Known as the deepest hand excavated hole in the world, the former Kimberley Mine in South Africa is now home to the Machine City Stadium. From July 1871 to 1914 up to 50,000 miners dug the hole with picks and shovels. Since 1914, the mine sits in idle, abandoned and remains an open wound waiting to be mended. Before, we dug holes with shovels, then with excavators, but what happens when people are no longer needed?
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This series of maps display the adjacency between human life, natural geography and the industrial environment. The mapping process compares the population of regional areas, commute times and proximity to major transit routes. Large mine dumps flank major highways and residential neighborhoods, posing serious health risks to the inhabitants. These machined mountains loom in the background of everyday life and ultimately become part of the identity of the landscape.
A sign next to the hole, reading "If all the diamonds recovered from the Kimberley Mine could be gathered together they would fill three cocopans such as these".
14 August 1914, over 22 million tons of earth had been excavated, yielding 3,000 kilograms (14,504,566 carats) of diamonds.
With Heavy Industrial Digital Tech hitting the Mining Industry of South Africa, Artificial intelligence paired with new autonomous equipment now run the bulk of the mining workload. The sudden shift of scales on a level beyond comprehension have not only rendered all analogue machinery obsolete but also all the human labor workforce as an unnecessary employable risk. The project comments on the ridiculousness and destructive nature of the mineral extraction process and brings to light the absurd scale and effect these industrial processes pose. A reflection on how large corporations have allowed human life to become expendable and exploitable. With a stockpile of obsolete machinery rotting and rusting away and thousands of ex-miners looking for a way put their skills to work, it was inevitable for a new way of life to rise. A way of life that is focused on preparing heavy equipment for destruction, not of the earth but of other machines.
2nd Place Winner - 2020 Stantec Architecture Prize for Excellence in Comprehensive Studio Projects
NOMAD is an adaptive reuse project of an existing 16 200sqft steel industrial building in Toronto. The project occupies the site of an existing area of 22 930sqft. The total final gross area of the proposed project is 32 500sqft with three floors and an occupiable roof. Because the existing structure is 40ft tall, the approach to introduce new floors to utilize the vertical space. The project features 5000sqft of vegetation and green scaping where 3100sqft of this feature is found on the roof. Toronto expects 30.9 inches of annual precipitation with a 3.3 inch 24hr – 2 year event. Toronto is in the humid continental climate where the annual average temperature exceeds 9 °C. The site was once occupied by Hamilton Gears, a metal machine fabrication workshop founded in 1911, where they fabricated actuators for the locks on the St. Lawrence Seaway; the pilot’s canopy of the Avro Arrow; and the sliding roof of the Rogers Centre. The historical impact and qualities of the site lay out the foundation for a new kind of industrial workshop: a Overland Outfitting base paired with Educational and Research initiatives.
Overlanding is often confused with “off-roading” and / or “road trips”. The main difference is that overlanding is about appreciating the journey and taking in the landscape rather than any specific destination. Overlanding can be argued to be a more sustainable method of exploring, one that is humble, connected to nature and the land upon you travel. When considering overland travel, it is essential to be prepared with the proper gear and knowledge, all of which is a paramount part of the experience.
Typically, overlanders are found modifying their vehicles in driveways and gathering in parking lots. There is an abundance of public information available on what gear to use and survival techniques to know. However, all of this can be overwhelming and could result in misinterpretation or catastrophic failure. The facility houses program that engages the public and promotes the sharing of experiences and knowledge as well as the design and fabrication of gear directly for the end-user. The project seeks to establish a place that celebrates the experience of preparing a vehicle and person for overland travel. The goal is to create an urban hub for a growing community that is all about getting out and exploring the world in a responsible way.
The concept of the project investigates how you might overland “architecturally”. The parti explores the possibility of how the project can celebrate the journey between spaces and orient itself to the surrounding environment. The program is woven between existing structural bays allowing for large, clear-span spaces and the opportunity to create interesting spatial overlap. A main artery runs East-West serving as a circulation walkway as well as a medium to introduce natural ventilation and daylight to the workshop program that operates in the North-South orientation.
