Active in the Community – With Ramsin Khachi

We were recently invited by celebrity designer Ramsin Khachi to participate in a voluntary community project for the Town of Oakville, Ontario, and we said yes!

Next to the RBC Skate in the Square free public skating rink located in downtown Oakville, Ontario, the project was to build a wind protected booth where skaters could both rest and change footwear.

Wind-Protected Booth Covered with Laqfoil stretch Ceiling Material

Inside Halton.com says regarding the rink:

“The synthetic skating surface means that the rink is ready for action in all types of weather. The synthetic surface is made of polymer material and is designed for using normal metal-bladed ice skates.”

ice skate wind booth made from stretch material

The rink will be open daily from November 29 to February 28, 2014, from 8am to 10pm in Oakville Towne Square, located along the North side of George St. between Lakeshore Rd. E. and Robinson St.

While the booth, designed by Ramsin Khachi and fabricated by Laqfoil, looks ordinary at first glance, like the skating rink itself, it has a few special features.

First, of course, it’s covered with Laqfoil stretch ceiling material. This was clearly a superior design decision for the situation, and I’m not just saying that because this is Laqfoil’s blog! Erecting the whole thing from start to finish in about four hours on November 25, our team was working in freezing temperatures. Frozen paint does not dry, so a cold temperature alternative to paint was needed. A painted or unfinished surface would also have been rough and may have caused users to get slivers in their hands, as the best wall material for winter weather conditions, and the one we used, is oriented strand board (OSB).

The second benefit to using Laqfoil stretch membrane as a covering was the application of logos, both for Khachi Design Group and for us, easily digitally printed on the membrane before it was installed. This printing is fully weather-safe, like the membrane itself, as the ink forms a molecular bond with the membrane material upon application. Ramsin was pleased with the image that we set up to fit his idea for Khachi Design Group.

Wind-Protected Booth Covered with Laqfoil stretch Ceiling Material

The third benefit to using Laqfoil material is in a special design feature. The front of the booth, facing the rink, has a special panel to let skaters know where to find it using RGB colour-changing LED lights. The weather safe diffuser for this lighting is made of, you guessed it, Laqfoil translucent stretch ceiling membrane!

photo of Oakville town

We built the frame of the structure using extruded aluminum, the same technology that we use to make 3D shapes like the cubical logo pendant lights we’ve made for SOFA and Canadel in the past. The advantage to this structure is a booth that can be dismantled at the end of skating season and re-erected every year, which we plan to do, as the Town of Oakville, the Downtown Oakville BIA and Khachi Design Group were all very happy with the results!

We hope that all visitors to Oakville Towne Square during this season enjoy our little gift! Happy Holidays from Laqfoil!

Photo of Ice Skating Arena in Oakville

–Esther Yates-Abrams

Marketing + Communications

Laqfoil Ltd.

20 Magnetic Dr., Unit # 2
Toronto, Ont. M3J 2C4
Canada

Tel: 416 663 1708
Fax: 416 663 1707
Toll Free: 1 888 663 1708
Email: info@laqfoil.com

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