The Varsity Magazine: The Design Issue

6 FEBRUARY 2012

VOL. V NO. 2

THE DESIGN ISSUE THE VARSITY MAGAZINE IN THIS ISSUE

TORONTO DESIGNERS PROFILED 10

HOW TO BREW YOUR OWN BEER 22 THESE PEOPLE DRESS BETTER THAN YOU 27

INSIDE COACH HOUSE BOOKS 14

BLOOD, SWEAT, AND X-ACTO KNIVES 8

U OF T IN DIGITAL SCULPTURE

THE VARSITY MAGAZINE VOL. V NO. 2 6 FEBRUARY 2012

25 STOREFRONT DESIGN 101

4

A BARISTA SPILLS THE BEANS

5

SO BAD, IT’S CRIMINAL

6

CRAFTING YOUR IDEAL DIET

6

TAG TEAM GRAFFITI

7

TORONTO DESIGNERS PROFILED

10

MUNDANE OR MAGIC?

DESIGNING LIFE UNDERGROUND

13

THE MARKET NEEDS A MAKEOVER

19

BREW CHEZ NOUS

22

12

TIT FOR TAT

NATURE BY NUMBERS

WHAT’S YOUR STYLE?

13

24

27

FROM THE EDITOR

U

sually when people think about design, they think about something like this.

Or sometimes they think about über-hip Scandinavian-looking people who pout and scowl because they’re clearly better humans.

And perhaps, at a more intuitive level, they think about objects with clean lines and a brushed metal finish: things that look expensive and beautiful and that would make up the pages of Wallpaper magazine.

But the thing is, there’s a lot more to design than that. Anything that has ever been made by a person has been, in some sense, designed. Design is about creating something (let’s say a chair, a website, or a space shuttle) to suit a particular purpose and satisfy a specific set of aesthetic principles.

That’s what this installment of The Varsity’s All-Arts magazine is about. We’ve talked to some of this city’s biggest names in design — starchitect Bruce Kuwabara (of TIFF Bell Lightbox fame), pastry chef Nadège Nourian, and spectacle designer Shilo Rapp of Rapp Optical — to get a sense of Toronto’s design scene. The lucky Brigit Katz sat down with the gloriously-bearded Stan Bevington of Coach House Books to talk about his 40-year career designing some of Canada’s best books.

But design also crops up in places you wouldn’t expect. In “Beauty in the mundane,” Murad Hemmadi takes a look at the history of everyday objects that aren’t just functional but also secretly kind of pretty. Ex-barista Dan Seljak writes about latte art, while Lily Tarba tags along on a city graffiti expedition.

The point is, design is for everyone. It’s how we make the world more functional — and when we get it right, it’s how we make the world more beautiful.

Sincerely, Erene Stergiopoulos Magazine Editor (2011–2012)

PLAYLIST

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The magazine team hard at work with our beloved stuffed animals.

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THE VARSITY MAGAZINE VOL. V No. 2

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FEBRUARY 6, 2012

3

How to build a storefront

1

3

A primer in storefront design from the folks at Sonic Boom

by Ariel Lewis, photos by Wyatt Clough

I

f you’re a storefront designer in Toronto, rare is the opportunity to fill a half block–spanning window with something as eccentric as a giant abominable snow bird — unless you work at Sonic Boom. The record shop features a different album every month and is known for its quirky, iconic windows, designed by Tim Oakley. Sonic Boom’s storefront designer for the past seven years, Tim Oakley gave The Varsity the lowdown on what exactly goes into designing the storefront installations...

1 After choosing Guided By Voices as the featured band of the month, the next step is to study the album cover and break it down.

“Yellow and wood were the main reference colours here, with [a few] weird splashes of white. It’s a pretty simple, minimal cover ...

Robert Pollard is a big collage guy — all of their covers are sort of ripped out of National Geographic so I tried to use one of his signature [styles].”

2

4

2 Though Sonic Boom doesn’t approach its displays from an advertising perspective, the store does have some techniques to attract the customers’ attention. “Sometimes I think if it’s a classy window they don’t do as well as if it’s a little scrappy in some way.

Somehow, slickness just makes it fade into the architecture of the building.” Tim added a three-dimensional touch by filling the bottom with beer bottles, giving the window depth, and referencing the fact that Guided

By Voices is a notorious party band.

3 The next step is making the window installation unique to Sonic Boom. “I try to think if there’s anything [new that I] can add. I try to encourage myself to develop new techniques if time and money allow. We found out that when GBV play live, they have a sign that says, ‘the club is still open,’ which is a lyric from one of their songs. We ordered one of those from the States — it has nothing to do with the album cover, but anyone who’s a fan of the band will get it.”

5 On the festive side of things, the Sonic Boom holiday window was not inspired by an album, but rather, a few happy coincidences.

The displays often feature one object or element that takes the bulk of the display. In this case, it is a massive bird. “I don’t even know how I came up with it. A friend made me make a bird mask a couple of years ago...

Then I was making this Santa’s village, it sort of had no plan, and everyone was like, ‘Hey, bird houses!’ so I was like, ‘Okay, I’ll put some birds on it — that was fully intentional.’

5

6

We asked some Toronto bands...

Jeremy Rossetti of Bravestation: Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes “I very much enjoy the earth tones and if you look closely, there’s a kitty! And who doesn’t like kitties?”

4

Daniel Lee of Hooded Fang: Steal Your Face by Grateful Dead “I grew up on my older brother’s Grateful Dead album covers and T-shirts. They always had the best logo and iconography.”

THE VARSITY MAGAZINE

4 Constructing the storefront is as much about practicality as it is about design; all four walls must be accounted for, along with the floor and ceiling. “That’s the hardest part; if I like something [for one wall], then I have to start thinking about how I’m going to do the rest of [them]. That’s always been the struggle.” It just takes a small detail to bring an installation together. Tim fleshed out the rest of the GBV installation by adding a few non-specific ‘80s records.

6 Piece by piece, the random fixtures find a place and a theme comes together. “I didn’t want it to be so Christmas-specific, especially now that we’re in Honest Ed’s and that’s their thing... So I made it this mythical Christmas; kind of like a 1600s Scandinavian interpretation of it. Maybe [the bird] is their Santa.” Typically, the displays take a couple of weeks to build.

In the new location, Tim’s job also includes constructing walls and a great deal of carpentry — and then there are the little things. “Every one of those feathers I had to hand-glue onto him, and it took days. I actually gave up — that’s why he’s wearing a sweater.”

for their favourite album covers. compiled by Assunta Alegiani

Brendan Canning of Broken Social Scene: Orgy In Rhythm by Art Blakey

Ben Cook of Fucked Up/Marvelous Darlings/The Bitters: Island Life by Grace Jones

Doug Paisley: Sweet Daddy Siki Squares Off With Country Music by Sweet Daddy Siki

“That red on the black and white made me want to buy this album — such a simple and bold design.

The photo of Art is terrific, obviously: wonderful sweater choice, great expression on his face.

Perfect symmetry.”

“This cover blows my mind every time I look at it. It’s just stunning, controversial, and sexy, and everything I like in a record cover.”

“It always brings a smile. Country Music Sweet Daddy Siki has got to play the guitar but Wrestling Sweet Daddy Siki wants him to know that he’s got his eye on him and if he doesn’t get back to wrestling soon, there’s going to be trouble. It’s all on the cover!”

The mind behind the machine text and photos

by Dan Seljak

Your barista is a lot more savvy than you might expect A

“

lright, let’s see if I can’t make you something really cool.”

Sameer Mohamed, the owner of Fahrenheit Coffee and Toronto’s top ranking barista at last year’s Central Regional Barista Championship, darts behind his espresso machine and begins fiddling with a series of hidden dials and levers.

Moments later, he passes me a latte with an elaborate phoenix pattern on top. I’ve seen a lot of lattes, but Mohamed is good.

Drawn into the crema — that reddish-brown emulsion that covers a good shot of espresso — with stark white steamed milk, latte art is an attempt by baristas to achieve design perfection. The heart, the rosetta, the phoenix, the tulip: there are a few others, but for the most part the lexicon of a latte artist is limited and precise. Confidence and coordination are key; if the steamed milk is poured too slowly, the bubbles on top will remain stuck to the sides of their original receptacle and will never make it into the cup, and if poured too fast, all definition is lost.

But that isn’t the only challenge a barista faces. Milk scalds at 180 degrees fahrenheit. At that temperature all the bacteria and enzymes in the milk are obliterated, sterilizing that sweet and desirable lactose. The ability to create microfoam — the white bubbly stuff that forms on top of milk with the introduction of heat, air, and movement — is also lost. Without microfoam, latte art is impossible, so baristas have to use all of their senses to predict if their medium is the correct temperature. The metal pitcher holding the milk becomes too hot to hold comfortably when the milk approaches 180 degrees; the surface of the milk takes on a glossy sheen, and the slight whirr of the steam and of constantly moving milk begins to switch frequency to a low ominous growl.

