Morphosis Architects reduce design to approval with SmartShop
Award-winning Architectural Firm Orders CNC SmartShop
from Laguna Tools to Assist with Artistic and Prototype Endeavors
Irvine, California – One of the world's premiere architectural firms, Morphosis, recently purchased a popular CNC 4x8 SmartShop Machine from Laguna Tools to help meet a vast array of artistic, prototypical, and building model endeavors.
Renown for its award-winning urban planning projects, residential and institutional designs, the Culver City-based company is currently using its new CNC Machine to mill parts for an accurate 12-foot tall model of the Phare Tower, an office building and civic center rising 300 meters slated for construction in La Defense, France
According to Alex Deutschman, Shop Manager, the Phare Tower model is being constructed of plywood, medium-density fiberboard (MDF), acrylic and high-density foam. "There is a wide range of sizes for every detailed part that we're milling with the CNC," he said. "In this case, we're using the entire build envelope of the unit (4'x8'x5-6")… all the way down to small component parts measuring only a few inches."
The Phare Tower (Phare means beacon in French) will feature a sky restaurant on the 66th floor offering spectacular 270-degree views of the La Defense district, two miles West of Paris. Among many innovative technological and artistic features, the Phare Tower will actually harness the wind for the production of energy and selectively minimize solar gain while maximizing glare-free daylight.
"We couldn't be happier with our 4x8 SmartShop from Laguna Tools," said Alex, who earned his Masters in Architecture from Georgia Tech. "It offers tremendous versatility, and the learning curve for this equipment is almost immediate. It's definitely meeting or exceeding our expectations every day."
Exceeding expectations at Morphosis is high praise, since the company has received 25 Progressive Architecture awards, over 90 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Awards, and numerous other honors over the past 30 years.
"The SmartShop is really a great tool," he added. "We can process digital models to be machined by the CNC quite quickly and easily with the CAM software. We have had fantastic results with the machine and the parts we are producing."
Alex said the CNC installation went flawlessly, thanks to an attentive Laguna Tools staff of experts who, he says, "provide excellent correspondence and support, something you don't always see in today's business world."
"Laguna Tools sent out CNC Technician Javier Bonilla who had our machine up and running in no time," he added. "I was impressed with the form and fit of this solid piece of equipment. It's welded tubular frame produces almost zero vibration, and it's a pleasure to operate."
Other award-winning architectural projects completed my Morphosis include 41 Cooper Square in New York City, the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, and Emerson College Los Angeles Center. For more information about Morphosis, and it's many projects, awards, community activities and artistic endeavors, visit www.Morphosis.com.
For more information on the Laguna Tools quality line of performance products, please call 1-800-234-1976 or visit our website at www.lagunatools.com.
