Our competition submission for the 2013 Design By Nature exposition is a collection of four concrete composite cubes (measuring 2.5 cubic feet each) that have industrial volumes ‘subtracted’ from 3 or more of their 6 surfaces. The durable cubes can be oriented together or separately in a variety of configurations. Each cube will contain a recycled foam core, which reduces their weight considerably compared to solid concrete masses of similar size. This makes the pieces suitable for both indoor and outdoor uses to include: low + high seating, side tables, coffee tables and sculpture.

OUR INTEREST

Industrial, cast metal pump casings often start out in the wood shop.  Millworkers + machine operators carve solid, laminated wood blocks to create ‘patterns’ that are used to make sand-moulds. The sand-moulds are then used for casting.  It is common for companies to make one-off castings, which means that the patterns go to waste after their first use.

Our design team was exposed to an overwhelming number of decommissioned patterns this year. They are beautifully crafted relics of Canadian manufacturing.  We approached Tim Sheppard, a local pattern maker with our idea for a Design By Nature proposal. He graciously agreed to donate a retired pattern component called a ‘core box’ that meets our size specifications perfectly.

 OUR PROCESS ( See corresponding diagrams below)

A - Section the ‘core box’ into quarters and form the sides of each quarter using off- cut lumber

B- Suspend recycled pieces of dense foam insulation inside the formed quarters + pour fiber-based ECC (Engineered Cementitious Composite) into the core boxes

C- Extract the new cast volumes, polish and seal them. Compose them based on desired use.

SUSTAINABILITY

Our process uses exclusively recycled material except for the outer cementitious skin + sealer. Virgin material use will be limited to 20% or less in this project.

In April we posted Chair 1.2 built in solid walnut. Version 1.3 is a simplified prototype – made up of offcut birch, maple and walnut. We eliminated the side profiles and steel tenons to give the chair a more contemporary look and feel. The structure is now fully exposed and clearly defined.

Dimensions are: 34″ H back / 19″ H seat x 20″ D x 17″ W.

For information about available wood species, customization, pricing, or to place an order, please email us at info@stacklab.ca

* Chairs 1 – 1.3 are collaborations with local Toronto designer Arash Sadr

The Square Cut Burl is a new addition to our portfolio. The orthogonal table top is made from an irregularly shaped historic burl and clear, cast resin. The images below document some of the initial process.

Please email us at info@stacklab.ca for information about pricing or to place an order.

Our first chair is in the making. This design is a commissioned collaboration between our studio and local Toronto designer Arash Sadr. We are very thankful to our client, Afrothite who gave us the opportunity to develop this concept. She will own the first limited-series constructed from solid walnut and clear coated, cold-rolled steel. The images below of our preliminary birch prototype show the general construction and proportions of the chair – however, they do not yet include the finer details that we are most enthusiastic about – such as a curvilinear seat profile, a series of rectangular wood dowel inlays and the introduction of a 2-3mm technical  felt seat and back. So, stay tuned for the next version.

We intend to experiment with slight variations in the existing design, materials and finish on a per project basis. Please email us at info@stacklab.ca for information about our custom design + build services or to place an order.

Will and Porsha are true cocktail connoisseurs. We designed this 7′-10″ shelf as an alternative to a traditional liquor cabinet for their new home. Rather than hide their impressive collection of hard-to-find bottles behind doors, we elected to showcase them in the open. The large bottles sit on the top at an easy height of 56″. The smaller bottles (mostly bitters) sit in an inset 10″ cavity. A low-profile, 1/4″ steel rail borders the shelf surfaces to prevent bottles from falling without interrupting the view.

We collaborated with the talented woodworkers at P & P Custom Living on the construction of the ’Top Shelf.’ It is built from solid black walnut with internal hollow sections to reduce weight. The corners are mitred and are supported by a plywood skeleton. The assembly hangs from the existing wall and does not require any internal blocking.

The images below document the project from start to finish.