The site is situated along an industrial zoned region along Dupont St. The surrounding neighborhood is mostly residential. Being that the site is part of the existing urban fabric, it is very well connected to the community and transit network. The existing building occupies most of the property therefore introducing vegetation on the new roof was a main part of the design strategy. The roof is accessible by occupants of the building in order to give green space back to the community. Rainwater is collected by the sloped roofs or the perimeter catch basin. All collected water will be processed by a living machine and used throughout the project. Overflow will drain naturally toward the site directly to the north, which is heavily vegetated. The main existing structure of the building is to remain and all steel removed to be re-used in new construction or in the metal fabrication workshop. New walls, floors and roofs will be of CLT panels; a more sustainable building material.
“Overlanding is about exploration, rather than conquering obstacles. While the roads and trails we travel might be rough or technically challenging, they are the means to an end, not the goal itself. The goal is to see and learn about our world, whether on a weekend trip 100 miles from home or a 10,000-mile expedition across another continent. The vehicle and equipment can be simple or extravagant - they, too, are simply means to an end. History, wildlife, culture, scenery, self-sufficiency - these are the rewards of overlanding.” -overlandjournal.com
“Wabi-sabi is a beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. It is a beauty of things modest and humble. It is a beauty of things unconventional. ... The closest English word to wabi-sabi is probably “rustic”. ... Things wabi-sabi are unstudied and inevitable looking. .. unpretentious. .. Their craftsmanship may be impossible to discern. “
- “Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers”,
Leonard Koren
The Lodge is located near the Oyunuma River, a thermally fed river that serves as a popular communal foot bath on the island of Hokkaido just south of Japan. Also nearby is unique geology of Hell’s Valley with numerous hiking trails nearby.
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Sketch Section
The Lodge is not just a weekend getaway, but a place to help you find who you are. The design stems from the importance of orientation not only for a sustainability approach but also a holistic one. These orientation “devices” allow the occupant to engage with the surrounding context and appreciate where they currently are. The lodge is inspired by the idea of a cottage and how it is understood as a place to be free and have fun. Ultimately, the goal is to create a place which does not demand the occupant to “put on a face” to have the full experience. Instead, the design seeks a place that they do not necessarily have to behave or act as per convention. They can climb, lounge, run, lay, be curious and wander. The program bonded together with the architecture becomes unconventional, in flux and directly engaging with the user.
2018 - 4B Design Studio
Sketch Plan
The result is the occupant able to have something to say about their space. To do this, the design encompasses devices that the occupant requires to physically engage with, whether it be a large swinging door, operable skylight or sliding wall. It is an attempt to get the occupants aware of where they are and what they are doing, an environment which will enhance their well-being and joy for the act of doing.
Aerial
Approach
Lookout
Lookback
Enlarged Site Plan
Enlarged Upper Floor Plan
Enlarged Lower Floor Plan
Enlarged Artist Residence Floor Plan
Lounge
Window Sill
Lodge
“The secret of happiness is in knowing this: that we live by the law of expenditure. We find greatest joy, not in getting, but in expressing what we are. There are tides in the ocean of life, and what comes in depends on what goes out. The currents flow inward only where there is an outlet. Nature does not give to those who will not spend; her gifts are loaned to those who will use them. Empty your lungs and breathe. Run, climb, work, and laugh; the more you give out, the more you shall receive. Be exhausted, and you shall be fed.”
–Raymond John Baughan, The Joy of Doing
During my final term of undergrad, a classmate (Sinan Husic) and I decided to build a smoker. Our goal was to spend as little as possible and take something that we found in a scrapyard and give it a new life. The end game was to put on a final, post deadline barbecue for the class. We had an overall sketched design but the real fun of the project was solving problems and designing on the spot.
The smoking “station” tank is a old 48.9 gallon natural gas tank we paid 5 dollars for that we found in a bin at a metal scrap yard . The process started with cleaning out the tank and filling it with water. We drew a template on the tank where the grilling station and charcoal shelf would be. 1/4” cold rolled steel rod and hollow steel pipe was used to make hinges and latches. We chopped up what used to be some sort of signage frame and welded it together to build a cart. The actual smoker portion of the build needed to be removable from the cart for transport due to sheer weight. The “fire box” is an old 100 pound propane tank that we chopped and welded, we added a hinge and latch to make a door that doubles as a damper. The chimney is a massive 6” by 1/4” thick steel pipe that we had to cut up with a grinder. Having access to a wood lathe, we took the opportunity to turn our own handles out of white oak. We ordered a 15 dollar thermometer from amazon and installed it.
