STUDIO 1 were asked to support Subsea7 with the bespoke design of a model wind turbine display to promote and exhibit the companies developing technology in the floating offshore wind market. 

On the back of a successful completion and installation at Subsea7 Aberdeen, STUDIO 1 was asked to produce a further two displays for corporate offices and exhibitions.

Designing and building any model display is a complex task. It poses many challenges for the designer, it relies on successful design, procedure, composition, manufacture, assembly and build, 3d printing, surface preparation, painting and dying, lighting and overall detailing.

Commissioned by Acergy France SAS, one of the displays was transported from Aberdeen to the Floating Offshore Wind Turbines (FOWT) exhibition in Nantes, France, and on completion onward to its office in Suresnes for installation. The second display was commissioned by Subsea7 UK for the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, then transported to its Sutton, UK office and installed as part of its reception display.

All three displays featured the Subsea7 SEMI-SUB (NAUTILUS), SPAR (HYWIND) and the TLP (GENERIC) offshore wind turbine. All wind turbine models were 3d printed from ISO 10303 step files, assembled and glued, surface prepared, painted and mounted in a bespoke built printed acrylic seabed display and safely housed in a five-sided acrylic hood. Each display was seamlessly mounted on a bespoke built white Subsea7 branded display plinth with remote dimmable LED strip lighting built into the top for a sleek and minimalist look. When fully assembled, each display measured 2m high, 1.5m long and 0.6m deep.

Transportation of the displays was also factored into the project with the design and build of two custom-built vibration-sensitive transportation crates, one for the plinth and one for the acrylic display. Additionally, for travelling to future exhibitions and events, STUDIO 1 produced a step-by-step installation document for event handlers and installers.

Gino Pezzani, Design Director commented ….” We’re an experienced hands-on design studio that takes personal pride in the quality, assembly and finishing of our 3d models and displays. We strongly believe in adding value to every display we design, print and build, and we work collaboratively with clients and their internal staff to ensure that we produce exactly what they want. It was very rewarding to print, design and build these wind turbine displays and to support Subsea7 with transportation and installation.

Nowadays, 3d printing is used in a variety of industries. Engineers, designers and manufacturers can use 3d print technology to successfully showcase their products and assets. Companies like Aerospace, Boeing, Coca-Cola, Adidas, Nike, Ford and Tesla utilise 3d print technology to help save huge amounts of waste, time and money in product prototyping and product manufacture.”

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If you're thinking of building a model display of an offshore rig, vessel, wind turbine or subsea tool for an exhibition or reception display, contact STUDIO 1 to kick-start the process.