The Lodestar Tower recently completed in Kelowna, BC
DS Studio, Fishtnk, and Tom Svilans recently announced the completion of a collaborative public art commission.
The Lodestar, located in North Kelowna, British Columbia, is an example of how something that is considered an age-old material can be modified digitally to suit contemporary needs.
The structure stands at 7.5 metres tall, has a radius of four metres at its base and weighs three metric tons. The Lodestar also takes up a large portion of the previous public plaza.
Located just outside a recently completed RCMP station, the artwork is part of a mixed-use community that also includes a historic mill, train tracks, and abandoned warehouses.
The tall wood structure is conceived as a gateway for the neighbourhood, providing a canopy, lighting and seating that helps to both define and protect a new public space.
“We summarized what we absolutely needed to make this a successful public space that draws people to it. The three necessary components are: an enclosed structure for protection and to bring the massiveness of the city’s scale down to the human scale; a colonnade to define space and signal that something special is happening here; and a marker so that the gathering space can be seen from afar,” said Dina Sarhane, pricipal architect of DS Studio and urban design professor at Carleton University.
The competition-winning design was commissioned in 2018, but was challenged by material shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as a limited budget. It is made from FSC-certified and laminated Yellow Alaskan Cedar, along with custom-fabricated steel braces.
The shape of the Lodestar was driven by the exploration of the strength limits and capacity of the wood. The size and scale of its legs and cells became stretched and pulled, and its almost vertical legs resemble tree trunks which merge into a canopy overhead.
Alaskan Yellow Cedar is a naturally durable and strong wood species. It has been further protected by a high-grade exterior coating applied by Goodfellow Inc. The wood is expected to change colour and texture with time.
Co-designer Mani Mani, principal of Fishtnk, helped to refine the details of the design that allowed a non-traditional use of mass timber. Mani, along with Alexander Reiner and Anthony Mattacchione, relayed advanced fabrication techniques and the tools required to accomplish “something unprecedented” with structural engineer Maffeis Engineering.
Co-designer Tom Svilans, a researcher and educator at the Royal Danish Academy in Denmark, contributed the computational modelling as well as the technical development of the structure.
“Digital modelling required an exploration of different ways to shape the wood into complex forms – balancing how it looks with how well it performs structurally,” said Svilans. “Repeat prototyping and testing was key, as was developing strategies for custom joinery and detail resolution.”
The project is illuminated by ground-embedded LEDs that illuminate the interior faces of the elements and create exterior silhouettes.
“The shadow play,” Svilans said, “evokes a campfire in a dark forest, a centralized warm and safe locus for gathering. This is why it was important for us to light it from the inside and not illuminate it with surrounding spotlights. It adds to the intrigue.”
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