The care and artistry displayed in this preparation reflect the attitude of the high-end independent coffee shop. Mohamed observes that customers “taste with their eyes,” and the unique presentation of latte art

adds to their full experience. Despite this view and his own skill at latte art, he is quick to point out that visuals aren’t everything.

“The purpose of latte art to me is basically show that you have good texture in your cappuccino. It’s a showcase for your texture — [it shows] if you’re skilled in the art behind the machine. If you don’t have good texture… your latte art will suck.”

According to Mohamed’s overall philosophy, latte art is a showcase of the product’s quality rather than the product itself. “There’s a lot of importance that’s been given to latte art at the cost of the product; if you can make something that tastes even better than it looks, go for it.”

Mohamed thinks of the independent owner as a designer. “The independent coffee shop is driven primarily by how the [owner] feels about the space. It’s all about how you project yourself into the place.”

He describes how cost, interior design, layout, and location are all choices that must be made by an

independent owner to maximize a customer’s experience and the quality of the final product. “Just how a place is laid out can increase output quite significantly. And while you’re doing whatever it is you’re doing, you have to be able to interact with the people in front of the counter.

Basically, it generates a nice flow work-wise, and it doesn’t look too cluttered to the customer.”

Mohamed’s keen focus on designing a functional space that produces high-quality products stems from his extensive experience with the coffee world. What started as a part-time gig almost a decade ago in Montreal quickly became a lifestyle.

Mohamed took his passion on the road as a coffee consultant under the name Fahrenheit Consulting, helping launch stores and redesigning existing spaces to optimize them for success.

Ultimately, however, the goal was always to launch his own place, which came to fruition in 2011 when he launched the Fahrenheit shop. “Coffee has been a very edu-

cational experience for me in terms of its complexity — how much you can change the dynamism of coffee and how incredibly delicate and complex it can be. For some reason, I think it’s a mission of mine to open people’s eyes to this amazing world if they aren’t aware of it.”

As I gulp down my latte, I think about what the implications of uniquely designed shops like Fahrenheit signify for the future of coffee culture. While maybe of a higher calibre than most, Fahrenheit is not entirely a unique breed in Toronto.

These days, we treat coffee less like a commodity and more like a luxury item, like win, which has led to a surge in small independent coffee shops dedicated to high-quality product. Sure, this trend may bring about higher prices and a sometimes impermeable layer of pretension, but for the most part, it brings better design and damn good coffee.

I scoop up the last remnants of my latte’s microfoam from the bottom of my cup and silently recognize that that is not at all a bad thing.

Strong

Espresso — for purists.

One ounce of flavour.

Macchiato — Same thing, but with a splash of steamed milk.

Milky

Cortado — bitter and sweet in perfect harmony. Equal parts steamed milk and espresso.

Cappuccino — Textured milk, espresso, and oodles of microfoam: a staple in any coffee lover’s roster.

Latte — More milk than coffee and just a bit of foam. I guess you could say there is a latte milk in this drink.

FEBRUARY 6, 2012

5

Spinach

Step 3

Step 2

Broccoli

Step 1 Water Thirst is often mistaken for hunger. Therefore, drink water to ensure you’re adequately hydrated.

Pick your vegetables At least two handfuls’ worth of vegetables is recommended with each meal. For optimal health, think of vegetables as your main course, with everything else as side dishes.

Cucumber

Celery

Choose a source of fat/oil Your body is better able to absorb many of the nutrients in the vegetables you eat if those vegetables are accompanied by a source of fat or oil.

Eggplant

Oils and dressings

Dips

Olive oil

Hummus

Canola oil

Tzatziki

Light dressings

Light cream cheese

Start here

How to design your ideal meal

End here Apples

Cherries

Pears

Oranges

Grapes

Bananas

Plums

Blueberries

Step 6

Step 4

by Mary Scourboutakos diagram and illustrations by Suzy Nevins and Dan Seljak

Choose a fruit Fruit, “nature’s dessert,” is a tasty and healthy way to finish off your ideal meal.

Beef

Beans

Chicken

Lentils

Pork

Fish

Eggs

Split Peas

Step 5 Pick your protein Don’t forget your Vitamin B12 supplement. This nutrient is only found in animal products, thus supplementation is essential.

Choose your source of carbohydrates/grains Carbohydrates are your body’s preferred source of energy. No meal is complete without them, and because they play an important role in short-term satiation, you probably won’t feel full until you have some.

Whole wheat bread

Brown rice

Couscous

Pasta

Quinoa

Wheatberries

Design crimes

by Maayan Adar and Matthew D.H. Gray graphics by Matthew D.H. Gray Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh

g

Clippit

g

McMansion

The Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh may look like a combination coffeemaker and alarm clock radio, but if you bought it upon its release in 1997, you would’ve been shelling out around $10,000 for it. You also would’ve received your new computer hand-delivered by a white-gloved concierge — weird. As if its outlandish look wasn’t bad enough, the computer had some very lacklustre specifications, boasting technologies that were being released for cheaper in other Apple products, and its attempts to compensate with unusual add-ons — a flat(ish) LCD screen and an external subwoofer — failed to impress. Looks like Apple has its share of skeletons in the closet too!

Clippit, the unhelpful Microsoft Office Assistant that everyone hated, was created for Microsoft Bob, a software program that was meant to provide new users with a nontechnical interface. With his stupid grin and smarmy eyebrows, Clippit (AKA, “Clippy”) popped up when you wanted him least in order to offer his unsolicited and inexpert advice. Eventually, the criticisms were heard, and Microsoft itself admitted its dislike for the little guy. In an ad campaign in 2001, Microsoft released videos of Clippy being fired and ending up as a floppy disc ejector for Macintosh computers.

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THE VARSITY MAGAZINE

h

What has two turrets, five bathrooms, 11 ensuite bedrooms, and a single occupant? Why, every house on Oleander Blossom Boulevard Lane, of course. McMansions are massproduced, tasteless, and poorly constructed jumbo-houses that line the sides of suburban streets everywhere. Disastrous details are the hallmark of McMansions. There may be six poorly-proportioned windows on the front and none on the sides; the house may hold two hot tubs and an elaborately flared staircase, but the “landscaping” consists of an empty plot of grass. McMansions are just right if you’re looking to accommodate your fugitive grandfather in a massive unfinished attic.

Hi, it looks like you’re trying to write a passive aggressive letter to your neighbour. Can I help?

Yes

No

Ford Pinto

i

Sometimes, design crimes really are criminal. In 1981, a lawsuit was filed against Ford for a rear-end collision incurred by Lilly Gray and Richard Grimshaw, who were driving a Pinto. The accident killed Gray and left the 13-year-old Grimshaw badly burned. Ford was found guilty in part because of its awareness of a design flaw in the car and its refusal to pay for a redesign. The flaw? A lack of reinforcing structure between the rear panel and the tank, which meant that low-speed collisions to the rear-end could cause the tank to explode in a deadly fire from spilled fuel.

Ford should’ve put in some design time to avoid that design crime.

Concrete canvas A fieldtrip through with a local graffiti artist

by Lily Tarba photos by Drips

I

hear sirens and freeze, bracing myself for the worst — but my companions are unfazed.

“Don’t worry, it’s not for us,” Drips says calmly, sensing my apprehension. Drips is a local Toronto graffiti artist; he and his friend are working on an underpass near Jane and the 401 and have agreed to let me tag along.

For most, graffiti appears out of thin air: one day there is a blank wall, the next a slab of colour — but the transformation process is never witnessed. To the ordinary observer, Drips and his fellow artists are invisible. Our location was suggested to him by another graffiti artist. It turns out the graffiti community is a very small and tightknit group. Although there is a sense of camaraderie, there is also a lot of competition.

“You can’t make a move without someone finding out what you did,” Drips tells me.

Taggable spaces are limited. Erasure and overwriting of previous works is very common and artists often try to upstage one another.

Eventually things get resolved because, as Drips jokingly explains, it ends up costing too much money in paint to continue.

“But there are rules. I never paint over the work of someone I respect. If I can see the work took seven hours to complete, I’m not going to do a quick piece over it. I’ll only paint over it if I think I can make it better.”

Bundled up and eager to get started, I follow Drips to a location near the highway exit ramp. The trek to the location is a wet and muddy one.

Eventually, we end up beneath the bridge of the highway, which has a large collection of graffiti pieces.

“This is a nice collection right here,” Drips’ friend points out to me.

And it certainly is. I never expected such a vibrant gallery of graffiti beneath a highway bridge.

“That’s Buster’s,” Drips says in passing. All graffiti artists have a character, a marker identifying the artist; Buster’s is a rabbit, and

Drips’ is a skull.

