A new polygonal modelling add-on for Rhino gave furniture craftsman Peter Donders, the control he needed to bring a 1913Ýs seat design to life as part of a major project to return BlackpoolÝs Grand Theatre to its former glory. by Brett Duesing, Strategic Reach

BlackpoolÝs Grand Theatre has been the centrepiece of BlackpoolÝs Art District since 1894. And today the 1,100-seat Victorian auditorium continues to function as the townÝs community theatre, LancashireÝs preferred opera house and BritainÝs National Theatre of Variety.

The Grand Theatre in Blackpool, UK, required 1,100 new Victorian-style seats for its restoration. JEZET-Seating was approached in 2002 to supply the new seating for the theatre, but the company found there was no suitable period seat commercially available.

Restoring the structure to its former glory involved some unusual challenges ± one of which was replacing the seats. Jezet-Seating was contracted to the task, but could not find auditorium seats in the commercial market that matched the Grand TheatreÝs distinctive turn-of-the-century opulence.

The solution for the thousand-chair order involved the commission of Belgian furniture craftsman Peter Donders, who was not only familiar with traditional methods of chair-making, but was also savvy in the computerised art of 3D industrial design. To make new chairs look convincingly antique, Donders uses a 3D method for product development called T-Splines for Rhino.

The chairman

ýAfter much research and development, we produced a new seat based on a design by A. R. Dean of Birmingham, circa 1913,¯ explains Donders. ýI came in around September 2006 for the 3D design and produced the chairs in about nine months. The seats have cast stanchions with beech-frame backs and swabs.¯

Grand Theatre Circle

Donders started his career making single custom chairs by hand. Now through use of 3D production methods, he designs seats that fill whole theatres and stadiums. For the Grand, Donders composed the chair design in Rhinoceros, a 3D CAD modeller best known for its ability to generate curved surfaces with pinpoint accuracy, as mathematic equations called non-uniform rational b-splines, or NURBS.

Unlike 3D modellers used solely for virtual content like animation or film effects, RhinocerosÝ outputs are attached to precise real-world measurements. The 3D data guides automated machines like laser cutters, CNC mills, and 3D printers to quickly manufacture new products.

ýI had some 15 years experience as a furniture designer and builder before I ever even considered using computers,¯ says Donders. ýNowadays, using the computer is pretty much like using any other tool that facilitates the design and development process.¯

T-Splines for Rhino

Last year, Donders discovered the beta of the T-Splines plug-in for Rhino ýjust in time¯ for his Grand Theatre project. The program operates inside the surface modeller, and gives Donders and other industrial designers a tremendous enhancement in modelling flexibility.

ýRhino is well known as an excellent free-form surfacing package. What T-Splines brings to Rhino is the ability to have even more organic shapes,¯ says Matt Sederberg, CEO of T-Splines, which developed the plug-in. T-Splines leverages both NURBS, and whatÝs called polygonal or subdivisional surfaces, to generate shapes. Polygonal modelling is common in modellers for advanced animation, but until now has not been accessible to those who build products.