CompositesWorld
Issue link: https://cw.epubxp.com/i/632301
FEBRUARY 2016 54 CompositesWorld APPLICATIONS COMPOSITE STARS BRIGHTEN THE HOLIDAYS Light, durable design pleases eyes and budget › T'was the season for such delights. Designer Stephen Stefanou and his team of artisans and engineers at Venue Arts (Dallas, TX, US) are known for stunning displays at the MGM Macau Resort and Casino (Macau, China) and US destinations, such as New York City's Rockefeller Center and Bellaggio Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV). The company also creates unique structures for commercial buildings, product launches and political events. But one of its key markets is holiday installations, at shopping and entertainment centers around the world. Fiber-reinforced plastics (FRPs) are becoming a common construction material for this industry, and they featured prominently in Venue Arts' creation of the 14-point Moravian stars for Los Angeles, CA, US -based retail complex, The Grove, in anticipation of its 2014 Christmas season. The Grove project's design called for an array of Moravian stars covered with mirrored tiles. "The engineering criteria for this project really drove us toward the material," says Stefanou. "Composites are very stable with respect to thermal expansion," Stefanou points out, noting that this property was important to project success because, "the location was subject to large swings in temperature from day to night." Moisture resistance also was key, because winter is Southern California's rainy season. "These parts are assembled and disassembled every year," explains Stefanou. "Composites' stability ofers increased longevity, so that the parts continue to ft together and maintain their aesthetics." He notes that the composites industry itself also played a part in Venue Art's selection process, because long-time suppliers and new manufacturers are looking for new markets and ofering more afordable formats. Stefanou appreciated the greater fexibility that composites' high strength, stifness and low weight ofered Venue Arts in its approach to display design and construction. "For example, I am no longer restricted to only hanging the star from its top, but can choose, alternatively, to hang [it] from its side arms," says Stefanou. "This aids us in designing and implementing installations that meet both aesthetic and cost requirements." He points out that the tooling processes proposed by fabrication partner Vectorworks (Titusville, FL, US) also made the project more afordable. "The composition of the display design called for stars of three diferent heights: 2.7m, 3.7m and 4.2m," explains Stefanou. Vectorworks used Venue Arts' 3D computer designs to CNC machine three sizes of plugs, which it used to produce glass fber composite molds. Vectorworks then used the molds to fabricate the composite parts for each star, which included two three-point pieces, two large points and six small points. Dry E-glass fabrics from Vectorply (Phenix City, AL, US) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) foam core from DIAB Americas (DeSoto, TX, US) were wet laminated with an Interplastic Corp. (St. Paul, MN, US) vinyl ester resin, then vacuum bagged and consolidated. Seasonal sensations Venue Arts' (Dallas, TX, US) project for The Grove's (Los Angeles, CA, US) 2014 Christmas holiday season featured an array of 14-point Moravian stars covered with mirrored tiles. Source | Venue Arts Star part halves are molded Dry E-glass fabrics and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) foam core were wet laminated with a vinyl ester resin, then vacuum-bagged, consolidated and allowed to cure at room temperature. Source | Vectorworks