For information about our custom design services, pricing, or to place an order, please email us at info@stacklab.ca

In April of last year we posted about a table leg prototype that we were developing called the ‘wishbone.’ Originally, the leg was intended for smaller tables, however, due to demand, we have redesigned the leg to bear greater loads. Currently we are in the process of making the first three pairs in a limited series for sale out of our studio on Eastern Avenue in Toronto. We are offering this leg design in three materials: polished solid cast aluminum, polished solid cast bronze, and hard anodized cast aluminum.

Prior to making the first casting (shown below in rough aluminum), we performed a number of stress tests to optimize the leg shape and volume for heavier loads. The diagrams below show a series of exaggerated stress conditions that helped us finalize the design:

1) Force applied from the side ( simulating a heavy nudge in direction x); 2) Force applied from the side ( simulating a heavy nudge in direction y); 3) Force applied from a corner ( simulating a person sitting / leaning XYZ); d) Force applied from above Z (simulating a person dancing on the table)

Stay tuned for further news as we go through the last stages of production. For information about pricing or to place an order, please email us at info@stacklab.ca

In October and November of this year we posted about Richmond Station. We are happy to announce that the restaurant is now open and thriving. Congratulations to Ryan Donovan and Carl Heinrich: the butcher and chef team behind this great new business. Below, there are some recent photographs of the completed 80-seat space. Our intent was to provide a utilitarian environment for Ryan, Carl and their support staff. We emphasized simple, honest materials, easy circulation and modulated storage to make the space work. We are particularly proud of the use of architectural grade Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) for the communal table tops in the standing area, and in the private dining pantry.  Richmond Station is among the first spaces in North America to use CLT in a furniture application. This incredible product will play a prominent role in sustainable construction in Canada, and we are thrilled that Ryan and Carl supported us in our efforts to feature it in this project.

For more information about our interior design services, or about CLT, please email us at info@stacklab.ca

Union Lofts, the latest from the Windmill Development Group is opening their sales centre this coming Saturday, November 17th, and we will be there. Union will be a church-turned-living space located at 243 Perth avenue in the Junction Triangle. While construction on the lofts hasn’t begun yet, part of the church interior has been beautifully transformed by Studio Kantelberg. We had the honour of collaborating with Andrea Kantelberg on the design of an 11′-1″ American Elm communal table that will serve as a feature of the space. This table is especially important to us because of its origin.

The top: comes from Wychwood Park. A very good friend of ours named Robert Green slabbed the fallen Elm on site for us about two years ago. Once we secured the commission, we called Rob up who now works with a new crew of talented woodworkers P & P Custom Living to see if he would work with us on the project. He agreed. It is very nice to be working with Rob again, and to see him involved in bringing the piece to completion

The bow tie joints: are CNC milled from a mahogany stair tread that we reclaimed from a farm house in Caledon. They were milled, yes, but they were installed the old fashioned way.

The legs: are bright bright purple. A big thanks to Ben Lowry ( on the development side) and to Andrea for supporting the idea of a leg modelled after an old set of colorful saw horses we use in our shop. We’ve wanted to do this for a long time.

See below for some images of the making of the table – including one shot of the original elm tree before it fell. Stay tuned for more of the completed piece, and, please email us at info@stacklab.ca for information about our design + build services.

On September 18th we posted our schematic proposal for the BLOOM Sustainability Leadership Award commission. Since then, we have completed the final award. This was a collaborative effort between ourselves, the Bloom Centre for Sustainability and Marc Littlejohn- a very talented acrylic fabricator in Toronto. Below, you can see the finished artifact along with a few process shots and a video of us CNC milling the heartwood dowel- the small piece of reclaimed white oak that we used to generate the pattern on the front and rear acrylic surfaces. The dowel is machined with a high level of precision so that it can be pressure fit into the acrylic cavity without any adhesives or aides.

The Sustainability Applied 2012 event takes place this Wednesday, October 17 at the Metro Convention Centre in Toronto. We wish the three finalists: BASF, Loyalty One + PepsiCo Canada the very best of luck!

