students Gain Hands on Experience with New Tools Under the Guidance of Shop Supervisors

With the node and edge details finalized and fabrication underway, the team is ready to begin constructing the full-scale structure. Every prototype, meeting, and design revision has laid the foundation for the exciting work that is still to come.

Kickoff 2026 I Design Development

Every successful installation begins with a single idea. For this project, that journey started with project leads Saad Malik and Jose-Miguel Calle, who began developing the initial sketches and concepts that would lay the foundation for the installation.

During the early planning stages, Saad and Jose explored different approaches for the node connections that would become the framework of this structure. They also investigated ways to integrate LED lighting into the design, ensuring that the installation would be both visually interesting and interactive. Through sketching, brainstorming, and testing ideas, the project began to take shape.

Initial Sketches From Saad's Sketchbook 

The first design for the installation aimed to mimic a kaleidoscope incorporating an open design that allows visitors to enter. The structure would use coloured translucent acrylic to reflect light.

Initial Design Concept with an Entrance 

Initial Design Concept with Kaleidoscope

The final design mimics the original geometry of the classical soccer ball using the truncated icosahedron. It will feature Alucobond reflective panels that act as a kaleidoscope that reflects like a gem within the structure.

Final Render of the Kickoff Instillation

Animation Showing Colour Changing Concept

As the school year came to an end in April, a team of students from first and second year came in to help turn this idea into reality.  Students worked together to develop the first physical model of the installation, working closely with the shop supervisors and each other to learn new skills. Using the shop's machinery and fabrication tools, students laser-cut and hand assembled the first physical model of the installation. These hands-on experiences allowed students to see how their designs would function in a three-dimensional space.

(Photos Taken By Andy Nguyen and Jorge Cruz Toro)

Students working together to construct the first model

The design continued to evolve as students refined details, tested new ideas, and improved upon earlier iterations. Through ongoing feedback and experimentation, the installation became more detailed and comprehensive with each revision.

Collaboration played a key role throughout the process. First- and second-year students worked side by side, sharing knowledge and learning new skills from one another. Together, they explored fabrication techniques, problem-solved design challenges, and gained valuable experience in both digital and physical creation.

With the groundwork established, the project entered its construction phase. Students began developing a more advanced physical model while simultaneously creating a detailed Rhino model to support the design process. These digital and physical prototypes will help guide the next stages of development as the installation continues to grow from concept to reality.

As the project moves forward, students remain committed to innovation, collaboration, and creative problem-solving. What began as a series of sketches has already transformed into a promising installation, and the team is excited to continue bringing their vision to life.

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.

Now let the prototyping begin!

Once the form and imagery was consolidated, the [R]ed[Ux] Lab team began prototyping at full scale to sort out the structural integrity of the waffle assembly and its relationship with the clip conditions.  As one can gather from the images, each cell on the waffle would serve to hold serving units that would be taken by visitors to the cart along with their food samples.  This iteration demonstrates the intention but clearly the material efficacy of the infrastructure would be poor.

ING Cart

Coming off the success from last summer's The Stop Night Market Cart, [R]ed[U]x Lab met with various groups to develop interesting projects and exhibition pieces.  One project that emerged was the design of a cart for ING Bank's outreach program on Yonge Street.  The Woodlot cart developed for the Night Market was also displayed during the Celebrate Yonge  event in front of the ING bank during the end of the past summer. With that presence, the organization tasked members of [R]ed[U]x Lab to develop a cart catering to the attention-getting demands of the client while balancing basic functional features such as transportability, deployment, and wear-and-tear.

Here are some images of the design as it developed and the mock up model currently in discussion: