Lincoln center for the performing arts
Alice Tully Concert Hall
BRIEF: In 2008, Lincoln Center’s Julliard Building and Alice Tully Hall underwent a major, $459M renovation that included expansion, and the use of state of the art materials and technology. I had taken Fresco Technologies into the architectural market space and we were suppling Hunter Douglass subsidiary, 3form, with the world’s first digitally decorated eco-resin architectural display panels. Lincoln Center architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, who were sourcing their exotic materials from 3form, had imagined a three story high backlit mural that was integrated into the acoustic panels of the Alice Tully Concert Hall. The project had numerous challenges that had never been encountered before. The display technology would have to become a part of the acoustic panels so that heat generated by the light boxes would not cause failure. The graphic would also have to be registered to rare Brazilian maple veneers that would be laid out so that their wood grain would come from successive sheets to appear seamless, which meant there could be no failures in production.
I organized the project into an engineering component to solve the fabrication challenges and a graphics component to solve the registration problem. Working with fabrication partner 3form, we engineered resin films that were homogenous to the resins they would use for the acoustical wall panels. The films, once heated and pressurized, fused with a permanent bond to the wall panel. Meanwhile, I simulated a 3 story high mural graphic and mapped how each 3D puzzle piece of the graphic would be married to its acoustic veneer host. Once installed, the mural is spectacular and truly one of a kind. When the hall lights are dimmed, light boxes built into the walls illuminate the graphic panels which allow the translucent maple veneers to emit a warm glow. The result is a 3 story high, cloud-like mural that sweeps across the walls of the concert hall.
Portfolio
Monterey Bay aquarium
Deadly Beauties Exhibit
BRIEF: The state of the art in exhibit production in 1995, called for manually intensive, dated fabrication techniques. My upstart digital graphics company, Spectrum Imaging, was just two years old when I approached the Monterey Bay Aquarium and convinced the director of exhibits to let me produce their Deadly Beauties Exhibit. The project included scanning hundreds of underwater photographic slides, managing over 2 terabytes of data and producing over 350 oversized Iris prints. At the time, the internet was in its infancy, the largest hard drives available were 40MB and large format prints would take hours to produce. Logistics became the largest challenge given the two months I had to produce the exhibit.
I forged a relationship with another new company in San Francisco to handle the largest prints. Every day we were swapping data cartridges and prints. With a week before opening, severe flooding isolated Monterey from the rest of the state. Daily chartered flights were arranged between San Francisco and Monterey to complete the last prints and cross the finish line. Deadly Beauties opened on time as a great success and became the largest digitally produced exhibit in the country. Spectrum Imaging would go on to produce exhibits for the Aquarium for over fifteen years.
I have managed many projects throughout my career that are notable because they were the first, the largest or unique in some way. Here are a few projects that exemplify those qualities.
Disney Cruise Line
Disney Magic & Disney Wonder
BRIEF: Disney Cruise Line, a newcomer in the cruise market, had planned to dry dock their only two ships, Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, in October 2005 and October 2006 respectively. During the ten day refurbishment, they wished to replace the hand painted cabin lamp shades that were failing. Spectrum Imaging was involved in a joint venture that was producing the first ever, digitally decorated lighting lens diffusers. In the summer of 2005, Disney and their lighting partner approached my company looking for a 3D imaged lamp shade that would have a graphic of an old world map illustrating where all of the Disney parks were located.
I took the project with three months to solve the engineering, graphic and fabrication challenges and deliver thousands of lamp shades in time to meet the Disney Magic and Wonder in dry dock. Up to that point, all of the lighting lenses we created were flat. I engineered a solution where a distortion map would predict where a 2D image would fall on the formed 3D lamp shade surface. After managing relationships with the acrylic manufacturer and the fabrication parters, Spectrum Imaging successfully delivered all of the units on time. A few years ago, I had an opportunity to sail on the Disney Wonder and I was pleasantly surprised to see the lamp shades I had produced years earlier, were still stunning.
Disneyland
Monorail Station Murals
BRIEF: While the production of the highest quality graphics had endeared Fresco Technologies with the most discerning clients, a Disney monorail project became noteworthy. I had created a training program for the national sales reps of Salt Lake City based 3form. The Disneyland Monorail Station Murals were the first large scale project that was born of the new sales program. This project demonstrated that my company could leverage an OEM sales team.
Temple inland
Corporate Headquarters 360° 4-Story Backlit Forest Canopy
BRIEF: Temple Inland, a subsidiary of International Paper, sought to decorate their 4-story corporate headquarters with a 360° mural of a rich forest canopy. The translucent panels were backlit with custom lighting boxes that were integrated into the walls. My company had just completed this project before embarking on the Lincoln Center project. This project had similar challenges: the panels required extreme registration and the mural was 4-stories high. What made this project unique, was that it would be the first time a self-supporting, eco-resin architectural panel would be used in a large scale commercial installation. Also unique, was the collaboration required with our extrusion partners to engineer a new breed of hybrid polymers.
PEBBLE BEACH COMPANY & The USGA U.S. Open
U.S. Open 30,000 sq.ft. Merchandise Pavilion
BRIEF: Pebble Beach Company approached Spectrum Imaging to produce all of the retail display graphics for the 2010 U.S. Open Merchandise Pavilion. Pebble Beach and the U.S. Golf Association required the highest resolution graphics and because the installation was at a very large scale and extremely temporary, I encouraged that the graphics be made entirely with recycled and recyclable materials. The 2010 U.S. Open Merchandise Pavilion was a great example of the quality of display one can achieve while still minimizing its environmental impact.
PEBBLE BEACH COMPANY
Visitor Center, Market & Retail Center
BRIEF: When the Pebble Beach Company wanted to tell their story, one-hundred years in the making, they turned to Spectrum Imaging to make their vision a reality. Featuring breathtaking photo murals, life-sized 3D golf legends and layers of rich imagery atop frosted displays, the exhibit explorers the Company’s rich history in golf, conservation and philanthropy.
I consulted on materials, conceptualized and rendered models of the exhibit, designed the display graphics, imaged, fabricated and installed the graphic displays.
PORTFOLIO
PROJECT MANAGEMENT