Payette, a Congress Street architectural-design firm, designed itself Pearl the elephant as part of a circus-themed display at the International Interior Design Association's fall New England fashion show earlier this month. Yesterday, staffers wheeled Pearl over to the South Boston convention center for the Architecture Boston Expo.
Our entry for the IIDA New England 2015 Fashion Show was a fun way to challenge the methods we generally use toward more conventional architectural ends: The construction of ‘Pearl’ relied on rigorous 3D modeling, a thorough understanding of CNC machining, a hands-on knowledge of fabrication - and an eye for accessorizing. A lightweight skeleton of welded steel supports a skin of vinyl flooring, cut per our files at the Johnsonsite factory with a CNC ultrasonic knife. Pearl is wearing blankets and flowers of Unika Vaev felt and vinyl, tassels and trim from Ver-Tex window-treatments, and accent pieces by Lumicor.
Anatomy of an elephant - Lots of pictures and videos on Pearl's design and construction.