The smoker took approximately 2 months to build, given that we had class and deadlines which only allowed us to work on it a few hours a week. As a final event for our graduating class we smoked two briskets. I do not know what was more rewarding; eating the deliciously smoked brisket, seeing this thing actually work after so many hours put into it or seeing the joy it brought to our friends and classmates.
Welding legs to the tank
Metal scrap bin
Cutting out the door
Welded on hinges
The cart
Door latch
Cutting the chimney angle
Lathe handle
“Boolean Difference”
Transport
It works!
Grilling!
Being in the Architecture program at the University of Waterloo, I was granted the amazing opportunity to spend the first term of my fourth year studying Rome, Italy. The school is located in the Trastevere district and it is where I lived in a apartment off of the Piazza di San Cosimato. Every morning a market was setup selling fresh produce, meat and cheese. Daily routines consisted of : enjoying a cappuccino before class, wandering the mazes of Rome, stumbling upon hidden architectural masterpieces, sketching (a lot!), finding small restaurants for delicious Italian cuisine, interacting with the locals and most importantly, enjoying some wine.
There were two main field trips during the term. The South Trip, we traveled to: Cuma, Baia, Paestum, Capri, Pompeii and Sperlonga. A small group of us enjoyed Sperlonga so much that we returned a second time. The North Trip, we traveled to: Pienza, Siena, Gubbio, Urbino, Parma, Mantova, Verona, Vicenza and Venice. I proposed to my now fiancée in Verona on Juliet’s Balcony. On our personal time we traveled to Cesena, Florence, Paris and London. There were several other day trips which included visiting Villa Farnese at Caprarola and Villa Lante at Bagnaia.
I am truly grateful to have been able to experience traveling and living in Europe. Seeing the different lifestyle brought a whole new perspective to my life. I truly believe studying such ancient architecture in so many beautiful cities has only broadened my design horizon.
Over the course of the three months in Italy my classmate Shabaan Khokhar captured moments with his camera and drone. I assisted him with the production of a short video to commemorate our time in Italy. This was the 39th class to study Architecture at the University of Waterloo in Rome.
In loving memory of Jon Bennett
Picture by: Shabaan Khokhar
Flotsam & Jetsam is designed to engage with its visitors as a playful and poignant fixture in the Toronto beaches’ landscape. As one approaches from the vantage of the city the 20 foot high sculpture generates curiosity and invites a closer look. Upon arriving at the station, however, Flotsam & Jetsam is not what it first appears. The installation reveals the realities of plastic consumption, resulting waste and its effects on the aquatic biodiversity of the planet we share.
Constructed from cubes of welded wire mesh, approximately 20 foot high the fish will tower over the visitor ensuring that it is highly visible along the beach. The bottom-most layers of the mesh structure will be weighted to provide a foundation in order to resist the wind or snow loads. To achieve the colourful, textured finish, the mesh cubes are filled with recycled plastic collected from the local community. The materials employed in the design are completely reusable and recyclable.
1'x1' welded wire mesh panels are bound together using zip-ties to create modular cubes. The cubes are then attached to one another in order to create the structure. The cubes are filled with bottles and other sorts of plastic containers which have been gathered from the local community.
Team members:
Nicola Augustin, Bryce Clayton, Catherin Cohen, Taylor Davey, Parshan Fatehi, Allegra Friesen, Ryan Pagliaro, Joel Trembley, Negar Behzad, Anne Cheung, Mona Dai, Golnaz Djamshidi, Allegra Friesen, Elida Pletikapic, Kirsten Sheppard-Neuhofer, Carly Kandrack, Sarah Donaldson, Alexandra Sermol, Eric Sviratchev, Danny Wei
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In order to ensure structural integrity, the method of joinery and physical structure of the cubes underwent vigorous tests. Wind loads were another factor to considered during the development of the design. 403 cubes were built, each cube composed of 8 mesh panels and 16 zip-ties for a total of 3224 mesh panels and well over 9000 zip-ties. The large quantity of materials to handle required a organized and efficient work-flow in order to deliver the project safely and on time.
