3D Printed Model a Money Maker for New Stockholm Arena

This week’s blog is from Julie Reece, Z Corporation’s Director of Marketing Communications.

I recently learned about how a Swedish creative studio, WE DO, 3D printed an incredibly detailed physical 3D model of an arena in Stockholm that is helping promote Stockholmsarenan until 2013, when the 30,000-seat sports and entertainment arena is expected to be completed.

What never ceases to amaze me is how every detail in the architects’ 3D digital model of the arena is precisely represented in the physical model, a cross-section that includes 7,400 highly detailed seats, each 4 mm wide. It simply could not have been created in any other way. This 1.2 meter x 1.2 meter model is so impressive, it’s the centerpiece of the Multimedia Information Center, which offers a multimedia experience of the project.

Patrik Lindberg, owner of WE DO, said, ‟Stockholmsarenan is a monument to world-class sports and entertainment, activities that can stir passion like few others. Until the arena is complete, this ZPrinted model is helping generate the excitement for the arena, helping the owner and operator rent the space, sell seat licenses, plan events and entice sponsors – in other words, make the business a success. The architect and prospective patrons are blown away by the piece.”

How the model was made
Lindberg describes how the model was created. ‟We chose to ZPrint this model on our ZPrinter® 450 because it creates a model faster, more affordably and more accurately than handcrafting. We worked toward a tight deadline and printed different sections of the model nonstop for two weeks. It would have taken us at least three times more time and money to make this by hand, and the result would have been far less detailed. In other words, ZPrinting made this project a success.”

It turns out that Lindberg is a trained industrial designer, and uses ZPrinting constantly to create product prototypes for design clients and models for architects. Although Stockholmsarenan was ZPrinted in classic architectural white, his clients are increasingly asking for color. ‟Companies are becoming enlightened on the possibilities for rapid prototyping. Color, in addition to speed and cost, are why we selected the ZPrinter.”

Additional information on Stockholmsarenan.

http://www.zcorp.com/en/Solutions/Architecture/spage.aspx