Climbing onto a ledge, Drips begins to unpack his equipment: paint for buffing, rollers, and most importantly a couple dozen spray cans. Picking a location near the edge of a ledge, Drips paints over a previous work.

“You see here, it has water damage,” Drips says while pointing out an area where the paint has faded. “It had a good run.”

While Drips works, I ask him what graffiti means to him.

“What doesn’t it mean to me?” he answers back with a smile.

For Drips, graffiti is about self-expression. For others, it’s synonymous with vandalism.

“There are rules. Don’t do it on private property: not on cars, houses, schools, or churches. There are these scums of the earth who just tag anything and then all of us are labelled punks and vandals … [There was] one guy who used to draw swastikas around the city — that’s not graffiti.

Those are scribbles.”

Drips also adds that graffiti is particular to specific environments.

“Graffiti doesn’t belong in a place like Rosedale. It belongs to neighbourhoods like this one,” he says, pointing out the billboards that surround us.

“You can’t walk around them. If you have money, you can put up an ad. People don’t get a say in what they see.”

For Drips, graffiti is self-expression for those who don’t have the money to have their voices heard. Graffiti, he says, belongs in public spaces. He calls it the biggest art movement since the Renaissance.

Three hours in, my limbs are completely frozen, while Drips continues to paint with his black latex gloves.

Drips and his friend discuss escape routes in case the police show up, the mere thought of which gets my blood flowing again.

I ask Drips if he sees graffiti as an art form. For him, the answer is a resounding yes. He tells me of a recent and rather embarrassing incident

during Rob Ford’s anti-graffiti campaign. In a bid to rid the city of graffiti, the anti-graffiti team buffed out a piece commissioned by the city itself. Putting the irony of the incident aside, the very act of commissioning graffiti lends a hand to legitimizing it.

Drips does not argue that all graffiti is art; he simply asks for a more honest and complex dialogue about it.

“The major problem is that people don’t even try to get it. They dismiss it right away. People are just told to see it all as vandalism. There is no discussion. Look at the States. Some dudes just chiseled some faces into a mountain; did they ask the Natives if they wanted those faces there?”

As I adjust to the cold, I pick up a can of spray paint. The front has a drawing of a boy in a baseball hat, pointing a spray can at a brick wall covered with colourful, stylized letters. As I turn the can around, the irony of the warning on the back strikes me. “Product was designed for artistic work. Any use of this product for acts of vandalism will be subject to severe legal penalties.”

Perhaps in the future the line between art and vandalism will not be so hastily drawn.

FEBRUARY 6, 2012

7

Architecture school confidential A heartbreaking tale of sleepless nights, severed fingers, and a shitload of hard work

I

t’s the summer of 2009, around midnight, and I’m breaking into Harvard. Well, not exactly — I’m sneaking into one of the vacant dorms, carrying drafting pencils, a T-square, some rulers, and a big roll of drafting paper. I’m not the only one. Though this wing of the Walter Gropius dormitories is supposed to be empty, every room I walk past is already occupied.

We’ve snuck past campus police, propping open doors and jamming locks with kneadable erasers. Everyone is nervous, sleep-deprived, and drinking Red Bull. Some haven’t slept for days. At this time of night, Gund Hall, home to Harvard’s Graduate School of Design,locks its doors — and our workbenches along with it. So we’re improvising: these dorm rooms have nice, wide desks, perfect for drafting. We work late into the night, and as the sun begins to rise, we pack up, sneaking back out one by one, cleaning up after ourselves as we go.

*

*

*

It’s a Monday night at Ryerson’s architecture department, and Ariel’s group is building a bridge. The assignment is simple enough: in groups of six, build a 12-foot long bridge out of nothing but cardboard and duct tape. If you can get three people to walk across the bridge one after another, your group gets a 90. If the entire group makes it across, you get perfect marks.

“Though our prof tells us it’s possible to get the full six people across, none of us really buy it,” Ariel explains. Just then, as a third group member steps onto the bridge, the structure collapses and everyone falls to the floor. “We’re getting closer,” he says. “We should have it by tomorrow.”

Rachel, also in Ariel’s group,

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THE VARSITY MAGAZINE

by Tom Cardoso photos by Rémi Carreiro

chimes in. “I’m still going to wear a bathing suit under my clothes when it’s our turn.” At their prof’s insistence, the groups will be testing their completed bridges over a pool in the gymnasium.

Ariel and Rachel are both firstyear students at Ryerson in the university’s competitive pre-professional architecture program, one of a handful in Canada. Once they finish their four-year degree, they’ll apply to architectural master’s programs.

Though they’ve just started the program, the workload is intense.

“On the very first day, for the first assignment in September, I’d already pulled pretty much an all-nighter for the deadline,” explains Rachel. “It’s definitely hard on you. Sometimes you have two or three all-nighters in a row, and then coffee’s your best friend.”

Sleep deprivation is a constant for aspiring architects. Easier projects might take a single all-nighter while others cost weeks of lost sleep. “During the end of the semester, a lot of people started pulling all-nighters,” says Rachel. “The studio was full of people. There were people sleeping in studio, sleeping in the computer labs… [It got] kinda gross.”

At the end of last semester, Ariel lived in the computer lab for five days straight.

“Basically, everybody needed a computer, so if I left my spot and came back hoping to find a computer, there might not be one, and I wasn’t going to be able to work. I just never left, which also meant I got more work done, but less sleep.”

Not everyone can keep up with the lifestyle. “[Last semester], one of the professors took pictures of every single one of his students, and then as they started dropping out, he would cross off their picture,” says Rachel.

“The pictures would be posted up in their section as well. So he started

off with a group of 12 and ended up with a group of seven.”

*

*

*

I used to be an architecture student.

For six weeks I studied at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, enrolled in its “Career Discovery Program,” an intensive summer course meant to give people a taste of what pursuing a master’s in architecture feels like.

Students in the program come from all over North America, and though most are in university, some are older, often in their 40s or 50s. As the weeks progress, we look on as people silently pack up and leave the studio — casualties of the long, sleepless nights.

The hours are demanding. Gund Hall opens its doors at 8 am every day, and by 8:15 am, entire sections are already working on their projects. Many won’t leave the building until midnight, save to get coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts or some food at Darwin’s Sandwiches down the street.

Our instructors, all Harvard graduate students also enrolled in design programs, unhelpfully assure us that grad school is just like what we’re experiencing. “A lot of people don’t make it,” explains our drafting instructor. “You’ve got to have thick skin. If you’re questioning your resolve at all, you probably shouldn’t be here.”

Getting any sleep after pulling regular 16-hour days proves difficult.

When I do manage to fall asleep, I dream of working in the studio, cutting foamboard or drafting up floorplans. When I wake up, I know I’ll need to go into the studio and do exactly what I’d imagined in my sleep all over again.

As we enter week four, I slice off a chunk of my thumb. I don’t have health insurance, so I clean and wrap the cut as tightly as I can, hoping not to bleed all over my model in the process.

In an effort to cheer me up, a studio instructor comes to my workbench and shows me his own scars, including a long line running across his right thumb. “See that? I once sliced off my thumb almost entirely,” he says. “It was hanging by skin alone!” He laughs. “Luckily, doctors were able to reattach it and it still works fine.”

I ask him whether I should go to a hospital. “That depends,” he says. “How’s your model coming along?”

He’s only half-joking.

*

*

*

Architecture students like to exchange stories about their battles with X-ACTO knives, box cutters, and sandpaper.

It’s a competition: everyone tells increasingly implausible tales of sleep deprivation and studio accidents.

“I kind of chopped off a whole section of my finger.”

Rachel is wearing a hospital bracelet and she’s just gotten back to the studio. She laughs. “No stitches, because there’s no skin that’s salvageable, so they put in some foam or something to create a fake scar and bandaged it up.

“The blood was kinda gushin’ everywhere. One of my friends working on the bridge project went around with the skin that got chopped off, saying, ‘Rachel chopped off her finger! Everybody just take a look! Take a look!’”

Even though she’s only in first year, Rachel says high school doesn’t even begin to compare to architecture school. “High school was a challenge obviously, but once you get here, it’s like, ‘Okay, we’re going now.’ You can’t stop. You’ve got the ball rolling.

“It’s unfortunate because I don’t get to see my [residence] floormates as much as other people do, and sometimes, I feel left out of their social circles. But then when you come to studio, it’s more like your own family. It’s definitely a family.”

Ariel agrees. “It’s weird. I was originally in engineering, which is a 2,000-person program in first year because everyone’s taking the same course, and I thought, ‘Okay, I’m going to meet 2,000 people.’ But I ended up talking to maybe six people in my small circle of friends. But here, since there’s only 100 people and you’re basically stuck in a building for the whole night, you talk to everybody.

There’s just a few people I haven’t actually talked to.”

