Not even a decade ago, the cost to recast the handmade cement block structures of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Annie Pfeiffer Chapel on the campus of a Florida Southern College was prohibitively expensive.
But today, as 3D printing technology improves and becomes more affordable, the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel was recently restored in precise architectural detail, Design Milk reports.
The chapel was constructed using Wright’s signature textile block building system, utilizing student labor in the years between 1938 to 1941. More than 6,000 tapestry blocks decorated into 46 unique designs were individually cast from coquina and concrete.
Thanks to a $50,000 grant from the Florida Division of Historical Resources and a $350,000 grant provided by the Save America’s Treasurers Program of the National Park Service, the chapel’s splendor was restored. The Florida Southern College reports that by using 3D printers purchased with these grants, restorers were able to create molds for the intricate concrete blocks that were originally constructed by hand.
Consistent with Wright’s original design, 2,000 distinctive colored glass tiles were created and inserted into the manufactured blocks.
Learn more on the chapel’s restoration and see the equipment in action at Florida Southern College news.
Related Stories
| Oct 11, 2010
Rhode Island is the first state to adopt IGCC
Rhode Island is the first state to adopt the International Green Construction Code (IGCC). The Rhode Island Green Buildings Act identifies the IGCC as an equivalent standard in compliance with requirements that all public agency major facility projects be designed and constructed as green buildings. The Rules and Regulations to implement the Act take effect in October 2010.
| Oct 8, 2010
Union Bank’S San Diego HQ awarded LEED Gold
Union Bank’s San Diego headquarters building located at 530 B Street has been awarded LEED Gold certification from the Green Building Certification Institute under the standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council. Gold status was awarded to six buildings across the United States in the most recent certification and Union Bank’s San Diego headquarters building is one of only two in California.
| Oct 6, 2010
Windows Keep Green Goals in View
The DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has almost 600 window openings, and yet it's targeting LEED Platinum, net-zero energy use, and 50% improvement over ASHRAE 90.1. How the window ‘problem’ is part of the solution.
| Oct 6, 2010
From grocery store to culinary school
A former West Philadelphia supermarket is moving up the food chain, transitioning from grocery store to the Center for Culinary Enterprise, a business culinary training school.
| Sep 30, 2010
Luxury hotels lead industry in green accommodations
Results from the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s 2010 Lodging Survey showed that luxury and upper-upscale hotels are most likely to feature green amenities and earn green certifications. Results were tallied from 8,800 respondents, for a very respectable 18% response rate. Questions focused on 14 green-related categories, including allergy-free rooms, water-saving programs, energy management systems, recycling programs, green certification, and green renovation.
| Sep 22, 2010
Michael Van Valkenburg Assoc. wins St. Louis Gateway Arch design competition
Landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh and a multidisciplinary team of experts in “urban renewal, preservation, commemoration, social connections and ecological restoration” have been picked for the planning phase of The City+The Arch+The River 2015 International Design Competition.
| Sep 22, 2010
Satellier, Potential + Semac close investment deal
Satellier, a world leader in providing CAD and Building Information Modeling (BIM) outsourced services to the architecture, engineering and construction industry, announces a strategic minority investment from India-based top engineering firm Potential + Semac, ushering in the next evolution of the global architecture support industry.
