StreetBrite fulfulled it's mandate to be fully interactive. The piece used black light within the board, which lit up the reactive baloons inside repurposed water bottles. The piece seemed to function as a magnet, as everyone who walked by had to at least come up and touch it. Even the after dinner crowd, dressed in high heels and suits were not immune.

the second IllumiNITE was the most successful one yet! Many people enjoyed the balmy evening to take in the light creations. street brite is a piece by Chris and Bobby of g2. [ CLOSE ]

The final Mygloo installation used the surrounding trees as supporting structure for the piece. The translucent canopy invited people to walk underneath, and they did - the space was almost always occupied. One of the most photographed pieces of the night, mygloo won third prize from the jury, as well as the peoples choice award.


the second IllumiNITE was the most successful one yet! Many people enjoyed the balmy evening to take in the light creations. mygloo is a creation of Heather, Carly and Olivia of g2 with Amy Wowk. [ CLOSE ]

Olivia, Heather, Carly from g2 along with Amy Wowk are building mygloo, a translucent mylar shell. The piece is “Inspired by an origami folding technique”. The “varying layers of mylar create levels of opacity that, when lit, highlight and create a glowing surface that piques the interst of passers-by”. Look for their piece under the spruce tree on feb 16 and 17.

illumiNITE is in its second year as an urban event that enlivens an underused pocket park on 104st and just north of Jasper Ave. It is put on by Edmonton on the Edge.This year the event is running for two days, and has both a judged portion, and people’s choice awards. [ CLOSE ]

Bobby and Chris of g2 are building nostalgia in the form of a giant lite brite. They are expecting that its fun and interactivity will contribute to the atmosphere of illumiNITE 2013.

illumiNITE is in its second year as an urban event that enlivens an underused pocket park on 104st and just north of Jasper Ave. This year it is running for two days, and has both a judged portion, and people’s choice awards. [ CLOSE ]

2 teams have organized to submit pieces for the IllumiNITE festival in Edmonton on Feb 16-17. More details to follow. [ CLOSE ]

Using grasshopper + Rhino for unique design under tight cost constraints.

With an original concept of a 'site responsive' aurora borealis, the design grew with a desire to create a unique piece that could serve as a landmark in the concourse of the Edmonton International Airport.

After exploring numerous materials to create the lit panels, we settled on an edge lit, scored acrylic panel. By using a local CNC operator to fabricate the piece, the labor and cost was kept to a minimum, while still allowing a unique piece.

Using a combination of Rhino with Grasshopper also allowed a significant time savings over an all 'manual' approach. Grasshopper is a plugin for Rhino, a 3d modelling software that started as an industrial design tool. It happens to be a fantastic fabrication tool as a result.

In this case, the process is extremely simple – using grasshopper, the cut lines were generated from segmenting an organizing curve into sections of randomized length. Those points were then used as start points for the cut lines - giving them a vector (y) and a randomized start and finish length. This allowed the entire design to be easily parametric; when the height of the panels changed, all the score lines could be adjusted by simply moving the curve to fit the new size.

The file was then transferred to the fabricator (Plastics Plus) who cut the panels and shipped them to have vinyl applied for the cityscape on the bottom (laser cut vinyl).

The fabrication process was an extremely simple application of grasshopper+Rhino, but resulted in a unique and interesting final product, achieved within a reasonable budget.
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David Staples wrote this week how Edmonton might use narrow lots to go about increasing the density of it's mature neighbourhoods. http://bit.ly/PXgs2t This proposed solution looks very different than the pictures posted about a week earlier in the journal. If you missed it, these were photos showing front facing suburban style garages, and they had Group2's Barry Johns quickly responding in the opinions page. http://bit.ly/RK2zCZ

First of all, the argument for density is made many times over by others, ie. http://www.urbandesign.org/density.html But it really hits home after the snowstorms this week, where more dense, walkable communities means fewer cars on the roads to idle in traffic and cause accidents.

A couple solutions presented by Tegan Martin-Drysdale of Red Brick are far from the suburban garage idea so feared by the neighbourhoods. She rightly points out that such housing types are not going be adopted overnight, but they are excellent precedents to start change in motion. her article can be found here: http://redbrickinc.ca/?p=120

One thing to add, would be to highlight the proximity and relationship of the living quarters to the street, and imagine how that changes the 'feel' of the street. In each of the precedents, the public areas, (or the areas where guests are welcome) are pushed to the front of the house, to fairly close proximity to the street. This gives a human face (perhaps literally) to the house, and thereby it increases safety by having more eyes on the street. This in turn influences how 'welcome' a neighbourhood feels – regardless of where the garage is.

photo credit:Greenfab via: redbrick [ CLOSE ]

“Old ideas can sometimes use new buildings. New ideas must use old buildings.”

