Screenhouse, in Chicago’s Millennium Park, Enhanced by Fast Radius

Screenhouse, a freestanding art installation designed by Edra Soto and constructed by Navillus Woodworks, is officially slated to open in Chicago’s Millennium Park on October 24. Navillus built Screenhouse with assistance from molds created by Fast Radius through additive manufacturing processes that saved money and development time for the project, organizers say.

“The polymer mold components developed by Fast Radius were both lightweight and strong, enabling us to test the design at full strength before the installation,” says Navillus Woodworks president and owner Daniel O’Sullivan.

Fast Radius produced molds for Navillus using additively manufactured lattice structures, two or three-dimensional micro-architectures comprised of a network of nodes and beams, or struts, that reduce weight while retaining structural integrity. The mechanical benefits of lattices empower product designers and architects to defy the constraints of traditional manufacturing and construction to create new designs.

“Our mission is to make new things possible to advance the human condition. I can think of no better way to serve that mission than helping bring Edra Soto’s beautiful design to life in Chicago’s Millennium Park, where it will be enjoyed by our fellow Chicagoans and visitors from around the world,” says Fast Radius Chief Executive Officer Lou Rassey. “This project with Navillus shows the potential of additively manufactured molds to redefine construction project design.”

Screenhouse was designed by Edra Soto, a Chicago-based artist, educator, curator and gallery director who was born and raised in Puerto Rico. Soto designed Screenhouse as a freestanding social structure influenced by rejas, traditional Puerto Rican garden gazebo models. Screenhouse is located in the Boeing Gallery North in Millennium Park, near the Cloud Gate (a.k.a. “the Bean”).

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.