German design outfit 3delux creates a sensory explosion with a new events pavilion for glass manufacturer Leonardo.
Now completed, it is hard to distinguish the intricate design visualisation from the real pavilion in Bad Driburg, Germany, built to house events for Leonardo, the glass and gift manufacturers.
A complex shape, built up through exterior glass panelling, with flowing forms and reflections of curved footpaths, make the results of this project all the more startling.
Having developed a number of temporary architectures and several virtual architectural concepts, the Leonardo Glass Cube is the first permanent building to be implemented by 3deluxe.
The firm worked with Bentley MicroStation 2D and 3D for the architectural design and implementation planning of the building, taking this information through into Softimage XSI 3D to produce the renderings and fly-through movies.
The company usually works with concepts that combine architecture, interior design, graphic design and landscape architecture as aesthetic entities. This example used CAD information heavily, not only for the architectural plans and rendering, but also to produce the preformed panels that were CNC milled off site for assembly.
Dieter Brell, head of 3deluxe in/exterior, points out that accurate CAM is not its first priority: ýOur main focus is always on the sensory effects that the object has on the people interacting with it ± both on their aesthetic and their tactile or acoustic sensibilities. ýOn the side facing the fa?ade, the material nature of the white surface is visually dissolved by means of a layer of gauze suspended in front. The natural daylight pouring in produces dazzling moire effects in the translucent fabricÝs delicate texture, which in turn are reflected in the glass fa?ade.¯
The six metre high frameless glass panels are fitted with disc springs to reduce stress from wind pressure, producing a glass box that will bend, but hopefully, not break.
