Unbuilt mixed-use housing - 01 wood book - 05 art gallery [adaptive reuse] - 07 ecology centre - 10 Built clayton - 13 penny - 14 prospector - 15 library of infinities - 16
sudbury, on winter 2021
produce produce is a collaborative exploration of thresholds through mixed use development. The site has been identified currently as a liminal space between the economic core to the south and a historically low income neighbourhood to the north and would serve as the driver for conceptual development of the project.
Through further site analysis, a dire need for socialized housing and a women’s emergency shelter in the downtown area were revealed, along with no formal plan ensuring for city wide food security. As such, the decision to remedy these needs programmatically through a graduated socialized housing model, a transitional women’s shelter program, and by collapsing the threshold of a farm to table approach by creating an urban-hydroponic-farm-grocery store.
All together, produce produce aims to improve, heal, and nurture its residents through a healthy active lifestyle and freshly grown fruits and vegetables.
Beginning just south of the site and through to the rest of the neighbourhood in the north, cobblestone streets encourage drivers to maintain slower speeds making for more a pedestrian friendly urban fabric and while simultaneously adding safety to the neighbouring school zones. A difference in surface treatment also signals the entry to the site, crosswalks, and axial connections from the site and beyond.
Wherever possible, plantings are used to highlight a threshold, all of which are edible and native to the region. Examples of these plantings are outlined below.
The graduated socialized housing model is realized through geared to income rental units and rent to own units, assisting residents to move from renters to owners in a more direct and effective manner. The women’s shelter is fragmented into a short term emergency shelter and long term stays, flanked by counseling services. Distributing the shelters is rationalized by an added a layer of safety, in so that the shelter is not easily discernible to any potential threats. A private courtyard entry also allows for greater safety upon entry and exit while providing the concept of thresholds to be explored.
Oregano (Origanum species)
Cold-hardy oregano plants for the food forest.
Oregano may be harvested when the stems are at least 4 inches tall, by cutting back up to two-thirds of the plant. owers are also edible.
Gooseberry (Ribes hirtellum)
A shrub native to Northern Ontario that is high in vitamin C and good for juice and smoothies.
and have already begun producing fruit.
Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus)
An edible tuber that also provides food for pollinators later in the season than most plants. An important food source for indigenous people keeping well in the ground throughout the winter.
Asparagus (Asparagus o cinalis)
Once established, asparagus will produce for decades and can be harvested every second day from early May to early July.
Good King Henry (Chenopodium bonus-henricus)
In the same family as spinach and all parts of the plant are edible. Its leaves may be used in much the same way as spinach. e shoots can be harvested and prepared just like asparagus, and the ower buds like broccoli.
Plum (Prunus salicina) Cold-hardy varieties of Toka and Brookgold.
Our commitment to the wellbeing of the residents is mirrored by a commitment to environmental responsibility, so naturally wood is the structural material of choice. With hopes of evoking a memory of agricultural architecture, a post and beam system is reinterpreted through a grid/network of members, with cross bracing as a reference to the classic image of barn doors. This system is both pragmatic and aesthetic in choice, allowing for interesting light and shadow play to anyone shopping inside while providing a support for systems integration above.
Taking note of the largely brick residential buildings of the area, an entirely new building technique was developed to reference the projects surroundings. The result, a CLT brick system was invented which relies on a the principals of a traditional brick wall while maintaining the ecological benefit of wood. With each brick’s dimensions governed by a nominal 2x4, the units (1000 x 450 x 90mm) are imagined to be made from offcuts of previous construction endeavors while maintaining an overall weight of 13 kg. The overall size and weight can easily be lifted by one person, allowing for minimal disruption by use of a crane and offers opportunity for community members to exchange labour for an offset rental cost.
canadian wood council
collaborative work with Professor Randall Kober and Thomas Vanderkruk
The Wood Book is an ongoing project funded by the Canadian Wood Council researching how wood has been used in Canadian architecture through time. The book will cover the material properties of varied tree species, highlighting their uses and distictive characteristics. This is then followed by indigenous, colonial, and contemporary construction methodologies and detailing, rendered by simple isometric line drawings. In ideation, this project aims to be an educational tool for architecture students who believe in sustainable design and wood as the natural material choice of the past, present, and future of the field.
Sited between the cultural thoroughfare of Durham St and the industrial nature of Elgin st, 135 Durham could be described as a building between two worlds. Similarly, the site is situated between two buildings, with one to its north and one to its south. Through a series of case studies and the examination of the conceptual approach of rooms within rooms, a curated and careful appropriation into a gallery was desired to maintain the original character of the building. This, in concert with an exploration and articulation of rooms between, would frame the conceptual thinking of this project. The aim is to provide a playful and decidedly unique gallery experience through unconventional spatial arrangements, transitions, and views.
sudbury, on. spring 2019
Designed with reverence of a childhood in the woods, this theoretical Ecology Centre proposed on the north shore of Lake Laurentian in Sudbury, aims to celebrate the connectedness of root systems and fungus that form a symbiotic relationship known commonly as the Tree Internet. This network of trees and mushrooms informed the structural grid and ceiling design, where members may stretch from one end to another, crossed by a multitude of others. Nested into a hillside, the transition of building and tree stand is blurred, as if the trees gradually become more organized.
787H x 609W x 482D
march 2016
personal project
Clayton renders Windsor chair construction in the language of Danish modern furniture to arrive at a lithe yet robust design. A knife edge taper minimizes the front profile of the solid wood seat while retaining the platform’s structural integrity. The stretchers were made of metal rod to minimize their visual presence, and brass was chosen to compliment the light tones in the ash wood construction. The formal balance of the upper and lower structure about the plane of the seat creates a hovering effect, which allows the chair to be both looked at and through, and thus to meld more readily into the design of an interior space.
762H x 1066W x 330D
august 2015
personal project
The Penny desk merges simplicity and functionality with a slender, spacesaving design. The horizontal plywood surface, which is just 330 mm deep, comfortably supports a laptop computer, while the custom molded trough stores papers. Designed as an alternative to traditional, expensive desktops and cabinet-type filing systems, the Penny desk offers a storage and work surface better suited to contemporary modes of work.
800H x 762W x 4876L
august 2015
The Prospector is a 16 foot canoe of a type traditionally used to support long-haul exploration. This example was constructed in collaboration with four other people with whom I shared an interest in Canadian craftsman heritage. It was built over the course of several months using a variety of traditional and modern techniques. The hull was built in the traditional manner, entirely of cedar, but walnut, basswood, and mahogany were also used in the gunnel.
august 2021
art exhibition by Shaya Ishaq and Saw Gallery
production lead
Library of infinities marks my most ambitious built project to date. Relying heavily on colaboration with the artist, all sculptural pieces would first designed and constructed using 3d modelling software to determine feasibility and material quantities. With an extremely short construction window, all 26 pices were designed, built, and finished within approximately 4 weeks prior to exhibition opening. Displayed from August 2021 - October 2021, the Library of Infinities is now being considered for several galleries across Canada.