Please email us at info@stacklab.ca for information about our custom design + build services

We collaborated with the very talented Jonathan Enns (ennsdesign, Solid Operations) on the conceptual design of Richmond Station. In the very early stages of the project, Jon introduced us to an innovative product called Cross Laminate Timber (or Massive Timber) that he has researched extensively.

In 2009 Jonathan was selected  by Princeton University as the recipient of the Butler Travelling Fellowship for which he travelled to Austria, Scotland and Finland to study CLT. In particular, his research involved a two fold search: 1: For ways in which the use of large quantities of sustainably grown timber could be used in lifecycle carbon calculations (and be a competitive ‘green’ tactic in design), and 2: How CLT in Europe is being mobilized to challenge conventional construction in these regions, particularly at spans and scales previously reserved only for steel and concrete.

Jon explains that:

Research in this area is becoming more and more common in Canada, as both the process and production of CLT holds huge potential for the building industry and the production of architectural form.

At the small scale, CLT holds benefits as a replacement for Old Growth or reclaimed timber, being available at comparable (and likely larger) scale, while being composed of what has been seen typically as low value lumber.  Being both cheaper and dimensionally stable, certain applications at the small scale would find benefits in CLT, although clearly it will never be a full replacement: Old growth has characteristics (both aesthetic and performative) unique to itself. What it would allow for however, is an increased preservation through a more strategic deployment of these characteristics. Thus for applications in which the aesthetics of CLT are sufficient, it is a worthy and interesting replacement.

This said, the unique properties and advantages of CLT clearly become obvious at the large scale. Construction with CLT is fast, light, and quiet, it can be achieved with simple tools (read: no hammer drill, no burnt out elbows), and is in many cases financially superior. Relying on a certain element of ‘prefabrication’ the process that full building in CLT imposes is in itself a sort of revolution for the building industry (especially in Canada), but is one that holds extremely exciting potentials both in terms of the environment, and –as with any new technology/process–in the production of novel architectural form.

Below, we have attached images of a small sample of CLT that Jon brought back with him from his travels. This sample belongs to KLH – a leading manufacturer of CLT based out of Austria. We also have attached images of two of the communal tables that we made with Jon for Richmond Station.

Stay tuned for images of the completed restaurant due to open in early October, and for future projects involving CLT.

Please email us at info@stacklab.ca for more information about this product.

The summer was a very exciting time for us because we had the chance to work with three very talented people on a great project called Richmond Station. Richmond Station is the restaurant that Carl Heinrich (Canada’s Top Chef 2012) is opening this October in downtown Toronto with his longtime friend and business partner Ryan Donovan. The design of the space is a collaboration between ourselves, Jonathan Enns (ennsdesign, Solid Operations), Ryan and Carl. It will be a simple + utilitarian restaurant: built so that two cooks at the top of their game can do what they do best. Below, you can see a combination of progress photos, schematic design concepts and working drawings for the project. Stay tuned for images of the completed space, and for information about some of the specifics that we like the most.

Please email us at info@stacklab.ca for information about our interior design services.

Benji’s Walnut Table is a recent commission we built for a private client in downtown Toronto. The reclaimed black walnut slab top is 2″ thick and runs 7′ -7″ in length. Our tapered ribbon legs are welded, pickled and oiled, hot-rolled steel. We finished the table with a VOC free hardwax oil and the legs in a clear gloss powder coat. A very big thanks to Benji for his support!

Please email us at info@stacklab.ca for information about our custom design + build services

This is a continuation of last week‘s post – documenting our process of modelling and fabricating a prototype cast aluminum leg for our retail portfolio. We are now one step away from having a finished custom leg: These casts were hardened using a heat treatment and then prepared for finishing by grinding away the draft (the excess aluminum) and then sandblasting.  Stay tuned for updates on this project and please feel free to contact us at info@stacklab.ca with questions or comments.

