By Stantec
The 2020 CanBIM Innovation Spotlight Awards called for the design and fabrication of a unique trophy to be given to award recipients. Stantec competed in this competition and won with a design from James Janke in the Denver, Colorado, USA office. The primary idea behind the design is that the trophy isn’t merely a symbolic object that recognizes achievement or validates hard work, but is also something functional that produces a tangible effect. In this case, the trophy became a work-from-home desk lamp.
The design leveraged stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing technology, specifically the Formlabs Form 3 printer. This allowed for the fabrication of translucent, detailed, high-quality partsthatrequiredlittlepost- processing clean-up work. Zilda Hijazin and Stefan Lesiuk of the Philadelphia, PA, USA office were key collaborators that provided technical knowledge and assisted with production.
Because the trophy design is larger than one print bed, it was split into three parts that snap together utilizing cantilevered snap-fit connections. This produced a seamless object without the need for glue or fasteners. Similarly, the moiré surface pattern of reveals and perforations serves to aid in producing a unique expression of light and to reduce the visibility of joints.
The trophy’s light source is an LED puck at its base that is controlled by a remote. The light and its batteries can be changed via a part called the “puck screw” – a puck with helical threads that has a void where the light sits.
The last major component is the laser engraved plate where award recipient information is displayed. The plate slides into a slot that bridges the 3D printed parts. When the parts snap together, the plate becomes totally encapsulated.
Overall, this competition provided an exceptional opportunity to explore digitally-driven design and fabrication methods that can inform future projects.