Jane Jacobs in the Death and Life of Great American Cities

The Ukrainian Canadian Archives & Museum of Alberta is a blend of both new and old, and nowhere will this be more evident than through the original brick walls. Unsurprisingly, a project re-purposing a building as old as this old hotel is a challenging proposition.

Commonly over time, buildings are adapted to new uses - windows are filled in, and walls are changed. Occasionally one has to be a detective, but the changes are often evident, even years after. One of many such changes to this building was where the basement was dug under the original hotel, long after it was built. As you might imagine, this did not enhance the structural integrity of the building. In fact, it made retaining one of the central brick walls very difficult. Adding to the degree of difficulty is that the wall was hollow, from the basement up to the roof - 4 floors above. The wall had actually functioned as a chimney, and was in poor shape.

The solution was to remove sections of the bricks, build in reinforcement and pour concrete. This had to be done one section at a time. If concrete was simply poured from the top, the pressure would blow out the brick at the bottom. Not to mention that the wall was no longer supported by the original structure. The Delnor crew (very safely) reinforced the wall back to the remainder of the building, and section by section, rebuilt the wall from the bottom, all the while filling it with concrete. The final result is a much stronger brick wall that will serve as the central corner to the new gallery spaces and be a feature at the main entrance.
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From the CISC Awards 2009 - Sustainability Category, this video features Triffo Hall at the University of Alberta, a building still being toured today which showcases its re-use of materials, specifically the steel structure. [ CLOSE ]

Triffo Hall: Re-use of existing Steel

M.A.D.E. in Edmonton will kick off Edmonton Design Exposed (EDE) with an opening reception showcasing a retrospective exhibit of the last decade of M.A.D.E. events at the Art Gallery of Alberta on October 14 2010. They will be exhibiting all things M.A.D.E., including an expansive display of the past film screenings, exhibitions, symposiums, street furniture competitions, and, of course, lectures. Join MADE as they reminisce about how this volunteer group has evolved since its inception, and how Edmonton has evolved and changed simultaneously. [ CLOSE ]

Congratulations to our Row4Kids team, G2^3, who managed to raise a grand total of $6235.00 for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation! After 8 weeks of training and fundraising, we gave the other boats a run for their money on race day, which took place at Telford Lake in Leduc, Alberta, on Sept. 11. Though the weather was a little chilly, we had a great time and managed to hold our own against the more experienced crews. Thank you to everyone on the team for all your hard work, and to everyone that contributed to our fundraising efforts. See you again next year!
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Our Row4Kids team is now almost through our training sessions and we are poised to give the other competitors a run for their money on race-day, which is coming up quickly on September 11! So far we have raised $1500 toward our minimum goal of $2500, and we are still looking for further donations. If you would like to donate money, please visit the Row4Kids website, and pledge one of the participants on our team. The link is below, and our team name is G2^3 (Group2). All money raised will go to the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Edmonton Rowing Club.
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Group2 has put together a team to participate in the annual Edmonton Row4Kids event; a unique fundraiser for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation. For 8 weeks the team will work together to learn and master the skills of sweep rowing, while raising funds to support the hospital’s research and facility enhancements, continuous improvements in technology, and state-of-the-art pediatric care. The training will culminate in a final race day regatta on Sept. 11, 2010, where crews from around the city will put their abilities to the test to see who has the fastest boat. For every $1,000 raised for the Stollery Children’s Hospital, 3 seconds will be deducted from our team’s race time, so the more money collected the faster we will be!

Watch for updates on our training and fundraising. If you wish to make a donation to the event, please contact Eleanor Hopkins in the Edmonton Studio (eleanorh@group2.ca).
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Laura Plosz and Troy Smith’s bungalow was recently featured as one of three originally-identical 1950’s homes in the Edmonton Journal. The current form of their house is somewhere between the other two featured, one with a complete overhaul of the main living areas and the other almost original. Several photographs of each house are available through the ‘photos’ tab at the top of the Journal article. [ CLOSE ]

Laura Plosz in front of their Edmonton home

The 13th Annual Sustainable Building Symposium was held in Edmonton on May 11&12, and in Calgary on May12 &13. As an Intern Architect from the Edmonton Studio, I attended the Edmonton session as a volunteer, and was privileged to experience a well-run event that included engaging and informative presentations from leaders in the field of sustainable design. It was also a great opportunity to network with like-minded individuals, and be energized by new ideas about up-coming technologies, strategies, and emerging paradigms in ‘green’ building. The kick-start to the symposium was the innovative keynote address by Jay Ingram (of Discovery Channel fame) in conjunction with the band ‘The Turbines’ from Calgary. They delivered a musically inspired message that set the tone for the remainder of the program. It was a great experience, and I would encourage participation in next year’s event either as a delegate, speaker, or volunteer!

Eleanor Hopkins, Intern Architect [ CLOSE ]