OCAD University

The Steam Canoe

OCAD University

1. September 2016

Photo: Khristel Stecher

The Steam Canoe, designed and installed by OCAD University students in joint venture with Grip Metal™, was on display on the shores of Lake Ontario, Canada, in February and will be re-erected at OMI Sculpture Park in Ghent, New York, come October.

Photo: Khristel Stecher

The Steam Canoe structure was achieved with a combination of computer aided and manual tools including computer assisted parametric geometry, manual cutting of the computer generated forms and experimental production by using a traditional process of rolling the Press Laminated Timber Panels that make up the pavilion. The process of sandwiching two layers of 3mm Oak and one layer of 19mm Spruce was made possible by the mechanical fastening of two Grip Metal™ layers, a type of metal Velcro™ developed by Nucap Technologies: a thin continuous steel sheet with grip hooks on both faces of the sheet is pressed into the veneer and core lumber in this press rolling method. Different radii are made possible by adjusting the feeding angle of the assembled panels carefully into the roll press. The results are strong and lightweight panels allowing an assembly into a pavilion without need for substructure – the external skin is the structure. The panels are assembled without the use of any glue and even though they have a stronger bond than traditional chemical adhesive methods, the components can be separated at the end of its lifetime into its pure material origins of wood and metal, making this a perfect innovation in material, process, application, product and sustainability.

Photo: Khristel Stecher

Core Team OCAD University: Curtis Ho, Jaewon Kim, Jungyun Lee, Monifa Onca Charles, Reila Park, Hamid Shahi, Lambert St-Cyr, Jason Wong. Mark Tholen, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Environmental Design OCAD | Nucap Industries / Grip Metal: Albert Bachli, Ray Arbesman, Mark Lavelle