
May 5, 1998

EMP goes beyond CAD to CATIA

By NOEL S. BRADY
Journal staff reporter

Lisa Wickwire can view every possible angle of the contorted Experience Music Project right from her desk in a trailer at the construction site. The building isn't built yet, but on Wickwire's computer screen it's fully formed in three dimensions.

A former Boeing Co. employee, Wickwire used to help design airplanes using a specialized computer-imaging program known as CATIA, which stands for computer-aided three-dimensional interactive application. Now Wickwire is using the same technique developed for designing planes to help design and build EMP.

EMP model

CATIA provides three-dimensional images which have been a critical component in making the EMP possible.

"Nothing is like CATIA to be able to show a three-dimensional design like this," Wickwire said. "Most CAD programs are two-dimensional. This is 3-D, so we can get a much better idea for what (the building) will look like."

Using a mounted rollerball, Wickwire navigates her way through an elaborate array of wavy plains and sloping walls that together represent the interior of the museum. Along the way, the virtual-reality program includes images of people in the structure, giving the viewer a sense of its massiveness.

EMP construction manager Paul Zumwalt said the program has been a key component in making the project possible. The shape of the building deviates from the right angles that most builders and engineers are used to, so three-dimensional imaging is invaluable for determining where in space a particular beam or sloping wall should be placed.

The system is set up on the construction site as well as in the architects' and engineers' offices, enabling everyone to work together. Project architect Frank Gehry can make changes to the design directly on CATIA and have the information sent to engineers and contractors.

"We can find out exactly how much room we have to work with before we even get out on the site," Wickwire said.

The program was developed by Dassault Systemes, a French software manufacturer considered a world leader in computer-aided design. The Boeing Co. has used the product since 1986 in the design and construction of aircraft.

This isn't the first time that Gehry has used the software in designing his abstract architecture. The world-renowned architect first used CATIA while developing the Guggenheim Museum in Bilboa, Spain.