Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Create More Lasting Memories with 3D Printing

With the 10th anniversary of 9/11 upon us this weekend, let’s take a moment to pay tribute to the heroic work and sacrifice of the New York Fire Department and many, many others on that tragic day. It’s hard to believe that ten years have passed since that cool sunny Tuesday. Everybody remembers where they were that morning – I was at my local bank, and wondering why the tellers had the television on. The kids were sent home from school early that day, and we had to explain what was happening. I was shocked to find out later that one of my college buddies was on AA flight 11. All of us were touched in some way by 9/11.

To memorialize the event, a Boston-based architectural visualization firm, Munson3D, created a ‘Triptych’ which depicts lower Manhattan before 9/11, just after, and 10+ years later.

WTC Triptych printed on Z Corp ZPrinter 650

Using a variety of data sources, Munson created 3D virtual models and then printed the physical models on a ZPrinter 650 to capture fine details and realistic colors. The WTC Triptych is on display now at the New York City Fire Museum at 278 Spring Street in SoHo, Manhattan.

Damon Campagna, director of the NYC Fire Museum tells us, “It’s an amazing tool that helps visitors grasp the enormity of the event and expresses the scale of the ongoing WTC reconstruction. Everyone is in awe of the way the incredible amount of detail and accuracy of the models depicts the site through its original form, devastation and rebirth.”

WTC Triptych exhibit area in the NYC Fire Museum
More information: New York City Fire Museum Showcases Highly Detailed Ground Zero Model, Created with Z Corporation 3D Printer:  ‘WTC Triptych’ Documents the Cityscape Before, Shortly After the 9/11 Attack, and Rebuilt, All in Astonishing 3D Printed Detail.

David is also documenting the project in text, video and images on his microsite: http://www.munson3d.com/wtc.html.

Where were you and what were you doing on that fateful day?

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