Heavy joins AAA at their bi-annual “The Creatives” — Banff Sessions
Heavy wrapped up a successful first-time presentation at the Alberta Association of Architects (AAA) 2018 “The Creatives” sessions in Banff. The bi-annual event attracts professionals from around the world to participate in a series of workshops, presentations and events tailored to facilitate the exchange of ideas between experts from multiple industries.
Presenters included design professionals representing practices ranging from architecture and interior design, to specialists in technology and architectural materials. Heavy was honored to be a part of the exchange of ideas among this gathering of forward-thinking innovators.
Connor Hayduk, Design Lead from Heavy, presented “Amplify your Creative Impact Through Early Collaboration.” He provided attendees with insight on how one can utilize the same tools and perspectives he uses to help transform the ambitious and complex into simple and achievable through connecting during the early stages of a project and collaborating on the concepts through to completion.
Connor is a veteran when it comes to designing the weird and wonderful, with over 7 years experience at Heavy. He’s behind some of their most recognizable projects, including the CanBIM award-winning Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence in North York, Ontario and the Governor General’s award-winning Glacier Skywalk in Jasper, Alberta.
The audience was presented first with a unique challenge to get the creative juices flowing and set the stage. To get everyone to start thinking outside of the box, Connor challenged the audience to conceptualize a work of public art using a spiral-style bike rack as the basis for a concept. With the inspirational seed planted, the audience picked up their work sheets and began sketching away while Connor walked them through examples of Heavy projects, where similar concepts were brought to life in the same manner.
Sketch exercises from the AAA audience
Connor demonstrated the successful progression of concepts from the initial idea through to the installation of a completed work. Using iconic projects that included “Emergent” by artist Jill Anholt and the “ATCO Icon” by Studio North, he demonstrated the successful application of the methodologies of Heavy’s PLAN—BUILD™ process.
Detail shot from inside the The ATCO Icon, by Studio North. Facilitated by Heavy
Emergent, by Jill Anholt. Facilitated by Heavy
The key point presented is that we need to start planning for the iconic, feature elements earlier in the project development process and use the power of collaboration to leverage success. As a special treat, Connor wrapped up his presentation with a virtual reality walkthrough of a project that is currently in the design development phase, one that incidentally takes inspiration from the form of a spiral bike rack.
Heavy is extremely grateful to have been a part of such an engaging and inspiring event and the team looks forward to the next opportunity with AAA. To learn more about AAA’s The Creatives, please visit: https://banffsession.ca/