Scalar lighting
Brave Design, Montreal
Scalar is a group of linear asymmetrical lighting fixtures, either surface mounted or suspended, with direct and indirect lighting effects. Designed for the computer user who spends more time in the office than at home, Scalar fixtures are personal, flexible and adaptable. Common elements are a diagonally folded wing-like part in perforated aluminum with cylindrical connectors and diffuser sections. The hanging fixture comes in two models, a double centre support and a two-ended support. Shifting moir patterns make the fixture shimmer. Scalar is available as a wall sconce in two designs and three sizes.
DESIGN TEAM: ANDREA WHITE AND ROBERT WHITE.
Orgafile
JDi Design, Vancouver
Orgafile, designed by Adrian van Wijk and James McDonald, is a grow-as-you-go filing system. Based on the alpha numeric filing system developed in Germany, Orgafile provides compact storage and easy document management. Its unique features are the patented LinkFit and TouchFit systems – the former allowing drawers to be stacked and fastened by just sliding them into position; the latter an anti-tilt locking system, restricting drawers so that only one can be opened at a time. The extruded wood (a natural product made from 90 per cent recycled wood fibre and 10 per cent polyolefin) used to make the drawer module front and sides allows the incorporation of design features. Orgafile will have its final product launch later this year.
MiniAim
Frdric Galliot and Dirk Zylstra, Montreal, for Axis Lighting, Montreal
MiniAim, a simple architectural lighting fixture designed to provide efficient and adjustable illumination, is built in two parts: a static housing on top for power management; and a lower, rotating housing in which the lamp is nested and which handles the fixture’s light distribution and direction along a 180-degree range. By lining up the lower endcap’s indentations to the upper endcap’s notch, the user gets controlled and constant rotation from one fixture to the next. The snap-fitting together of key steel and aluminum parts reduces the assembly time, the need for hardware and the section of the fixture – resulting in a smaller-sized package, more in tune with its small and energy-efficient T5/T5HO lamp and ballast innards.
Vox Open Office
Mark Muller, Toronto, for Neinkmper, Toronto
Vox Open Office is an open-office workstation that can accommodate any number of users in a compact, efficient and elegant environment. The desking system offers premium surfaces and finishes. Divider panels integrate computer equipment into the system’s sleek aesthetic. Vox desktop accessories hang from a continuous accessory track, organizing workflow while maintaining a clean-lined office ambience.
Splinter chairs
Matthew Kroeker, Winnipeg
Industrial designer Matthew Kroeker designed these chairs as a “metaphor for a bad marriage day.” Made of teak and aluminum, the two chairs break apart or merge at a connection of jagged wooden slats, with the irregular splintered ends visually describing a break-up. They are designed for indoor and outdoor use and are now under production contract with manufacturer Jane Hamley Wells.
Scaffolding workstation system
Bartlett & Associates, Toronto
International advertising firm Saatchi & Saatchi asked Bartlett & Associates to design its new Toronto office, an open loft space with exposed mechanical and polished concrete floors. The design concept included these custom workstations, fabricated from steel scaffolding, that integrate exhibition and workspace. The workstation system combines formed sheet metal, walnut veneer and Plexiglas panels within a standard scaffolding structure, fabricated with a series of metal fasteners in the manner of Meccano. Power and communication cables run from ceiling cable trays down the vertical scaffold columns and along the spines of each desk to recessed power bars.
DESIGN TEAM: INGER BARTLETT, ALEXANDRA SAMOUK AND JESSICA BLACKWOOD.