On December 20th, we posted the CNC mill update for the Oyster Road Case. Since then, we have completed the project and delivered it to the Neptuno Oysters! This piece provided us with a fantastic learning experience while we worked to resolve the many issues that arise when combining such old material with newer methods of fabrication and form making. We extend our most sincere thanks to our collaborators Studio Kimiis for working with us on this vision. And of course to Neptuno, for their support and patronage.

For more information, or to place a custom order, please email us at info@stacklab.ca

On November 30th, we posted our schematic proposal for the Oyster Road Case. Since then, we have developed a working parametric form with our collaborators Studio Kimiis.  Following the completion of a foam prototype we CNC – milled the design onto a piece of 2500-4000 year-old redwood burl (see video below).  This is the first time that we have applied digital tooling methods to antique material and we are very happy with how the two complement each other. Over the next few weeks we will treat and finish the wood; install the stainless steel hardware and then deliver the case to the Neptuno Oysters.  Stay tuned for images of the finished product.

We are currently developing an experimental retail concept with our collaborators Kimiis that places a unique emphasis on the reproduction of a material effect over the reproduction of an artifact (i.e. chair, table etc..).  Kimiis explains that:

“manufacturing material effects is a research based exploration into material characteristics (density, machinability, light transmission, etc.) which are enhanced through fabrication processes, via the development and refinement of technique. Here, subtractive fabrication strategies are conceptually inverted to become additive strategies. Sophisticated CNC tooling protocols layered together uncover an elegant simplicity of form.”

Over the next few months, we will be experimenting with different material effects and how they can be applied to the built environment. For information about our collaborative work with Kimiis, please email us at: info@stacklab.ca

We recently won a commission to design and build a portable oyster display for Neptuno Oysters - a new private event catering company in Toronto.  Our proposal pairs the latest in digital design and fabrication technology with material that dates back a few millennia.

We are working in collaboration with Kimiis to create a computerized ‘script’ that will inform the overall shape of the piece. Programming is useful because it allows us to account for a variety of performances that we wish to achieve. For example, we want to create a surface that is based on natural glaciation patterns,  but that also accounts for the exact number of units that the client intends to display. It will also allow us to determine the slope required for melted ice to drain without pooling on the surface.

Once the design phase is complete we will use a 3-axis CNC machine to mill a working prototype and then the final product for use. Over the next few weeks we will post updates with developments.

*The schematic diagrams below are representational

Contact us at info@stacklab.ca with questions or comments.

Kimiis has just joined us in our studio, and we’re looking forward to collaborating with them on a few new concepts in the coming months.

Their most recent project, Embedded History, is currently being installed at Prince Arthur’s Landing in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The artwork is a vertically mounted, CNC-derived concrete surface that is representative of the Métis nation, and incorporates three themes – history and culture, materiality, and discovery.  The process began with digital imagery of calm and turbulent waters overlaid onto each other. Then the pattern was superimposed onto pine and cedar wood panels, which were milled and used to cast a series of rubber moulds. The moulds were then used to cast concrete panels, resulting in concrete that appears to flow like water, while having the texture of wood grain. The pine and cedar surfaces represent the historical blending of the cultures, those of aboriginal peoples and French voyageurs. Historically, the site was a gateway for traders, voyageurs, and settlers, who shared a dependence on the area’s natural resources and network of waterways.

Shown below are small sections of the final concrete surface, the CNC-milled pine and cedar wood panels, and the rubber moulds.

For more on Kimiis and their work go to www.kimiis.ca