On Friday, Sept. 15, students and staff can (virtually) explore the yet-to-be-completed Library, innovation centre and institute for Indigenous entrepreneurship. Experience VR in the C Building hallway off the Four Corners across from the 50th Anniversary legacy centre display.
What: Virtual Reality demo of AC’s new building, opening spring 2018 Date: Friday, Sept. 15
Time: 3 to 4 p.m.
Location: C Building hallway off the Four Corners across from the 50th Anniversary legacy centre display
Project Profile:
If you build it (virtually), they will come. Come for an early visit to the yet-to-be-completed Library, innovation centre and institute for Indigenous entrepreneurship.
Using a headset and hand-held controller, participants – either individually or in small groups – can experience the sensation of walking the floors, climbing stairs, and inspecting the building from many angles. The technology was recently showcased at last week’s Applied Research Day.
Virtual reality (VR) and 360-degree video are quickly becoming critical tools in such fields as driver/flight simulations, architecture, and product research.
“This project has proven to be a strong benefit to the actual architects and designers of the structure,” said Ali Monette, 3D technical artist, Algonquin College Game Development graduate, and member of the development team. “They have entered the VR project several times to review and give copious feedback on all the elements of the structure, and the team has used the feedback to refine and ensure the final product is highly accurate to the last building.”
The VR project began early this summer, undertaken by an AC group that consisted of Game Development grads and a Game Development coordinator. Following the success of the first two VR demos created for the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum’s steam punk gala, the team was tasked with creating the new building, the future home of the Library, innovation centre and institute for Indigenous entrepreneurship building.
The core group consisted of Monette, Dushan Horvat, project designer and main lead (Game Development co-ordinator and full-time professor); Tilan Gunawardena, project technical lead (Game Development full-time professor); Cameron Zylinsky, 3D technical artist (Game Development grad); Alvaro Chavez-Mixco, 3D programmer (Students & staff can (virtually) explore the yet-to-be-completed Library, innovation centre and institute for Indigenous entrepreneurship. Experience VR in the C Building hallway off the Four Corners across from the 50th anniversary legacy display), and Juan Calvin Raymond, 3D programmer (Game Development grad). The team also included other students in Applied Research programs, along with the building’s original architects and designers.
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Horvat and Gunawardena had already worked on leveraging, creating, and ultimately merging new technologies, allowing Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality and Augmented Reality to work on the same platform in a fully collaborative, multi-user environment. When the new building project came about, it was absorbed into the original technology framework. The resulting VR experience is a showcase of the structure. Several tools — including a transporter function — give the various architects, designers, and other stakeholders the ability to explore the building and annotate.
Monette explains that “several powerful annotation tools were developed to allow this feedback to be captured and saved. Reviewing structures in VR, along with these annotation tools, will prove to be highly advantageous to architectural firms and complex projects, giving Algonquin a stronger foundation on which to adopt and implement all the new, exciting technologies emerging from industry.”
Although the virtual reality project is in a pre-alpha stage, it is projected to be officially launched Oct. 31. At the conclusion of the project, the public can fully explore all areas of the IELC structure and even have a designated tour leader for multi-users.
For alumni Jason Tudor-Roberts, there are no trivial pursuits. Algonquin College offered the life-long sports and fitness buff a clear academic path to turn his passions into a profession.
“I’ve always been a really active kid, student, and adult,” he explains. “I wanted to give back, and the only way I knew how was to be involved in fitness, lifestyle, sports, recreation, and leisure. You get paid to play; it’s great.” Read more >
Chef Resa Solomon-St. Lewis has always had soul, but Algonquin College gave her heart.
AC gave her the support – and culinary skills – to make a total career switch from manager and engineer in the federal government to Chef and entrepreneur. It all started in 2013 with completion of the Chef Training program, followed by enrolment in Culinary Management.
“I decided to pursue my passion,” she recalls. “I always wanted to attend Algonquin for chef training.” Following her passion has allowed her to build her “dream company.” Chef Resa is the founder of Baccanalle, an Ottawa-based food purveyor and caterer specializing in Caribbean and soul foods with lifestyle choice options, including vegan and gluten-free. She recently opened Capital Fare Café, bringing her culinary style to a very lucky office.
“I am able to merge my Caribbean heritage and Canadian nationality,” she explains of her menus.
Chef Resa credits her academic success with the College’s accessibility and flexibility – which allowed her to continue working full-time while earning her first certificate. She always had a flair for cooking, but Culinary Skills taught her the fundamentals and “why things happen” in the kitchen. “I loved learning the science and biochemistry behind cooking,” she adds.
Armed with that newfound tools for experimentation, she was able to craft her own innovative fusion menu – not to mention develop unique specialty food products like sauces and condiments. As a chef, she puts her own stamp on heritage cooking from Trinidad and Tobago blending it with European and Canadian that she honed in classroom training. Curry Lobster Ravioli, for example, is a fusion dish she perfected after learning how to make pasta from scratch while at AC. “(The goal) is to make something unique and delicious,” she explains.
Chef Resa’s trademark curry dishes have created somewhat of a following around town. Her coconut-infused curry goat was one of the key plates that made her a winner at the 2015 Embassy Chef Challenge, in which she represented the High Commission for the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago. At the 2016 Embassy Chef Challenge, she took home the People’s Choice Award for varied lobster dishes, including the Curry Lobster Ravioli made from a Cassava pasta which was her take on a traditional Tobago dish – Curry Crab and Cassava Dumplings.
“I was shocked,” the chef says of her back-to-back accolades. “I was a fairly new graduate.” She also finished on top of the 2015 Beechwood Market Chef Cook-off for her maple-infused bountiful vegan curry (which is also on the Baccanalle menu).
She credits her competitive success to making dishes that she personally loves. She also took away major lessons learned as a student contestant in AC’s annual Battle of the Knives. “It was absolutely not a good showing – but I learned to be better prepared, to execute in different way and greater resilience for risk-taking,” she says, citing the College as a safe environment to learn, make mistakes and improve.
As the old saying goes, ‘if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.’ However, it’s easier to stay put when there is nowhere else you’d rather be. For Solomon-St. Lewis, the long hours and dedication are well worth it; she is fuelled by her passion.
The College experience also taught her how to be a culinary industry professional, and the essentials of managing a kitchen– a valuable asset for a fledgling business owner. She says her program also provided vital connections for Baccanalle. Her instructors – all industry professionals – were not only mentors in the classroom, but remain in her corner to this day. “They were always available for advice after I graduated,” she says.
For those culinary students looking to start their own business, she offers some key advice: “Develop your business plan, and focus on a business you’re passionate about. Make sure the business aligns with your core skills, and bring in partners where you have gaps to fill.
“Understand that it is a tireless exercise,” she adds. “If you’re in the culinary business, when you’re an entrepreneur you are chef, cook, and pot-washer. It’s guts and glory.”
On Friday, Sept. 15, students and staff can (virtually) explore the yet-to-be-completed Library, innovation centre and institute for Indigenous entrepreneurship. Experience VR in the C Building hallway off the Four Corners across from the 50th Anniversary legacy centre display.