The Office of Thierry Despont hired Situ Fabrication to provide consulting services for the fabrication of a series of façade panels for The Dorchester Hotel in London. Situ Fabrication worked with OTD to develop the geometry, materials and fabrication system for the undulating metallic panels that are to be mounted to the balconies overlooking Hyde Park. The intent was to create the perception of a continuous metallic surface flowing from the top of the building to its base.
The 24 custom panels are made of CNC-milled foam coated in a polyurethane resin hardcoat and finished in LuminOre White Bronze. LuminOre is a proprietary metalization process which results in a real metal coating applied in a thin layer to any substrate. Embedded within each panel is a fiber-reinforced plastic and steel armature that both provides strength as well as fixing locations for mounting to the building envelope. Situ Fabrication worked with the architects, project engineers and LuminOre to develop the custom panel and mounting system within the target budget established for the project.
Working in between the designer and fabricator, Situ Fabrication was able to streamline the process, eliminating any redundancies in the drawing and review stages between the various parties. Situ Studio generated design development models, renderings and mockups, produced CDs and Shop Drawings in Revit, and is currently providing fabrication supervision and construction administration services.