For now, having a social life is a luxury Ariel and Rachel can afford. “The fourth-years tell us it only gets harder,” says Ariel.

It does. As I neared the end of my stint at Harvard, I’d already begun to question my resolve. It was the beginning of the end — and perhaps that was for the best.

These days, it seems all my architect friends have become stressed out, alcoholic chain-smokers.

Rachel and Ariel are both unfazed by the three years of school still ahead. It’ll be more of the same: sleep loss, severed digits, and long nights in the computer lab. But at least for now, they’re happy.

It’s almost two in the morning as I prepare to leave Ryerson, and the computer lab is still half full. I take one final look at the studio: messy workbenches covered in styrofoam, box cutters, and cardboard. I briefly consider telling them my own architectural horror stories, but I decide against it.

It wouldn’t change a thing.

FEBRUARY 6, 2012

9

TORONTO DESIGNERS TELL US WHAT MAKES THEM TICK

NADÈGE NOURIAN

Lightning round

HEAD CHEF / FOUNDER NADÈGE PATISSERIE An elegant white room sits across from the south-east edge of Trinity Bellwoods Park, with full glass windows looking out on Queen Street West. The vividly coloured macaroons and cakes inside are the handiwork of Nadège Nourian and her partner Morgan McHugh, who opened Nadège Patisserie in 2009. French-born Nourian’s pastries proved to be a hit, and last year, the couple opened another patisserie in Rosedale.

The Varsity: What do you enjoy most about being a pastry chef?

Nadège Nourian: A few things, but I’ll say to make people happy… When you make cakes, it’s like the centerpiece of a wedding or a birthday. It’s kind of like the main piece of an important stage for people. Being a chef as well — the image of it, the kitchen — it’s a bit like the army sometimes. I like that! [laughs] I don’t know if that’s for everyone. Being part of a kitchen, being part of a team, is also like being part of a family.

TV: How did you start working as a baker and chef?

NN: My parents had a little restaurant and I

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THE VARSITY MAGAZINE

by Simon Frank photos by Wyatt Clough and Ryan Kelpin

started working with them. I was 14, working in the kitchen and then in the front waitressing because I liked the connection with people as well. Then, I discovered pastry and decided to go more into pastry.

Also, my family — my grandparents, greatgrandparents, great-great-grandparents — had a pastry shop, so I’m actually the fourth generation.

TV: When you’re coming up with a new design, where do you find inspiration?

NN: Every time is kind of different. Sometimes a lot will be from fashion. It all depends on how I attack the cake. Sometimes I really want to do this flavour, or I want

Form or function?

Function.

Toronto, New York, or Paris?

I’ll be nice and say Toronto.

Anyone in the world you’d like to cook pastries for?

Alain Ducasse.

Digital or analog?

Digital.

that combination of flavours. Sometimes I really want to have that shape.

TV: You mentioned fashion being an inspiration for you. Do you see other connections between what you do and other art forms?

NN: The way we work is the same. I’ll start with a computer or paper and pen, and I start to write ideas and I start to draw.

What is there? What shapes? Then I will create a recipe or I’ll take some recipes and arrange them. Then, I go into the kitchen and I start to make it.

TV: Is there a particular cake or dessert you’ve made that you’re most proud of?

NN: There’s one that we took off the menu, and people are asking me to put it back.

It’s a very tricky cake with a lot of layers.

It’s matcha green tea with raspberry and brown rice pudding.

TV: Wow!

NN: There are so many layers, it’s crazy to make. The bottom layer is a matcha green tea sponge. Then after you have a matcha green tea ganache. Then you’ve got a brown rice pudding and then a raspberry mousse … and all around, we have a matcha green mousse. And then a chocolate spread!

TV: Your store on Queen Street has a very nice, simple interior; what were you aiming for when you chose that interior?

NN: Well, a lot of people say “simple” — I don’t know. It is simple, but there are a lot of lines to the design. We went to a really nice company of architects [Nelson Kwong Architects]. Maybe because I’m French, I like modern things because I’m surrounded by old buildings all of the time. My pastries are very avant-gardiste and modern as well, so I did want something to reflect what I’m going to create and who I am. I love open concept… I wanted people to come into the store and see the food.

Lightning round

SHILO RAPP

Digital or analog?

Depends: music or what? Analog.

Contacts or glasses?

Glasses.

HEAD DESIGNER RAPP OPTICAL

Toronto or New York?

Toronto’s home.

Minimal or maximal?

Minimal.

Form or function?

Form.

Helvetica or Times New Roman?

Helvetica.

Favourite restaurant?

Cava. I judge my friends on whether or not they like that restaurant.

Even if you’ve never heard of Rapp Optical, you’d probably recognize their frames. Rapp’s assemblages of thick, translucent plastic, brushed metal, and glass have been fixtures on the faces of Toronto’s most stylish since Mel Rapp started the company more than two decades ago. Today, Mel runs Rapp’s College Street storefront while his son, Shilo Rapp, crafts new designs at their North York factory.

The Varsity: How did you become a lens frame designer? Was there a moment when you decided that this was what you wanted to do?

Shilo Rapp: Not at all. I was born into it, my father being an optician for the last 30 years or longer. But I’ve worked in the shop all my life, so it kind of evolved gradually.

TV: So you just kind of grew up around design and glasses?

SR: Well, the traditional school route that most people take wasn’t quite working for me, so I started working the shop. [My father] at the time had an interest in designing and manufacturing a line of pens, so that’s what kicked it off. There’s nowhere to go and learn how to make a pen anywhere; there’s no course you can take for it — or for eyewear, for that matter. It just set me down a whole route of different courses: goldsmithing, silversmithing, tool and die machining.

TV: As an independent eyewear company, how hands-on is the process from initial designs to manufacture? Are glasses industrially manufactured, or is each pair really unique?

SR: Each pair of glasses is hand-finished entirely, so they get a lot of attention. We don’t use any mass finishing like the whole industry does. You’ll see most frames are round and glossy, and ours are really sharp and crisp, and the only way to achieve that is by

hand. It’s hands-on for everyone who works at the factory.

TV: Is eyewear manufacturing something that’s really determined by technological advances at this point?

SR: Glasses used to be made on manually driven pantograph milling machines. Now CAD/CAM technology [Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing] and CNC machinery [Computer Numerical Control Machinery] are the widely used ways to produce a frame. I think technology is changing everything, even how you design.

You don’t even need to put a pencil to paper.

TV: On a broader scale, I’d consider Rapp Optical a Toronto institution. Do you think Toronto is a good place for this sort of design?

SR: Absolutely — that’s my father and [stepmother] Julia’s doing. They are a wealth of knowledge in industry that I’m lucky to have access to. As far as the Rapp eyewear line goes … everybody’s responsible. I don’t even call myself a designer per se.

TV: What do you call yourself?

SR: I don’t know, I’m starting to warm up to it just ‘cause it’s easier. But when people ask me what I do, I tell them I make things — because I love the process of manufacturing, how things are made. It’s just as exciting to me as the actual design of the object itself.

BRUCE KUWABARA

Lightning round Toronto or New York?

I spend a lot of time in both cities. It’s not fair comparison or even choice, but again, I’d say I’ve got the best of both worlds. I live in Toronto, but I’m in New York a lot.

PARTNER KPMB ARCHITECTS

The resumé of architect Bruce Kuwabara and his firm Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg could easily double as a list of notable Canadian buildings. In Toronto, he has worked on the Gardiner Musuem, the TIFF Bell Lightbox, the National Ballet School, and the ongoing expansion of the Rotman School of Management. Towards the end of 2011, Kuwabara was appointed a member of the Order of Canada.

The Varsity: What do you enjoy most about being an architect?

Bruce Kuwabara: Architecture is a fantastic experience because it is very much about creating the world we want to live in.

In that one question, the question of what world do you want to live in, you have the opportunity to reflect on your own life, reflect on all of your aspirations and hopes for the future. Architecture in my mind is really a partner with the way we live; I think the more you do it, the more you realize how important that understanding is — that architecture isn’t just a kind of objectified building, but rather, a series of

relationships between buildings and public space, notions of how to build and nurture communities within buildings, and how to make buildings that are truly sustainable and beautiful. So we always ask three questions: how does it work, does it work well, and how does it look and feel?

TV: Do you think that good architecture can in turn create an environment that leads to creativity?

BK: Oh, absolutely. That is the thesis. We’ve used different metaphors for architecture.

One is that what you’re trying to create are the platforms upon which our clients — and some

of them are cultural institutions or academic institutions — can really do their best work and really create a synergy within an institution and synergy that’s connected to the outside world. For example, we’re doing the Rotman School expansion; we made an event box room that sits up on the second floor that is a room for 400 first-year students. It’s a room that can accommodate the entire first-year class at the Rotman, but it’s also a space that projects its activity out to St. George Street.

