3Diligent, a Digital manufacturing company, produced 140 exterior curtain wall nodes for the Rainier Square Tower, currently under construction in Seattle. Once finished by 2020, The project will be Seattle’s second tallest building, following the 76-story Columbia Center.
$600 million Seattle’s skyscraper
The 850-foot (260 m) tall, 58-story tower has an estimated cost of $600 million and will have mixed-use purposes. The tallest building constructed in the city since 1985.
3Diligent’s partnership with Walters & Wolf
After choosing 3Diligent for this poject, Walters & Wolf, a commercial cladding company, worked very closely together with them to design, prototype and produce the aluminum nodes. In fact, 3Diligent gave them two manufacturing options. Investment casting and 3D printing.
3Diligent created and assembled curtain wall nodes using both technologies. Then send the prototypes to an independent testing lab in Fresno. There, curtains were tested for cracking and their adhesion to silicone and ability to remain water and air-tight.
Finally, Walters & Wolf chose the 3D printed nodes because of its dimensional accuracy and structural reliability.
“It was great that 3Diligent gave us both investment casting and 3D Printing options so that we could choose between them,” said Ishee.
In order to achieve a subtly sloping silhouette, each floor of the building needs to be set a step back from the preceding one. Therefore, Walters & Wolf decided to ask for v-shaped nodes so as to bring together square cut parts. As a result, they got a curtain wall made of 3D printed nodes. Each node has varying dimensions of up to nearly a cubic foot.
Despite its unconventional angles, the custom cladding system comes together thanks to 3Diligent’s metal 3D printing expertise to deliver complex geometries that fit perfectly between them.
“At the end of the day, 3Diligent upheld their end of the bargain—they simply did what they said they would do.”
Commented Tony Parker, Project Executive at Walters & Wolf.
This amazing piece of architecture will be located in the metropolitan tract of downtown Seattle.
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One thought on “3Diligent 3D prints 140 pieces for Seattle’s Rainier Square Tower”
Truly work that is going to be so sensational and I am sure it will make people in Seattle very proud when its finished.