I’ve finally got hold of some of those amazing images that the Helen & Hard team showed me in the presentation at their studio in Stavanger last week. Shown here, above and below, you can see some of the 3D scanning/modelling drawings – representing the stage before the ash trees are sent to the wood workshop to be carved using a CNC milling machine, based on these very precise 3D ‘maps’.
Perhaps even more exciting…this is my first glimpse of some of the milling actully taking place. We’ve had a prototype tree in the office for quite a few months, but here we get to see one at full size, and it’s fantastic to see the delicate quality of the wood grain and the finish that you get with the CNC router.
You can see in the image at the bottom that there will be some words inscribed into the wood, so visitors who are using the carved foot-holds and hand-holds on the trees – as they follow the climbing route around the structure – will also be able to follow a textual narrative at the same time, via these scattered, ‘engraved’ words.