TV: You’ve been involved in architecture since the 1970s. How have both the materials you’re using and the processes changed since then?

BK: The changes are incredible. We did a building for Manitoba Hydro, which is 700,000 square feet. It’s in Winnipeg; it’s in an extreme climate… They wanted to make a building that could achieve a reduction of 60 per cent of the National Model Energy code building. We designed some really beautiful systems.

Digital or analog?

Both. I sketch a lot, and I’ve got an Apple, an iPad, and a Dell.

Robarts Library?

Fort Book.

TV: What scope do you see for renovation in your buildings, or how do you accommodate for knowing that the buildings will age?

BK: The structure of the building has to be modular and has to be robust. All the fixed elements like stairs and elevators and shafts have to be really well-placed. The way you get there is to make a proposal for all those elements and to try to lay out different scenarios of occupation… We’re doing that with the Kellogg School [at Northwestern University] now, where we’re making probably the most important decisions in the life of building… Flexibility has to be thought of deeply in terms of what it means. There’s nobody who would say, “I want an inflexible space,” but what is it? For me, flexibility is this: [Kuwabara stands up and slides a partition to reveal a meeting room]. We can use that room for some meetings. This is sort of like a Japanese house Is this room a conference room, a workroom, or a library? Does it matter? No. We get a lot of use out of it. We’ve had dinners here; we’ve had parties. That’s flexible.

FEBRUARY 6, 2012

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Beauty in the mundane The history of secretly beautiful household objects

by Murad Hemmadi graphics by Jenny Kim The zipper

The humble zipper, the most common fastening device used on clothing, had a torturous early life. An early version was invented by Elias Howe but was shunned in favour of its creator’s bigger, flashier product: the sewing machine. The zipper then joined the illustrious ranks of novelties to be debuted at World’s Fairs — in this case the 1893 Chicago World Fair, in the form of a “clasp locker” by Whitcomb Judson. But it wasn’t until Gideon Sundback, working for Judson’s Universal Fastener Company, that the zipper became something akin to its current form.

Sundback gave the zipper a whole new look, and it went on to become a raging success. You’ve probably got one on right now.

The ball bearing

Ball bearings make the world go round — or they would, if the earth were a man-made, wheeled device. The ball bearing was patented by Philip Vaughan in 1794 as part of a carriage design and by bicycle mechanic Jules Suriray in 1869. Suriray’s variant was an essential part of the winning two-wheeler in the world’s first bicycle race. The ball bearing is a true unsung hero, working behind the scenes in almost every form of mechanized transport and, most importantly, the yo-yo. So important are ball bearings that factories manufacturing them were some of the most frequent German targets of Allied bombing in World War II.

The stapler

Are you, like The Varsity’s staff, chronically unable to find your stapler? You’re in good company.

The first person to own (and therefore probably the first to misplace) a stapler was Louis XV — the one between Louis the Sun King and the Louis that got his head chopped off in the French Revolution. The four-way stapler (the type you’re probably hunting around the house to try to find) was developed as recently as 1941. That makes it younger than its upstart rival, the stapleless stapler, invented in 1910. “Stapler” is also a fairly common Norman family name — so don’t expect that boy or girl you were dating to be inheriting an office-supply fortune anytime soon.

The cue card

When you’re writing that big speech you’re planning to give to your flatmate about washing the dishes, or to your tutorial group about the failings of the nation state, or to your stuffed animals in preparation for pillow-fort domination, nothing jogs your memory like a well-executed cue card. The late actor John Barrymore, grandfather of rom-com favourite Drew Barrymore, was among the first to use them in order to remember lines on stage in the 1930s. The cue card has failed to keep pace with its more technologically advanced rival, the teleprompter. Still, for those of us that aren’t newscasters or presidents (but want to feel just as grave and important), there’s no beating the cue card.

The scrunchie

You may not have realized this, but scrunchies are the world’s great leveller. Whether you’re a big-shot business executive or a broke university student, the same crinkle-fabric wonder keeps your ponytail in place in your down time. The scrunchie began life as the creation of one Rommy Revson in the ‘80s, though the design was only patented in 1994 after a good deal of wrangling — of the legal, not the untangling-knotted-hair, variety. Sure, scrunchies aren’t always a hot fashion choice; they had their heyday in the ‘80s and early ‘90s. But for those moments when an ordinary office-variety rubberband just won’t cut it, look no further than the ordinary scrunchie.

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THE VARSITY MAGAZINE

Designing a life underground The principles of earth-sheltered architecture

by Sam Bowman Waterproofing: this layer keeps dampness and pests from creeping into your home.

Insulation: this is crucial to retaining some of that heat.

1

2

3

4

Earth berms/green roof: this extra heat reservoir consists of mild insulation and whatever plants and critters you choose to let take up residence.

Supporting walls: these not only hold up the roof but also act as very dense reservoirs for heat.

Malcolm Wells

Frank Lloyd Wright

A traditionally trained architect who made the study, design, and construction of “gentle architecture” his life passion. He lived and worked in an earth-sheltered house and wrote several books outlining everything a potential underground dweller might need to know.

In 1943, “the world’s greatest architect” designed the Jacobs II House, a curved, earth-sheltered home which was heated mostly by the sun using a design Wright called the “solar hemicycle.”

Two quantities are in the golden ratio (also known as the Greek letter Phi) when the ratio of the sum of the quantities (a+b) to the larger quantity (a) is equal to the ratio of the larger quantity (a) to the smaller one (b).

a+b = a = b a

= 1+ 5 = 1.6180339887 2

a

b a+b

Since at least the Renaissance, artists and architects have made their works proportioned approximately to the golden ratio. They discovered that by using this ratio, they could create a feeling of order in their works and they especially favoured the golden rectangle, in which the ratio of the longer side to the shorter is the golden ratio. The golden ratio is also intimately linked to the famous Fibonacci sequence, which starts with 0 and 1 and where every subsequent number is the sum of the preceding two: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13… The numbers of the Fibonacci sequence increase at a rate around the golden mean; the greater the numbers are, the closer the ratios between them approach the golden mean.

0/1 = 0 (ignore this one) 1/1 = 1 2/1 = 2

3/2 = 1.5 5/3 = 1.6666…

8/5 = 1.6

13/8 = 1.625 21/13 = 1.61538…

34/21 = 1.61904…

Because it’s in the Fibonacci sequence, the golden ratio is also present in growth patterns of several natural phenomena. The Fibonacci series is a fractal sequence, which is a mathematically defined system that usually forms self-replicating or recurring patterns when it’s graphically represented. This series can be found everywhere in nature.

Where do we find Phi?

Parthenon

b

b 13

8

5

3

1

Notre Dame de Paris

a

Branching in plants

Taj Mahal

CN Tower b

1

Honeycomb

text and illustration

by Mushfiq Ul Huq

The golden ratio was used by the Egyptians in the design of the pyramids as early as 2575 BCE. The Greeks applied it in the design and proportions of the Parthenon from 448–432 BCE, and Phidias, a sculptor, made the Parthenon’s statues embody the golden ratio.

In his Elements, Euclid (325–265 BCE) gave the first recorded definition of the golden ratio, which he called the “extreme and mean ratio.”

Fibonacci (1170–1250) mentioned the numerical series now named after him in his Liber Abaci; the ratio of elements in the Fibonacci sequence approaches the golden ratio asymptotically.

Human body proportions

Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) proved that the golden ratio is the limit of the ratio of consecutive Fibonacci numbers and asserts that “Geometry has two great treasures: one is the Theorem of Pythagoras, and the other, the division of a line into extreme and mean ratio; the first we may compare to a measure of gold, the second we may name a precious jewel.” These two treasures are combined in the Kepler triangle, which some say is observed in the Pyramid of Giza.

Martin Ohm (1792–1872) is believed to have been the first to use the term goldener Schnitt (golden section) to describe this ratio in 1835.

Mark Barr (20th century) suggested the Greek letter phi (φ), the first letter of Greek sculptor Phidias's name, as a symbol for the golden ratio.

a

Nautilus shell

The divine code

Phi timeline

Known as the “Divine Proportion” by Renaissance artists, the ratio gave their work exquisite balance and beauty. Excellent examples are The Last Supper and The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. Da Vinci also illustrated a dissertation called De Divina Proportione, in which he referred to the Golden Ratio as “Section Aurea,” the Golden Section.

a

Egyptian pyramids

Earth-sheltered housing has been around for most of human history and can be found in many parts of the world. The premise is simple: to make use of the ground we walk on to put an extra layer between the elements and ourselves.

Earth-sheltering increases energy efficiency, provides a home for plants and animals usually evicted when humans move into an area, and can look pretty cool all the while.