What effect will the self-driving car have on our society? What will happen when gasoline automobiles become illegal? What happens when the autonomous car rips the act of driving from people?
These are important questions to ask because it is something that we will experience within this century. We are caught in a paradox; on one hand we want the dependent automobile that allows us to move freely through the landscape and enjoy the power that machines bring to man. On the other hand, we push for the reliability and efficiency of the autonomous, eco-friendly automobile.
I do not mean to discourage our current advancements on eco-friendly self-driving cars. The results will solve many congestion issues and respond to our goal to a sustainable future. What I mean to say is, the advancements of this kind of technology will tremendously change our view of the automobile that has been burned so deeply into our culture, through several generations, and celebrated since its invention.
The invention of driving allowed us to break free from our normative vectors, to move quickly through the landscape and experience forces that would otherwise be utterly superhuman. The coming of the self-driving car will, without a doubt, leave many people with a nostalgic desire to drive.
The project speculates the future of the automobile and is designed as a car museum/racetrack. The very act of re-fueling a vehicle will be foreign to generations to come. Celebrating the elements that come with the fuel injected engine is the heart of what inspires this "Nostalgic Centre".
1:64 scale model of a gasoline refill station
The Race
DredgeFest Great Lakes was a symposium, field expedition, and speculative design workshop about the human manipulation of sediments. It was an encounter between government agencies, designers, theorists, academics, corporate practitioners, industry experts, students, and the public. It was held in two Minnesota cities, Minneapolis and Duluth, from August 14-21, 2015.
DredgeFest Great Lakes was organized by the Dredge Research Collaborative and hosted by the University of Minnesota’s School of Architecture and Department of Landscape Architecture.
The Cat Island Chain Beneficial Project is an ongoing revitalization project located north of the Green Bay harbor and is the current location of sediment deposition from the shipping channel dredging process. The original island was destroyed by wave erosion in 1975 and completely submerged in 2012. The revitalization is to restore the island and provide mainland protection from wave erosion. The overall goal of the proposal is to introduce a system which will establish a more successful and habitable ecology in the future. The study focuses on the central cell of the chain with the idea that it can be implemented in the other two.
The concept of the proposal is to introduce a pattern of gabion baskets in a series of groups that “direct” and “trap” sediment. The idea is that these obstacles will interact with the sediment flow creating berms and pools. This effect would create a diverse landscape typography and allow for a variety of fauna and flora to flourish. The baskets will be filled with recycled rocks from the culverts that have been built in place to temporarily connect the three islands. The baskets will act as “kick-starter packs” for vegetation to grow, as they will have seed bags implemented within.
Click HERE to download the project booklet.
Team members:
Stefan Berry, Fionn Byrne, Sandra Cook, Tom Kwok, Kunaal Mohan, Anika Sibat Rahman, Matthew Spermulli, Joel Tremblay.
This was a short studio exploration. The goal was simple: make a Kinder Egg Toy superior than its original state. The restriction: it needs to fit back in the egg.
My project aimed to take a small toy car and hot rod it to move under it’s own power. The first iteration attempted to use a 3d printed bracket that would hold the motor and use a belt drive to spin the rear axle. Unfortunately, the belt would either slip due to torque or derail and render the toy immobile. The second iteration utilizes a gear worm driven method. The idea was to have a toggle switch with a flat 4v battery to power the toy. In the end this iteration did work, however the result was underwhelming due to lack of power. The third and final iteration utilized a 3d printed front extension “frame” that carried a compact 12v battery. The system is a plug and play, where you simply insert the battery and the toy begins to move. Lego wheels are used to enhance the traction of the toy. Small set screws drilled into the wheels allowed them to be removable from the axle. The entire assembly can be taken apart and put back into the egg.
**Batteries not Included
Prototype v.1 - Belt Driven
Prototype v.2 - Gear driven, 4V battery. Not enough power!
Prototype v.3 - Gear driven, 12v battery!
