HOLY SHUCKING FIT I can't believe I'm just seeing this now. You sir have created the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my entire life. I bought in big on the ErgoDox project (I even helped get the wheels in motion for Massdrop to run the buys) and in truth, it was all because I loved the columnar layout and I thought it would help my SC2 game, specifically using TheCore. This is AMAZING.
You know what's funny? I even made a joke (although I think it was in the Deskthority Ergodox thread) where I basically suggested this same idea, calling it "ergodox v2" or something. I can't believe you've actually done it! You are a genius and an engineer.
Out of curiosity: what was the total cost to produce the prototype board? I'd love to put one of these together if you're willing to publish the designs.
If you're using TheCore, how does your thumb interact with the board for Ctrl/Shift/Alt? Ever thought of trying to incorporate thumb clusters somehow? Now that I'm thinking about it, your design might very well facilitate this through shifting down the thumb-side columns so that the thumb can reach them.
Although with that in mind--are you a lefty?!