Snowflakes

FEBRUARY 6, 2012

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the art of the book 14

THE VARSITY MAGAZINE

A history of book design through the eyes of Coach House Books

by Brigit Katz photos by Bernarda Gospic

N

estled between Innis College and a sparse row of townhouses is bpNichol Lane, a narrow, concrete road. I have passed by this unassuming little street nearly every day for the past four years, thinking it was nothing more than a deserted alleyway. But now, amidst the gasping winds of an unseasonably rainy January, I head down the street for the first time in search of Coach House Books.

The small publishing company is located at the end of bpNichol Lane in a small brick building that was once used to store horsedrawn carriages. I can hear the hum of a printer through its blue doors and walk along a pathway that leads to the front of the premises. Two hulking antique printing presses greet me as I step inside. At the top of a narrow staircase is a cozy room with a large window and creaking wooden floors. Densely packed bookshelves crawl across the walls, reaching the tips of the triangular ceilings. A plush armchair rests by the window beneath a hanging sign that proclaims it the “magical sleeper chair.”

I have come to Coach House Books to talk to Stan Bevington, the company’s founder and long-time publisher, about the evolution of book design. Although its appearance might suggest that Coach House is nothing more than a quaint printing shop in a secluded enclave of the U of T campus, it is in fact a respected and established authority in the Canadian publishing industry.

Coach House has been at the forefront of

technological innovations in publishing and printing since its foundation in 1965, and it has printed the works of many famed Canadian authors, including Margaret Atwood, Anne-Marie MacDonald, Anne Michaels, and Michael Ondaatje. Bevington himself has been honoured with a slew of awards recognizing his contribution to the field of book art, including membership to the Order of Canada.

As I sit down at a wooden table near the stairwell, Stan walks into the room, carrying a large stack of books. He takes a seat across from me and begins to tell me about the early days of Coach House. Suddenly, he slaps the surface of the table. “I made this table!” he exclaims and then laughs. “And these benches too!”

When Stan began publishing with Coach House in the ‘60s, the process of printing books was almost as painstaking a task as crafting furniture from scratch. Each word of a book had to be typeset by hand and each page printed manually using the antique printing presses that now sit in the entrance of the building. “[At that time], a lot of printing was done with letterpress — that is, little lead letters that were raised — and the top of the letters got [brushed with] ink, and then that ink got pushed into the top of the paper,” Stan explains. “So we had to have a collection of little lead letters.”

A few years later, Coach House purchased a photo-offset lithography machine, which allowed images to be transferred photographically to aluminum printing plates. Oil-based ink adhered to the images on the plates, which were then used to print the pages of a book.

CONTINUED ON P16

FEBRUARY 6, 2012

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CONTINUED FROM P15 “Being starving students as we were, I bought a $5 camera at an antique store, which is that one right over there,” says Stan, gesturing towards a box camera nestled into one of the shelves on the wall behind me. “That camera was used to photograph illustrations and turn them into negatives, and then the negatives got exposed to the photo-offset aluminum plates that would print the illustrations.”

He shows me a book that Coach House printed in 1967 on the early work of Jack Chambers, a contemporary Canadian artist whose paintings are now on display at the AGO. On one page, a black and white picture is positioned between two paragraphs of type. Stan explains that these paragraphs were typeset by hand, photographed, and then pasted next to the picture.

The composite image was photographed once again, transferred to an aluminum printing plate, and finally run through the printing press.

In the 1960s, this was cutting-edge technology. According to Stan, offset lithography was

type called Cartier Book,” he explains. “It was used for the Canadian Bill of Rights, and it’s used for historical plaques in Canada, but we at Coach House used it for many, many books. We helped the designer polish up the design of the face … until finally it [was established as] a really solid typeface.”

Advances in printing technology have also dramatically altered the nature of book cover design. During the years that Coach House used a photo-offset machine, it was incredibly difficult to print a book cover using more than two colours of ink. Stan excitedly shows me the fairly ambitious cover of Michael Ondaatje’s Rat Jelly, a book of poetry that Coach House published in 1973. Made with four different colours, it features a rather sinister looking baker holding up a tray of cakes. Each colour is marbled with lighter shades and outlined thickly in black, making the cover resemble a stained glass window. It’s a lovely piece of book art, but Stan tells me that it took an entire week of darkroom work to create the four-colour aluminum plates required to

“Our shop was the first to buy Helvetica … when it first came out,” he says. “[But] the lead and the brass moulds for the type were so expensive, we could only have two typefaces.” a tremendous step forward in the publishing industry because it “drastically liberated” the process of creating printing plates. But the text of a book still had to be typeset by hand, which left publishers relatively restricted in other areas of design. As Stan thumbs through additional books that were printed using offset lithography, he laughs and points out that they are all set in the Helvetica typeface.

“Our shop was the first to buy Helvetica … when it first came out,” he says. “[But] the lead and the brass moulds for the type were so expensive, we could only have two typefaces.”

Oh, how the times have changed. Since switching over to new printing presses in the early 1980s, Coach House has digitally typeset all of its books. The advent of digital printing technology was also accompanied by a plethora of new typefaces, giving Coach House the freedom to both select and create fonts that would enhance the overall design of its books.

“We look for a font that’s appropriate for the job at hand,” says Stan. “We have an almost unlimited range of choices. What we’re more proud of is having encouraged Canadian type designers to design type.”

Stan walks over to one of the bookshelves and pulls out a catalogue that Coach House printed for the Fisher Rare Book Library. He flips through the pages so I can see the font.

“This [catalogue] was the first showing of a

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print the cover.

Stan pulls yet another book out from the pile sitting next to him on the table, this one made entirely with a digital printing press. About half a dozen colours are swirled together in the background of the book’s glossy cover. The pattern glides neatly around the cover’s crisp white lettering. In fact, Coach House’s digital press is so accurate that it was able to print the background design around the outline of the white lettering without any colour bleeding into the text.

Because Coach House can now print such intricate designs with relative ease, the staff are able to focus their efforts on creating covers that encapsulate the essence of a book’s content.

“We’re now able to make full colour covers on anything we want,” says Stan. “We’re usually looking [for a design] that will, at a glance, describe what a book is. If you pick up a book, look at the front cover, look at the back cover, and if you can get the gist of what the book is about, that’s a win.

“Each one of the books reflects the taste of the author, reflected through the professionalism of a good editor and a good typographic designer,” he adds. “But generally, we try to make a book cover that has individuality. There’s not a particular house style that makes them look similar.”

To illustrate his point, Stan shows me a book CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

visit our new website! www.thevarsity.ca

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE that describes the holdings of Chinese studies in the U of T libraries. The cover is floppy, and the paper inside is so thin that it could only be printed on one side.

“This book was made [with this paper] because in the Oriental way, they printed on rice paper,” says Stan. “So we chose the thinnest paper [available].”

He tells me to turn to page 32 of the book, where there is a beautiful Chinese illustration coloured with delicate strokes of red ink.

“In the history of Chinese printing, they only had that red, which was a vermilion pigment,” Stan explains. “So I printed this book with black and vermilion [ink].”

Although Stan has always welcomed the progressions in printing technology that have allowed Coach House to expand its repertoire of book design, he admits to being somewhat baffled by the ever-shifting nature of the industry.

“I think of how reassuring it must be for a craftsman who’s a bricklayer, because the materials haven’t changed. We’ve been on quicksand. We have to keep making the things look like books, but they’re always made in a different way.”

Yet there are some aspects of book design that Stan refuses to change. While most publishers now print their books on recycled paper (“postconsumer junk,” as Stan calls it), Coach House still uses the same type of paper that it commissioned from a Quebec paper mill during the ’70s.

This paper is made from fresh, young trees and sized to fit the Coach House printing presses in order to cut down on waste.

“We asked [the mill] to make the paper a little thicker … and we asked them to put a laid finish on it,” Stan says, holding a book up to the light so I can see the grids of parallel lines on its pages.

“Why?” I ask him.

He looks at me for a moment, as if wondering why I would ask such an obvious question. “’Cause it’s a tradition,” he replies, “A tradition in papermaking.”

As I walk back down bpNichol Lane later that day, I catch a glimpse of Coach House’s digital printing press through the windows at the back of the building. I can’t help but smile at the thought of such a cutting-edge piece of technology whirring busily away in the back of an old carriage house, and I find myself hoping that some aspects of Coach House Books will always stay the same.

Hart House Theatre and The U of T Drama Coalition Present the 20th Annual

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17

Organic chemistry online this summer Arts and Science Online @ Queen’s Biology English Literature Film and Media Global Development History

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UTM Bookstore 3359 Mississauga Rd N William G. Davis Building Mississauga ON L5L 1C6 (905) 828-5246

AUGU STA A VENU E

Kensington needs a redesign How to revive the market’s lifeless nightlife

P

eople are reluctant when changes are recommended to the creative neighbourhoods of any city. Proposals are followed by uproar from residents, businesses, and patrons with the usual cries of “We don’t need change,” “Down with capitalism,” and Fuck Starbucks.”

