A Boutique NYC Hotel Makes a Big Statement

Chicago artist Hebru Brantley collaborated with Bridgewater Studio to design and fabricate a 13-foot Flyboy sculpture for the hotel lobby of the Graduate Roosevelt Island.

First, we 3D scanned a Flyboy figurine. Then, digital sculpting methods enabled us to rig and pose the 3D model until the artist’s vision was fully actualized. From there, we 3D printed a detailed scale model.

Next, two in-house CNC engineering departments merged to program structural support pathways inside the massive figure. The full-size sculpture was machined using our 7-axis Kuka robot cell. CNC robotics carved each of the parts, which were hand-assembled around a steel armature and sprayed with a polyurea coating.

With careful planning and consideration for building infrastructure, lobby amenities, power requirements and other inevitabilities, the final art installation was a "huge" success!