Currently, we are in the process of prototyping a cast aluminum leg for our retail portfolio. The wishbone shape shown below starts with an inset crotch arch and then curves and tapers downwards in two directions. This week, with the help of our collaborator Styropatterns Inc., we will CNC mill a positive and negative mold pattern for each leg. Once we have the patterns milled, we will take them to a foundry where the metal workers will cast the shape for us. Stay tuned for updates on this project and please feel free to contact us at info@stacklab.ca with questions or comments.

*The schematic diagrams below are representational

A client recently commissioned us to design and build a kitchen banquette in their new home in the Toronto Bluffs. Our proposal pairs an oblong plywood table and bench with two geometric steel structures. The table base is a hyperboloid comprised of the smallest possible spindles for the load. The bench structure can be thought of as an arch on its side – made up of narrow, skeletal voussoirs. Stay tuned for updates on this project and please feel free to contact us at info@stacklab.ca with questions or comments.

*The schematic diagrams below are representational

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

Just a few behind the scenes photos of our bench from the previous post, under construction.

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.

Last week we delivered and installed the custom elephant tusk stand that we posted about in mid October.  It was a special privilege for us to help bring our client’s cherished family heirloom to life after it had laid on its side in storage for so many years. The shape and integrity of the ivory posed a significant challenge for us and required that we step away from our computers and work with wood and string templates at 1:1 in order to get a system that worked. It was refreshingly complex and old-school and reinforced why we enjoy working at this scale. Thanks Sandy, for your patronage!

To finish the steel we replaced the tacks that were holding the temporary assembly together with fully dressed welds; broke the sharp edges and then had it plated in antique pewter. The limestone was CNC’d to spec and finished with a colour enhancer and sealant. The last step was to add fitted strips of industrial felt to the inner circumference of the steel pocket and arm that hold the tusk in place.

For more information about our custom work, please email us at info@stacklab.ca

Our  salvaged walnut table is now complete!  We planed, jointed and finished this locally salvaged slab entirely by hand in our downtown shop.  It measures  9′ – 4″ x 3′ – 3″ and is finished with a VOC free hardwax oil.  This is the first time we’ve used our colorful steel legs, so please come by to have a look while they are on display in the Stacklab studio.

For more information on customization and pricing please email us at info@stacklab.ca

The Mosaic Table is a recent custom commission for e11even restaurant located at 15 York Street in downtown Toronto.

The table top is made from antique hemlock that was buried below York St for over a century as a part of the historic Conner’s Wharf. What we loved about this material was that in the time it spent underground, the hemlock timbers absorbed the vivid green and red mineral tones in the lakefront soil. After experimenting with many different concepts, we proposed a 14′-2″ communal top made up of nearly 300 off-cuts that we recovered from a commercial flooring project. We found that pairing smaller modules gave us added control over the composition and that incorporating discarded knots, piths, and cathedrals added considerable dimension to the design.

Each piece of hemlock was individually cut and pocket-hole screwed to the plywood underlay.

The structure is pinned hot – rolled HSS steel tubing. It comes apart into pieces for easy transportation.

This week we are developing one of our table leg prototypes. The design features a tapered 4″ x 3/8″ steel ribbon; a 1″ x 3/8″ web; filleted corners and a 3/8″ thick top plate that will bolt to the underside of a solid, wood top. The legs are also angled and are designed to work with the table to achieve stability – here they are shown upside down in a 1:1 scale chipboard model and in steel. After they are finished and powder-coated, this set of legs will make up the base for a 9′ walnut slab dining table.

Please email us at info@stacklab.ca to find out more about the available colour options.

We recently spent an afternoon with our welder fitting a custom steel stand we designed to hold 6.5 foot elephant tusk - a family heirloom that has been with our client for generations.  This 70 pound tusk was a tricky object to display as it is unevenly weighted, and has a very fragile upper portion where the ivory forms a three foot cavity.  We developed a solution with two fitted steel arms working together to stabilize the tusk without putting pressure on its weaker points.  To ensure we accounted for all of the variables in our design we tested the stand before the final welds were made.  With just a few small adjustments we achieved the perfect balance.

for more information, please email us at info@stacklab.ca