Design
EDITORIAL
Origins’digitalapproachtocraft transformswoodwith“liquid”lines
Date
December8,2021
ExperimentaldesignstudioOriginscombines craftsmanshipanddigitalfabricationtocreate woodensurfaceswithstrikingeffects.
Whenmaterialtakesonanunexpectedappearance,itssurrealistcharmcaptivatesanaudience.We’re thinkingofsculpturalfeatslikeMatthieuLehanneur’sLiquidMarble…orinthiscase,thewoodworksof Vancouver-basedstudioOrigins.
Operatingattheintersectionofcraftandtechnology,designduoDeaganMcDonaldandKelseyNilsenmetwhilestudyingfor theirMastersofArchitectureattheDanielsFacultyinToronto,wheretheywerebothexposedtoawiderangeofsoftwareand technologies,mostinfluentiallythepotentialapplicationsofparametricmodelingandCNCmachining.
“It’ssafetosaywe’vetakenabitofanunconventionalpathtowoodworkingsincethen,”saysMcDonald. “Whenitcomesto ourmoresculpturalandtexturedworks,we’reobsessedwiththetransitionpointsaswemovefromdigitalinputsto physicaloutputs,butmoreimportantly,howwecanmanipulatethesemoments.”
Author KieronMarchese Tags Canada, DesignProcess& Manufacturing, Home Accessories, Wood Share
TheCanadianstudioOriginusesparametricmodelingandCNCmachiningtocreatestrikingcollectionsofdecorativeobjectsandfurniture pieceswithsculpturalandtexturedlooks–©Origins
,thiswayofworkinghasresultedinseveralstrikingcollections pieces.TheyincludeImpact,acollectionof
Itwasintendedasanexperimentinrapidprototypingandpseudo-predictability. commontostartwithahyperprecisedigitalmodelandthenworktoreconcilethegeometrywiththelimitationsofthemachine andtoolingavailable,”
“Inthisseries,wearestartingfromtheoppositedirection;usingtheselimitationsas alanguagetodefinesurface.Bydrawingourowntoolpaths,thisstrategyeliminatesourabilitytopreviewandself-critique thefinalformpriortomanufacturing
Todrawthetoolpaths,asinglepointofreferenceflaresradiallinesoutwardsatrandomangles,upwardsandoutwardsfrom thecenterofthetray.Theresultingsurfaceisshapedbya2”diametertooltracingeachoftheselinesfromtheperimeterof inwards.Becauseeachlineisgeneratedatarandomangle,eachpathofmaterialremovalintersectsitsneighbours
AsimilarlyexperimentalapproachdefinesLowTide,aseriesofsculpturaltraysthattakecuesfromtheshorelineofthePacific Northwest.Machinedfromsolidoak,thesetopographicalpieceswerebornfromasearchforefficiencyinproductionand post-processinglabor,andawaytocelebratethemarksofmaking.Ratherthanlaboriouslysandingawaytoolingmarks, Originshasexaggeratedtheireffectandpreservedthemasthefinalsurface—asequenceof1mmterracedtoolpathsdefining
Itisalsorecognisableinthestudio’slargerpiecessuchasTempo,a technologies,thedesigncarvesacontinualseriesofwavesintoitsstructure.Withinthetroughsofthesewaves,partitionwalls slideinandoutwithease,allowingtheusertoshiftandsubdividetheoveralllengthoftheshelfhowevertheyseefit.Theangle ofthesewavesletthepartitionsactasbookendswhereneeded.
WoodworkingintheLionCity–Thesustainablenatureof
FromancientwoodturningtotraditionalJapanesejoinery,meetthemakersofInstagramrevitalisingtheartof
TheduobehindOrigin,DeaganMcDonaldandKelseyNilsen,areusingthelimitationsofthemachineandtoolingavailableasalanguageto definesurface–©Origins