So why change something that Toronto loves and finds sacred?

Kensington is well-balanced, juxtaposing its own counter-culture with the Towers o’ Finance further downtown. The neo-vintage shops stand beside immigrant grocery stores perfectly, though in a very postmodern and hipster sort of way.

Kensington Market, with its unique mix of community, culture, and city planning, has become a nexus in downtown Toronto, linking residential areas like the Annex with the commercial ones of Chinatown and Queen Street.

We are big fans of this area.

We live in and around it, and it’s where we take our visiting friends first — to show them that Toronto is not all CN Tower and big bucks.

Kensington’s greatest achievement is that its years of popularity have not stopped it from serving the entire spectrum of economic class.

Its bakeries, butcher shops, and supermarkets — that sell far cheaper food than your local chain grocery store — lie beside shops selling your grandma’s now-hip vase back to you for eight dollars.

From an urban designer’s point of view, it is mostly a dream come true: dense, diverse dwellings with short city blocks and a mixture of old and new buildings. The mother of modern context-based urban design, Jane Jacobs, sought her second home here. Kensington’s urban design success is the root of its success as a neighbourhood.

But come nightfall, Kensington shows its dark side. Shops close and the streets are deserted — it’s nothing like during the day. Some find this a necessary evil; creativity seems to spring up most in shadowy places — see ‘80s, ‘90s NYC — but so do crime and danger. Let’s face it, most of us have a weird story about Kensington at night.

As a place so vaunted in the daylight, why shouldn’t it be as successful at night? The principles of urban design can go a long way toward forming the mood of a neighbourhood. Here’s how they could make Kensington safer at night.

by Edvard Bruun and Ankit Bhardwaj

Come nightfall, Kensington shows its dark side. Shops close and the streets are deserted — it’s nothing like during the day.

Illumination With its creepy, sparse, argon street lights, Kensington is in dire need of better lighting. New lights should be designed to illuminate wide areas and they should be bright enough not to create shadowy ones. Lights could improve Kensington’s mood and accessibility. If you think of successful “night-bourhoods” like Bloor, Queen, and Richmond, however, it’s not just the streetlights that

1

2

1. Photo by Wyatt Clough 2. Map by Matthew D.H. Gray

For more on the market’s history and culture, see http://var.st/a9g

illuminate the street, but the lights and signs of shops, restaurants, and bars as well.

Store hours Most shops in Kensington — especially below Baldwin in south Kensington — are notorious for only operating during the day. When the grocery stores close down, Kensington dwindles down to a fraction of what it is in the daylight. If more restaurants and bars stayed open, not only would the streets be better lit but more people would be out and about, giving the area a greater sense of security. Jane Jacobs’ idea of “eyes on the street” finds its perfect application here. Kensington is in a prime location, near the university and other bar districts, and its business owners have the creative ability to capitalize on the hungry and thirsty nightlife crowd. For students, it would be great to have a decent bar close by and more food options than Chinese at 3 am. Still, there needs to be a balance so that late-night bars and restaurants don’t disturb Kensington residents.

Pedestrianization It seems an obvious measure to pedestrianize an area that is dominated by pedestrians and cyclists and that serves as a tourist attraction. The success of Kensington’s monthly pedestrian Sundays cannot be ignored.

However, food stores and grocery shops heavily rely on cars both for

delivery and customers, who prefer not to carry their grocery-laden bags for too long. In our opinion, Kensington is pedestrian enough. The narrow streets force cars to drive more slowly, and on crowded days, most Toronto drivers know to avoid the busy neighbourhood anyway. Cobblestone streets, though expensive to install, would increase the dominance of pedestrians by acting as speed breakers for cars. They could also make the area seem more walkable and improve safety by making cars audible at night. Conditions for bikers could be maintained through a tarmac strip as a bike lane.

Parks Parks are an integral part of city design and are a microcosm of the region where they’re located. Bellevue Park reflects south Kensington’s daytime energy and nighttime sparsity.

Redesigning the park to include more communal functions would change the area from a neglected fringe to a focal point of Kensington. A well-lit park, featuring community projects such as an artist’s wall or stage would reintegrate it with the area and make it a more desirable place to walk through at night. This would have a synergistic effect with the adjacent businesses open at night, ensuring more users for the park.

Garbage bins Also more garbage bins. That will be all.

FEBRUARY 6, 2012

19

Covers that didn’t make it

Think we made the wrong choice, or think you can make prettier ones?

Email the design editors: design@thevarsity.ca

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Home brews How to make beer from the comfort of your own closet

by Sean MacKay photos by Wyatt Clough

B

ud Light and Molson Canadian might be two of the most consumed brands of beer, but drinking them is equivalent to eating McDonald’s hamburgers or reading nothing but Dan Brown.

Why settle for the lowest common denominators just because they have contrived, patriotic advertising and are easy to find?

The craft beer industry is big in Canada, and small brewers have found success selling in their local regions. For the particularly adventurous enthusiast, brewing beer at home is becoming an increasingly popular way to experiment with flavour and to learn more about the process behind beer production.

Chris Maddison, a U of T student, and Andrew Gordon, a recent alum, have spent the last few months perfecting the art of home brewing. Their latest batch is fermenting in a closet in Andrew’s Kensington Market house.

That doesn’t sound too glamourous, but this batch will yield 5 gallons (19 litres) of beer.

That’s an impressive result for an investment of $40 in ingredients purchased from Toronto Brewing, a primarily online-based store that sells how-to books, equipment, starter kits, and all the ingredients required to brew.

Brewers use a large pot to boil the ingredients, a fermenter (a large bucket to hold the soon-tobe beer as it ferments), and an immersion chiller, which quickly cools down the hot “wort” (a notso-fancy word for the liquid ex-

22

THE VARSITY MAGAZINE

tracted from malted barley).

The number of steps in the process varies depending on the type of kit you buy and the ingredients you begin with, but despite the clear instructions, home brewing isn’t for those averse to risk.

A single screw-up in the process can ruin a batch, and it’s often hard to tell if a batch has been compromised until you’ve actually had a taste, typically three weeks after brewing day. Oh, and on brewing day, be prepared for a strict regimen of sanitization, some heavy lifting, and a very messy kitchen.

Chris and Andrew put down about $200 as an initial investment for equipment. Their most recent yield is equivalent to two 24-packs of beer.

While there’s a chance Chris and Andrew will make a mistake during the process and wind up with 5 gallons of really shitty beer, they’ve gained enough experience to know what they’re doing. In fact, they’ve already made it through the most arduous and risky step: brewing day.

But it took some trial and error to get to this point.

“The first batch I did was in September and it came out pretty terrible,” Andrew recalls. “It was from one of those really easy kits that’s just hops, malt extract, and sugar. It was supposed to be an IPA [India Pale Ale], which is a hoppy beer, but it just came out as something weird that didn’t taste like much.”

Brewing day requires many steps, so it’s hard to pinpoint where you went wrong if you wind up with a bad batch, especially since you won’t

A single screwup in the process can ruin a batch and it’s often hard to tell if a batch has been compromised until you’ve actually had a taste.

know if you did something wrong until you taste the beer weeks later.

“We probably screwed a bunch of things up,” Andrew explains. “I think we pitched the yeast before we put the sugar in, and you’re supposed to do it the other way around.”

But sometimes a screw-up doesn’t equal a wasted batch.

“The second batch we did, we accidentally diluted it with too much water. It still turned out really well,” Andrew says.

If you’re doing things correctly, your brewing day will go something like this: you’ll assemble your ingredients (malt extract, hops, and yeast); sanitize all equipment and the space you’re using to brew; make your wort; boil the “brew water”; rehydrate the dried yeast; add malt extract and hops; shut down the boil; cool the wort; pitch the yeast; add cooled wort; and store the fermenter.

Sounds a bit complicated, right? Well, it’s probably because home brewing is not a process many people are familiar with, but Chris compares it to cooking and following a recipe.

“You can get a book and learn why every step is important,” he says. “That will make you a better brewer, but anyone can go out and get a kit.”

Following a recipe is easy enough to do, but regular cooking doesn’t usually involve so much heavy lifting. Brewing day gets intense, and Chris and Andrew recommend having a brewing buddy.

“You have to time things right and it’s hectic, so it’s better to do it with another person,” Chris explains.

Patience is also a virtue on brewing day.

“You’re basically heating up three gallons of water on a kitchen stove, which takes about an hour,” Andrew says. “You have to time the addition of the hops and time how long you’re steeping the grains. It’s kind of like cooking, but you have to be really clean and it’s a lot more complicated. You also end up making a huge mess.”

After the brewing process is finished, the fermenter needs to sit in a cool place for about three weeks. The amount of time varies depending on the type of beer that’s brewing.

