Material Research — DAO | Algorithmic & Timber Architecture

Unlocking Intrinsic Potential.

MATERIAL RESEARCH

Slag Blocks
Sudbury, Ontario

Precious metals have long been sought and extracted from ore, at which point we have usually discarded the remaining material as “waste”. Now, we are researching the material to build awareness of the environmental water-leaching repercussions and identifying value for slag as a resources rather than classifying slag as waste. We can appreciate the residual ore for its environmental strengths when we design for its ideal reuse.

Our architectural prototype is being iterated in order to identify uses and techniques for slag that are materially appropriate leading to a unique method of building with slag unlike conventional construction strategies. We are currently investigating the material properties of the cast cube and are planning for a simple use of a few cubes as a simple starting point to demonstrate the basic premise. The next phase will entail more precise structural testing to generate a single story structural pavillion. This will significantly broaden the potential applications for slag.

PERIOD 2015
STRUCTURE Slag, Steel Plate Forms
SCALE Variable

TEAM Michael Danielson
EXHIBITION Dynamic Earth (postponed)
FABRICATION VALE
FUNDING VALE, RAIC
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Formid
Sudbury, Ontario

Formid is a response to contemporary office culture where there is prolonged stillness thereby creating an atrophy inducing seating environment. Formid is an ambitious hybrid technological strategy for efficient material use in conjunction with tailored ergonomics, digital movement tracking, and haptic feedback to improve body movement patterns. This product can help one to develop an awareness of proper spinal alignment under vertical gravitational loads while facilitating variety in core muscle activation by using using smart technology.

Form generation from simple planar paper materials can address many low carbon configurations. Parametric tools govern the planar cut and fold lines according to the desired three-dimensional structural output and many variations of this concept can be built using the same construction process. Measurement of variation during assembly becomes redundant. This reverse engineered transformation from 3D to 2D capitalizes on the strength of simple folds and eliminates complexity in the connecting joints while the leftover material is reintroduced immediately in the cavity to build up the necessary mass.

Individuals can submit unique body parameters as fabrication inputs. The resulting seat will conform to these unique input variables without straining the construction process. The form of each seat is then a match to an individual’s unique body and a heavy spherical base keeps the seat upright.

PERIOD 2013-2018
STRUCTURE Paper Substrates & Slag
SCALE Variable

STRUCTURAL Blackwell
ELECTRICAL Podco Designs
SOFTWARE Korey MacDougall
MATERIAL TESTS FPInnovations
BIOMECHANICS Laurentian University
FUNDING FPInnovations,
Norcat
Domtar
NOHFC
EXHIBITION Bechtler Museum of Modern Art IDS 2019
Norcat Pitch 2016
IP U.S. Patent No.: 10,368,650
11,432,656
Patent pending in Canada

Cascading Biospheres
Vancouver, British Columbia

We designed a prototype for the Ductal reactive wall competition by exploiting the material’s impermeable and freeze-thaw resistant properties. The concrete shell offers a screen that can filter water, provide external solar shading and support vertical habitats.

A spherical ribbed geometry with mechanical connections exploits the tensile strength of the material to offset the weakness incurred by cutting away mechanical joints and fragmenting the surface for scalar habitat growth.

This living wall system was designed for an urban context where it would facilitate more space for vegetation in an otherwise stark vertical environment. It is used as a screen on the design for a Vancouver Archives satellite facility in the Downtown Eastside. In this building we emphasized collective communication with digital media and exposure to other passive environmental systems such as daylighting, natural ventilation, rainwater collection and a green roof.

PERIOD 2010 - 2012
STRUCTURE Fiber reinforced concrete
SCALE Variable

TEAM Sam Ostrow
STRUCTURAL Lafarge Ductal
CONSTRUCTION Artisans in Concrete
EXHIBITION AIBC gallery
Vancouver Archives
PHOTOGRAPHY Brett Liljefors (1-4,8,10) Jessie Robertson (5)

Vases
Ottawa, Ontario

Gifts were needed for guests following a shared celebration. We designed a vase that could decorate a space during the event and be taken home at the end as a fragment of the collective experience. We took inspiration from the variability of a tree. While each tree is recognizably unique, each one is also clearly part of a group by sharing some general qualities.

While the clay was extruded in the same way for each vase, we expressed variability through the vase length and angle of the cut opening. We wanted each vase to represent a unique part of our shared experience while still being recognizable as part of a family of pottery.

PERIOD 2011 - 2011
STRUCTURE Glazed Clay
SCALE Variable

TEAM Erika Shiraishi
Rick Danielson
PHOTOGRAPHY Dhroov Patel

Nature-Inspired, Data-Driven.

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