Moon Mask $300 Gold Coin
Design:
Client: Royal Canadian Mint
Date: 2008
Add comment January 4th, 2010
Metalwork
Theratron 80 Cancer Treatment Machine
Design: Lawrie McIntosh with AECL engineering staff
Client: Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
Date: 1959
This machine employs Cobalt 60 as a source of gamma rays to treat tumors.The source is a small cylinder filled with cobalt pellets. It is surrounded by a solid spherical shield of lead 22 inches in diameter. The ray issues through a passage in the lead shield; and a collimator, below the head, controls the ray’s shape to match the tumor . The head, embodying the lead sphere, weighs as much as a medium sized automobile, and the entire machine weighs about seven tons. The structure consist of cast stainless steel, including the lower extension which is a solid eight inches thick. This serves as a combined counterweight for the head and shield for the gamma ray after it passes through the patient.
-Lawrie McIntosh
Click here to see the next generation, Theratron 780
4 comments November 3rd, 2009
QIM Street Lights
Design: Michel Dallaire Design Industriel Inc.
Client: Quartier international de Montréal
Date: 2004
This distinctive tandem lighting solution is part of a family of public furniture designed for Quartier international de Montréal. According to Dallaire, the aesthetic vocabulary of the collection was “inspired by the contrast of the circle with the absolute vertical rectitude”. In that sense, these street lights are arguably the centerpiece of the collection.
Materially, the designs are unified through the use of aluminum – extruded, sand-cast, die-cast and machined. Here, aluminum extrusions house a central post, to which standard signage, traffic lights and other elements are fixed. The seams between the extrusions nicely accommodate these protruding fixtures.
-Michael Erdmann
Add comment October 21st, 2009
2010 Olympic & Paralympic Medals
Designers: Corrine Hunt / Omer Arbel / VANOC Brand & Creative Services
Client: VANOC
Date: 2009
Meet the Vacouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic medals. Their undulating
forms evoke British Columbia’s mountains, ocean and snow. Their faces
are drawn from West Coast First Nations artwork depicting the orca and
raven. Every medal is one of a kind. Their substantial size gives them
significant presence.
Making the 2010 Winter Games medals was a two-year project because
they’re so unique. It was a collaborative effort between Canadian
Aboriginal designer/artist, Corrine Hunt, internationally renowned
industrial designer, Omer Arbel, the Royal Canadian Mint, Teck
Resources Limited, and VANOC’s in-house design team. Together this
team created medals that reflect the magnitude of the accomplishments
they represent: They are among the heaviest medals in Olympic and
Paralympic history, weighing between 500 grams to 576 g depending on
the medal. As for size, the Olympic medals are 100 millimetres in
diameter and about six mm thick, while the Paralympic medals are 95 mm
wide and about six mm thick.
The blueprints for these medals are based on two large master artworks
(Olympic and Paralympic) from which each of the medals was
hand-cropped. No crop is the same as another so that ensures every
medal is unique. The master artworks were created by Corrine Hunt, a
Vancouver, BC-based artist of Komoyue and Tlingit heritage. Hunt chose
the orca as the motif for the Olympic medals, and the raven as the
motif for the Paralympic medals.
The matte orca or raven design is lasered onto the front face of the
medals, and within this design is a delicate wood grain pattern that
can be seen up close. Canadian industrial designer and architect Omer
Arbel, also of Vancouver, used his extensive knowledge of materials
and fabrication processes to create the innovative undulating design
of the medals, which are struck nine times each to achieve the
distinctive look as part of the 30-step medal fabrication process.
The Olympic medals are circular in shape, while the Paralympic medals
are a superellipse or squared circle.
-VANOC
6 comments October 15th, 2009
Hybrid Flatware
Design: Boym Partners
Client: Gourmet Settings
Date: 2009
Add comment October 14th, 2009
Power Line Towers
Design: Andrée Wejsmann and Coe and Waito
Client: Studio Junction Inc.
Date: 2009
Add comment August 27th, 2009
Pile-patates Harper (Stephen Harper Potato Masher)
Design: Pascale Hébert
Client: Artefaks
Date: 2008
4 comments August 10th, 2009
Cowboy Hat Swing Sets
Design:
Client: City of Calgary, Prince’s Island Playground
Date:
I’m pretty sure Calgary is the only place you’ll find swing sets like this.
-Michael Erdmann
Add comment July 9th, 2009
Small Boxes That Tick
Design/Maker: Ken Nicol
Date: 2008
Ken Nicol’s streamlined small-scale sculptures have an air of sweet futility. The question of “function” is gently posed in Small Boxes That Tick, stainless steel cubes fitted with clock mechanisms. The absurd side of existence as expressed through Nicol’s machine aesthetic echoes our sometimes precarious relationship with the technology we’ve created.
Via the excellent Canadian Crafts Federation/Fédération canadienne des métiers d’art.
Add comment June 24th, 2009
Islander LX Fly Reels
Design: Islander Precision Reels
Manufacturer: JS Foster Corporation, Saanichton, BC
Date: 1990s
Vancouver Island is a world class fishing destination and home to some serious fishing experts, both amateur and professional. This wealth of experience has informed the design of Islander reels from the very beginning; the first Islander reels were made by machinists at JS Foster for personal use. Since then, Islander has worked with a long list of supporters and ‘pro-staffers’ to test and perfect their designs. The result is a reputation for high performance in all kinds of conditions, durability (Islander’s have famously survived fires, prolonged submersion in salt water and all kinds of other abuse) and a degree of finish that’s near perfect.
I’ve never been lucky enough to actually use one of these (when it comes to fishing I’m no expert), but I can speak to the quality of execution. Holding an Islander reel is like holding a piece of very precise jewelry, especially when anodized in Islander’s signature gold finish. The production is flawless – no burs or marks of any kind – and the detailing of the form is well considered. The LX models shown here are the Ferraris of the Islander line and absolutely drool worthy… even if you’ve never fished in your life.
-Michael Erdmann
1 comment June 15th, 2009
Perrier Enameled Plate
Designer/Maker: Jules Perrier, Quebec
Date: unknown
Photo: Allan Collier Collection
I have to admit, this enamel work is pretty unfamiliar territory for me. These are decorative, studio made objects, which are subject to something of a design bias. While Canadian ceramics (including studio pottery) seems to get a fair amount of attention, this kind of metalwork goes relatively uncelebrated in design circles.
Aesthetically the motifs and colour schemes do show their age, still, many are quite striking and the material itself is pleasingly crisp and clean. While not as prevalent as ceramics, Canada appears to have a strong tradition with the medium. Here’s a selection of enameled plates from the Allan Collier Collection.
-Michael Erdmann
1 comment May 27th, 2009
Desrochers-Drolet Enameled Plate
Designer/Maker: Francoise Desrochers-Drolet, Monteal, QC
Date: 1950s
Photo: Allan Collier Collection
Add comment May 27th, 2009
Frugte Enameled Plates
Designer/Maker: Hank & Diny Frugte, Edmonton, AB.
Date: unknown
Photo: Allan Collier Collection
Given the malleability of metal, I’m surprised that we don’t see unique shapes like this one more often.
-Michael Erdmann
2 comments May 27th, 2009
De Passillé & Sylvestre Enameled Plates
Designer/Maker: Micheline De Passillé & Yves Sylvestre
Date: unknown
Photo: Allan Collier Collection
This husband and wife team also produced enameled jewelry pieces, which have become quite collectible.
-Michael Erdmann
3 comments May 27th, 2009