Casts From the Past XXIX

Casts From the Past is a recurring retrospective of select Palladio GFRG projects.

Without a past, there is no future.

Pictured: one of the many iconic pieces that Evergreene Architectural Arts challenged Palladio GFRG to restore for the Michigan Central Station. These glorious works from history were rejuvenated or remade for the centerpiece of Michigan’s Innovation District.

A deeper look here: https://tinyurl.com/2mb2uszz

As well as additive sculpting, plaster prototypes can be also created subtractively.

Using standard moulding plaster, a correctly dimensioned block of plaster is poured. Once it’s dried out enough, the general shape is cut out (1). Details are carved into the plaster (2 & 3). Once the piece is approved, a mould is made. Casting with glass fibre reinforced gypsum (GFRG) follows.

How can you recognize a cyma recta moulding?

Look for the “S” shaped profile – the upper portion being concave while the lower is convex, like in this piece where the subtle wave mimics that of its acanthus leaves.

Palladio GFRG isn’t saying that we’re more efficient than Mother Nature, but…

Palladio GFRG isn’t saying that we’re more efficient than Mother Nature, but…

Doves take two weeks to hatch in the wild. We can carve one from scratch in only two days. This one will be perched on our client’s altar canopy.

Is this a bracket or a modillion?

Is this a bracket or a modillion?

Trick question: those are names for the same thing!

Brackets or modillions can be ornate or plain. They can be purely functional, in that they support the weight of structures above them, or, like this classic acanthus with scroll, solely decorative.