CAST FROM THE GROUND


Year 2025 (proposal)
Location Toronto, Ontario, CanadaMaterialslow-carbon tinted precast concrete, formed polished aluminum


Cast from the Ground is envisioned as a contemporary date stone for an emerging neighbourhood in Toronto — a marker of foundation, craftsmanship, and collective identity. Positioned at the threshold of a growing community, the sculpture commemorates a beginning rather than an end. It offers a place for pause and reflection, grounding the new neighbourhood in the layered histories beneath its surface.









                        Historically, date stones were embedded within architecture to signify completion and permanence. They embodied pride in craft and endurance, often engraved with initials, crests, or emblems to convey legacy.   


Cast from the Ground continues this lineage, transforming inscription into impression — its markings drawn directly from the surrounding landscape. Instead of text, the work records its time and place through texture, process, and material.


 




The sculpture’s circular geometry embodies balance and structural integrity. Arches — among humanity’s oldest symbols of welcome — are subtracted from a solid mass, creating an open yet enclosed space for contemplation. The oculus above frames the sky, inviting both daylight and weather into the interior. From the street, the work appears monolithic and grounded; only when one steps inside does the hidden aluminum interior emerge, catching and diffusing light from above in a soft, shifting glow.








Positioned at the intersection of two major roads, the sculpture establishes a visual anchor within the public realm. Scaled to the pedestrian experience, it aligns with the building’s rhythm and open frontage, offering a sheltered point of gathering along the sidewalk and strengthening the relationship between architecture, landscape, and street life.

The sculpture transforms throughout the day as shifting light plays across its textured surface and polished interior. The reflective aluminum captures fragments of sky, building, and passerby, merging the neighborhood into its form. From within, these mirrored reflections create an ever-changing canopy of movement and color, animating the experience of standing inside.








The sculpture’s form emerges from a process of making as research. Textures were gathered on-site through clay impressions. These impressions were digitally scanned, unrolled, and patterned to generate the artwork’s inner and outer layers, translating the site’s material and ecological memory into form.






The surface patterning originates from on-site rubbings and clay impressions made during early fieldwork. Textures from trees, telephone poles, pavement, and the ground were scanned, mirrored, and digitally unrolled to form the sculpture’s surfaces — embedding the material memory of the neighbourhood into the cast. These impressions record traces of both natural and built environments, capturing a moment in the neighbourhood’s ongoing transformation.




Green low-carbon concrete, deep sandblasted finish.


 The outer shell is cast in low-carbon architectural concrete using a green mix with locally sourced granite aggregate. Its deep sandblast finish reveals subtle mineral variation, evoking the geological foundations of the region. 

The outer surface originates from a maple bark impression, whose deep fissures and tactile richness evoke the strength and resilience of the local landscape. Cast in low-carbon green concrete with a deep sandblast finish, it anchors the work in the geological and ecological character of the site.


Juniperus sabina, ‘savin juniper‘.


Its soft green hue draws inspiration from the Savin Juniper plantings that are integrated into the surrounding streetscape — a color found in the cedar’s blue-green foliage and berries, which line the planters adjacent to the artwork. This tone connects the sculpture to the living landscape of the neighbourhood, embedding it within the local material and ecological palette.


Tinted polished aluminum.



 The inner lining, formed from polished aluminum with a soft color tint, creates a delicate counterpoint — tactile earth outside, luminous sky within. This interplay transforms viewing into participation, reflecting the dialogue between permanence and perception that anchors the work.

The inner surface derives from a birch tree impression, its subtle vertical grain and fine lenticular markings rendered in polished aluminum with a soft color tint. The reflective surface draws light inward, creating a luminous, sky-oriented interior.









By night, the sculpture’s interior glows gently from recessed, bird-safe LED lighting concealed within the base. The illumination reveals the interplay between the textured concrete and the reflective metal interior, offering a quiet, atmospheric presence in the streetscape.