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Miscellaneous

^^ I wouldn't draw those conclusions any more in the present day. It must be more than a dozen years ago that I had a favorite millworker/finishing carpenter friend of mine show me how his then new CNC machine worked. With a computer generated program (which I provided) he laid out piece by piece strips of oak on his pressure-fixed CNC table and with a router guided by the computer program formed every piece of a full set of cabinet doors. He had one of his employees on hand to shut the machine off if something went amiss and he and I went to the corner pub for a pint. When we got back an hour or so later all of the ornate door pieces were cut and rough-sanded ready to be assembled and stained. Now this was a set of cabinet doors and not a window but it still illustrates the process. CNC machines have just gotten better and more specialized over the years. I could lay out the most sophisticated filigreed Gothic church window on the computer and give it to any carpenter with a CNC machine and the whole window could be cut, router-shaped and assembled in an hour or two (including the time I would spend on computer). Even stained-glass pieces could be so designed on computer and cut from antique glass via CNC -- the time here would be assembling the glass pieces and fitting them with lead or copper came and then placing those pieces in the filigreed openings. The broad point is that it is possible to re-create any historical piece in minutes not days and have it ready to retrofit an historical subject.
For reference I have attached a couple of projects that I designed using ArchiCAD where CNC played a major role:
The first is a retail/residential project in Santa Barbara -- that city loves conformity to Spanish Mission-style architecture. Though the windows are not close-up in this rendering I think you can see that they are fairly ornate and detail intense -- CNC milled units with R-6 triple-paned glazing (thanks to the California Energy Code going back 8 or 9 years).
View attachment 699875
In the area of furniture design here is a custom convertible daybed/sleeper/sofa that I designed -- the headboard is the CNC part. I drew this on the computer (again ArchiCAD) and the pieces were CNC laser cut in about 20 minutes from 1/4" thick Corten steel. The point of these two illustrations is that anything can be manufactured in the present day without the lost art of human craftsman-like cutting, shaping and polishing (snapzed off of a sales brochure promoting our furniture designs). The two units have multi-directional casters and the back-support pieces can be removed and the two sofa pieces then rotated together to form a queen-size bed.
View attachment 699878
Did someone request that bed?
 
^^ I wouldn't draw those conclusions any more in the present day. It must be more than a dozen years ago that I had a favorite millworker/finishing carpenter friend of mine show me how his then new CNC machine worked. With a computer generated program (which I provided) he laid out piece by piece strips of oak on his pressure-fixed CNC table and with a router guided by the computer program formed every piece of a full set of cabinet doors. He had one of his employees on hand to shut the machine off if something went amiss and he and I went to the corner pub for a pint. When we got back an hour or so later all of the ornate door pieces were cut and rough-sanded ready to be assembled and stained. Now this was a set of cabinet doors and not a window but it still illustrates the process. CNC machines have just gotten better and more specialized over the years. I could lay out the most sophisticated filigreed Gothic church window on the computer and give it to any carpenter with a CNC machine and the whole window could be cut, router-shaped and assembled in an hour or two (including the time I would spend on computer). Even stained-glass pieces could be so designed on computer and cut from antique glass via CNC -- the time here would be assembling the glass pieces and fitting them with lead or copper came and then placing those pieces in the filigreed openings. The broad point is that it is possible to re-create any historical piece in minutes not days and have it ready to retrofit an historical subject.
For reference I have attached a couple of projects that I designed using ArchiCAD where CNC played a major role:
The first is a retail/residential project in Santa Barbara -- that city loves conformity to Spanish Mission-style architecture. Though the windows are not close-up in this rendering I think you can see that they are fairly ornate and detail intense -- CNC milled units with R-6 triple-paned glazing (thanks to the California Energy Code going back 8 or 9 years).
View attachment 699875
In the area of furniture design here is a custom convertible daybed/sleeper/sofa that I designed -- the headboard is the CNC part. I drew this on the computer (again ArchiCAD) and the pieces were CNC laser cut in about 20 minutes from 1/4" thick Corten steel. The point of these two illustrations is that anything can be manufactured in the present day without the lost art of human craftsman-like cutting, shaping and polishing (snapzed off of a sales brochure promoting our furniture designs). The two units have multi-directional casters and the back-support pieces can be removed and the two sofa pieces then rotated together to form a queen-size bed.
View attachment 699878
There's no question that CNC milling improves efficiency. Does it render the time honored principle of economies of scale obsolete? No it doesn't. The average cost of a duck headboard will be less if 1000 are manufactured than if 1 is made because the milling process is only addressing one of many input costs.
A couple of houses that have historic designation feature clinker brick fireplaces. How would CNC handle the non uniform and irregular shape of those bricks if some were needed?
(nice job with the headboards btw)
 
BP for ATB Place:

2025-11-28
Commercial Final
To construct exterior and interior alterations to an existing commercial building (concourse, main and second floors) - ATB Place revitalization.
10020 - 100 STREET NW
$30,000,000
North Tower only

13602.jpg
 
How would CNC handle the non uniform and irregular shape of those bricks if some were needed?
I don't think CNC would handle that kind of demand -- clinker bricks would require special attention because they are unique products in clay-firing processes (since no two are exactly alike). I think they would be processed as they currently are -- I think that there randomness of form is the basis of their appeal.
 
BP for ATB Place:

2025-11-28
Commercial Final
To construct exterior and interior alterations to an existing commercial building (concourse, main and second floors) - ATB Place revitalization.
10020 - 100 STREET NW
$30,000,000
$30 mill...that's a big revitalization. Is there work on the outside of the building happening too?
 
Those are just demolition permit signs, no development permits signs up, so I’m not sure what might be going there.
A 38-unit building of micro suites. I was part of an appeal against this development; we won, because the variances they assumed they would get (Dreamstar Custom Homes/Harry Mann) were egregious. We won the appeal, but all we did was slow them down on the basis of one designed feature: balconies protruding either side much farther than is normally allowed. The bungalow had been completely refurbished, with a sun room and a basement suite. The evergreens were mature and healthy. And yes, another heritage home bites the dust with the Klyft residence, The architect (SPAN architecture) lied at the hearing, saying that the newer condo development (well-designed) on the corner of 83 Ave. And 108 St. Had no front-facing entrances because “they’re not safe in Garneau.” The house on that site was actually moved to 84th Ave. Both of the homes on 83 Ave. were demolished mechanically and I assume they’re hauling them away to the private landfill; it’s cheap to do this in Edmonton, as it remains the only major city in Canada without incentives to prevent this type of waste. A sad day for my neighbourhood. The developer said we shouldn’t exist. I have come to conclude that the city agrees.
 
The thing I want to see is the part of the building right along the sidewalk become something where there is activity a lot more activity than there is now or even from before
I'd like to see a restaurant (or two) on the main level. Including one here:
Screenshot 2025-12-02 at 11.16.34 AM.png


Paging @Avenuer for renders?
 

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