Ales take only a few weeks while lagers require more time to ferment. Lagers also need a colder temperature to properly ferment.

According to Chris, some types of ale are more finicky than others, but they’re still what a beginner brewer should attempt first.

Bottling day is comparatively stress free, although it can be tricky too.

“You add a bit more sugar to the beer and you put it in bottles and cap it — that extra sugar is a bit more food to the yeast. Another by-product of fermentation is carbon dioxide and that’s how you naturally carbonate beer,” Chris explains, articulating the finer points of the process with the confidence of a genuine beer scientist.

“When it comes out of the fermenter, it’s flat.

You put a little bit of sugar in, put it in the bottle, cap it, and then it ferments and creates carbon dioxide that gets trapped.”

Andrew explains that bottling day can get a bit sloppy too.

“The first time we bottled, we were using a funnel and measuring cup to take the beer out of the bucket and put it into bottles,” he recalls. “That took a long time and there was beer all over the floor. Then we got this thing called a bottling wand. You attach it to a siphon and then put that in the bottle, and it does it more automatically.”

Chris and Andrew had a friend design labels for their last batch. The words “Scribbler’s Brew” are pasted on every bottle. They plan on keeping the label design for their next batches.

Andrew describes his exploration of home brewing as the natural extension of being really interested in beer.

“At first, you find different beers you want to try and eventually, you start to wonder what it’s like to make it yourself,” he says.

“Before I started doing home brewing I had no idea how the different flavours were achieved, and now, I have a better idea of how that works.”

Chris’s motivation for trying home brewing stems from an interest in local industry where there’s a lot of variation.

“I think [variation is] a big part of the craft beer industry in North America,” he says. “People really feel proud of local breweries and locality is a big thing. When I go travelling now, I get excited and I look up breweries that are located in the place I’m going to go. I might tell my friends ‘I’ll pick up some beer for you,’ things you can’t get anywhere else.”

While exploring the craft beer industry will likely enhance appreciation for the beverage, home brewing takes that appreciation one step further and deepens the understanding of the creative and technical processes behind brewing. You don’t want to wind up with 19 litres of cloudy water that tastes like rotten cheese. Yes, it’s been known to happen.

1

Fill bucket with water

2

Add cereal(s)

3

Include a dash of indiscretion and selfpity

4

Andrew Gordon and Chris Maddison show off the fruits of their labour, “Scribbler’s Brew.”

Bottle, shake for bubbles, and enjoy FEBRUARY 6, 2012

23

Embarrassing tattoos

by Livia Murray photos by Bernarda Gospic

Getting lost in translation is a global phenomenon.

English tattoos are increasing in popularity in Japan — also foreign, also sexy, and also the breeding ground for potential mistakes.

Thankfully, Maru’s “PAIN IS TEMPORARY” tattoo, done before he learned English, is mistake-free.

Tattoos in foreign languages are pretty hip, especially if they are in a language with wicked characters that scream manga, samurais, and gomoku all at once. However, those looking to get some Japanese calligraphy under their skin should tread carefully: mishaps such as the misspelling, inverting, omitting, upside-downing, and general grammar-butchering of the language are more common than one might think.

When certain characters are not drawn close enough to each other, their meanings change.

In the picture above, the tattoo on the left means “little sister.” The one on the right, distinguishable only by the space between the characters, reads “female market.”

Hailing from Nagano, Japan, Maru is a tattoo artist at Imperial Tattoo and has seen his fair share of unfortunate Japanese tattoos. Armed with a long calligraphy pen, he explains some common mistakes made by tattoo artists who don’t speak Japanese.

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Systems Sculpture

Medium: photography and digital sculpture Artist statement by Matthew Jarvis Wall Computers and information networks are becoming increasingly prevalent in our everyday lives, making us rethink the way we participate in the production of art and design. The cornerstones of classical aesthetics in art — autonomy of form, singularity of vision, and totality of message — become less relevant as artists and designers turn towards the “systemic” as their aesthetic.

Generative design refers to any art practice where the artist uses a system, such as a set of natural language rules, a computer program, a machine, or other procedural invention, which is set into motion with some degree of autonomy contributing to or resulting in

a completed work of art. Generative art is, in this sense, self-automating by nature. Self-automation is a seemingly contradictory notion, an intrinsically mechanical process that also speaks to the complex forms and behaviours observed in nature.

These four sculptures, each intended to be emblematic of an academic discipline at the University of Toronto, represent only single instances of constantly shifting and unfolding generative algorithms. Systems Sculpture is an attempt to negotiate the physical and virtual qualities of these generative sculptures, and also a means by which students can explore and visualize new art on campus.

FEBRUARY 6, 2012

25

TERYN

3rd Year, Book and media studies

What’s your style?

4th Year, rYerson interior design

THE VARSITY ASKS…

JONATHAN

Streeters

compiled by Benarda Gospic and Wyatt Clough

“Styles hoarded by a curious wandering collector.”

JESSICA

4th Year, drama and anthropologY

“It hasn’t changed since I was ten. I like things that last.”

“Anything in my closet that I haven’t worn in a while. I usually choose things with unique detail.”

3rd Year, historY

toronto design personalitY

“I call my style ‘corporate–bohemian.’”

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RINA

4th Year, rYerson interior design

“If I can find something between cute and comfortable, I’m golden.”

“Gotta keep it casual, cool, and comfortable.”

MAIA

EMMA

JAMIE

4th Year, commerce

4th Year, Book and media studies

“This year I decided to wear only black, navy, and denim. It allows me to play with different textures.”

“Whatever I like.”

FEBRUARY 6, 2012

27

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I believe in symmetry

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Mud construct material Large group of people Jonathan (Apple’s designer) Former Italian currency (pl.)

Oceanic language Often confused with the gross Disagree Private student residence Double helix Short for “trigraph” No resistance Porn Australian timezone Ugly GM cars Grown ups Bring into being Happiness OS tools and resources Streetcar Article on P22 ‘90s computer encyclopedia Elf Annoying message you get from a classmate Head orifice Not an apple (backwards) Gentle Hiking routes That other university in Toronto, less the ‘son Chasing the whale Father of Aoris New York Museum Misérables Michael Jordan’s league Idiotic Croatian port city Gifts to the poor (s.)

Gerard Butler movie Friends of Rasputin Grade five school subject (acr.)

Not far Tea

In fashion Under your nails Group sex Modernist design school Language suffix Taking sides Turkish soccer player Chemical theory Phonetic University College Product design Airway When you get there A math class (abbr.)

Time in Toronto Thee Oh s River around the castle Stop or Jeff Bridges has true Mete out Famous German product designer 30 compressions Chair designers Outlaw Tributary of the Rhine Provincial representative Shakespearean when pigs fly One of the design crimes on P6 As soon as … acceptable?

New Age singer Lacking chest bone structure This issue Subduer of big felines British mounted artillery Capable Mom The singularity + R Significant time periods Half of Bosnian capital Famous rapper Scottish “no” New York’s TTC Standardized international system for cellphones

Design Horoscopes

by Destiny Starr Aries

Libra

(March 21–April 19) The planet Mars is sending warm feelings your way over the next few days. Opt for a subdued wardrobe palette, and avoid Pantone 15-5519 at all costs.

(September 23–October 22) You love peeing — especially when the arc of your urine follows the Golden Ratio.

Taurus

(October 23–November 21) Your singularity of vision will be an asset this week as you go on to tackle new projects. That Billy bookcase doesn’t stand a chance.

Gemini

Sagittarius

(May 21–June 20) You’re feeling sexy this week and everyone’s noticing. Keep wearing those rhinestone Croc-assins and your next few days will be as sultry as they are stylish.

(November 22–December 21) The Diva Cup was specifically engineered with your needs in mind.

Raise awareness about eco-friendly feminine hygiene by wearing it as a hat.

Cancer

Capricorn

(April 20–May 20) Be careful about selecting your research material this week. Go to Robarts and take out all the books that use sans serif fonts on the cover.

(June 21–July 22) Your intuitions about industrial design will serve you well this week. Namely, you’ll successfully avoid sitting on a two-legged stool.

Scorpio

(December 22–January 19) With Venus lighting up your celestial sphere this week, it’s time to make some bold decisions. Go ahead and write that take-home midterm in Comic Sans. Your TA will thank you.

Leo

(July 23–August 22) It’s time to tackle a novel and a demanding task this week. Revisit your Sims characters and choose new outfits for all of them.

Virgo

(August 23–September 22) Take a moment to contemplate the subtle architecture of Kelly Library as you slowly puncture your eyeballs with a dull object. Also, read up on on the Italian sculptor Agostino Bugiardini.

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Aquarius

(January 20–February 18) Wear checkered leggings every day this week. See page 27.

Pisces

(February 19–March 20) Consider taking a new direction with your pubic hair. The stars say, “fuscia is the new au naturel.”