The making of an award can often appear elementary or hyperbolic; it falls either into a primal quest for formal beauty or an elaborate metaphor that ends up feeling superficial. This year, the 2021 Building Transformations (CanBIM) award design is neither of those tales.
The idea is simple. It is a form given by bringing the word profiles CAN and BIM together with a geometric loft. The award is made of lumber (cherry & walnut) and fabricated with a CNC mill. It is complemented by a modular case that protects it, emphasizes its design ideas, and transforms to become a variety of display stands.
What made this award special was the process of making it, which was digitally formed and fabricated from design intention to fabrication. Every design decision in-between was driven by listening and looking carefully, over and over again.
For example, the 5-axis CNC mill, however capable in carving complex geometries, still has limitations with making sharp interior (concave) corners, acute angled surfaces, and oversized objects. Wood, being a natural material, is stronger along the grain, but it can easily char. So, with careful calibration, the CNC mill path was designed to travel and rotate optimally along the lumber’s grain to reduce the likelihood of chips, tears, and char. In the end, one single 2.5 hours Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) setup took the lumber from raw to finishing and engraving with just one single click.
Separately, the PLS plastic case was 3D printed in a heated environment, which contracts upon cooling. Many trials in modelling and prototyping were made to determine the precise dimension to fabricate, down to 0.1mm. This was particularly important as there was a sliding dovetail joint [in the shape of Building Transformations (CanBIM)’s logo of a maple leaf]. Similarly, the margin of tolerances were also tested to fit two very different machined objects. Over and over again, the design team obsessed over the properties and limitations of material and machine. We tailored a product and its process to play to their collective best.
Innovation is not made with preconceptions. Rather, it is iterative, made in aggregates of experimental prototypes, programming errors, and chipped wood. The results may be unexpected but always true.
Tommy Tso, Design Professional, HOK
Ian Morson, Architectural Designer, York University - Facilities Services
David Marcinkiewicz, Technical Services Coordinator, York University - Lassonde School of Engineering
