Stacklab

The Garrison is a sculptural iron casting intended for use a stool or side table. It recycles steel salvaged from the 2015 demolition of the namesake Garrison bridge near Toronto’s Fort York. True to STACKLAB’s ethos, however, the Garrison’s shape is not intended to be a formal representation or memorialization of any of the bridge’s attributes.

Instead, the Garrison exemplifies STACKLAB’s mission to emphasize that all material matters. Discarded or waste materials are repurposed in a way that imbues them with new life and meaning.

Its form was derived using digital real-time parametric design and fabrication technology. STACKLAB optimized the product to be as light and strong as possible: the Garrison’s 35-lb. weight can support a load of 900 lbs.

STACKLAB and its partnering firm Rebart procured two tons of bridge rebar, enough to release a limited-edition run of 102 units. STACKLAB designed the Garrison to be sand-cast and engineered the pattern (used to generate sand moulds) so that small manufacturing defects, typical of this process, would only appear at the tip of the piece. Units 1 to 51 have a thermally applied 1/16” solid bronze coating in this location, which ameliorates these defects. This coating turns units that may have been discarded into premium ones, enabling a near-100-percent yield out of the run. The sand-casting process produces faintly perceptible irregularities that enhance the Garrison’s tactility.

Garrison 1-51 is available exclusively at Maison Gerard.