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3form architectural resin panels

Staff

January 1, 2006

Building Design and Construction

Composed of 40% post-industrial polyester resin, 3form panels can be formed into virtually any shape and size, and can be detailed using a variety of methods, including embossing, interlayers, and resin dyes. The panels can be used to create walls, ceilings, dividers, decorative elements, and even furniture for both indoor and outdoor applications.

RNL Design's Kate Diamond specified 3form to create abstract tree canopies for the children's section at the $14.9 million, 92,500-sf Fontana (Calif.) Central Library, which is set to open in the spring of 2008. Leaves, twigs, and other tree components will be encapsulated in the resin panels, which will be cut into large leaf-shaped units to form the faux trees (rendering, right). Other canopy elements will be composed of 3form panels dyed in various shades of green.

Why Kate Diamond specified 3form architectural resin panels for the Fontana Central Library

"3form afforded us the opportunity to customize the aesthetics of the panels without exceeding our budget. There's seemingly endless potential for customized colors, finishes, and patterns."

"The environmentally friendly resin formation met the sustainability goals of this LEED Certified project."

"3form is easy to fabricate. It behaves like resin plywood from the perspective of the tools needed to cut, hammer, and shape the panels. A typical polycarbonate or Plexiglas panel would shatter if handled similarly."

The Professional

Katherine Diamond, FAIA, Design Principal, RNL Design, Los Angeles, Calif.

Kate Diamond is the design principal in RNL Design's Los Angeles office. Prior to joining RNL, Diamond served as principal and lead designer of Siegel Diamond Architecture, Los Angeles.

Her recent work includes the Fontana (Calif.) Central Library, the School of Communication at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, and a laboratory for the Orange County (Calif.) Water District.

Diamond serves on the national peer review council for the U.S. General Services Administration's Design Excellence Program and is a past president of both the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the Association for Women in Architecture.

She holds a BArch from the Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa.

More information

3form

www.3-form.com

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