Shipshape solution: this bespoke display system adds drama to a historic collection of model ships.Energy supply group BP has one of the world's largest shipping fleets, ferrying oil and gas around the globe. It also has a sizeable collection of model vessels--a scale model is commissioned when each new ship is procured. The collection is very valuable, with one model dating back to 1922. In 2003, BP began to consolidate its properties and businesses in southeast England England, the largest and most populous portion of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1991 pop. 46,382,050), 50,334 sq mi (130,365 sq km). It is bounded by Wales and the Irish Sea on the west and Scotland on the north. and its shipping arm moved to new offices in Sunbury Sunbury, city (1990 pop. 11,591), seat of Northumberland co., E central Pa., on the Susquehanna River at the confluence of its north and west branches; laid out 1772, inc. 1921. It is in an agricultural area with grain, apples, livestock, and dairying. . The management did not want to relegate rel·e·gate tr.v. rel·e·gat·ed, rel·e·gat·ing, rel·e·gates 1. To assign to an obscure place, position, or condition. 2. To assign to a particular class or category; classify. See Synonyms at commit. such an impressive collection to off-site storage, so commissioned Shopkit Designs to devise a new display system. The models have flat-bottomed hulls and had previously been supported on brass upstands and housed in a variety of conventional display cases. Shopkit's new custom-designed system runs up the wall of a double-height atrium atrium (ā`trēəm), term for an interior court in Roman domestic architecture and also for a type of entrance court in early Christian churches. The Roman atrium was an unroofed or partially roofed area with rooms opening from it. , so the ships appear to float in space, adding to the visual drama. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Models are stacked Stacked is an American television sitcom that premiered on Fox on April 13, 2005. On May 18, 2006, Stacked was cancelled, leaving five episodes unaired in the United States. The last episode aired on January 11, 2006. vertically, suspended sus·pend v. sus·pend·ed, sus·pend·ing, sus·pends v.tr. 1. To bar for a period from a privilege, office, or position, usually as a punishment: suspend a student from school. on H-shaped cradles which lock into the existing brass upstands. The cradles are supported on four vertical cables running up from the floor to a new steel beam suspended between two existing circular columns. (As the atrium wall is non load-bearing, the display must derive support from the building structure.) The beam is attached to the columns by means of a specially designed clamping clamping (klamp´ing) in the measurement of insulin secretion and action, the infusion of a glucose solution at a rate adjusted periodically to maintain a predetermined blood glucose concentration. system and has two cantilevered outriggers that anchor the top of the tension cables. Each of the H-frame cradles that supports the models has an adjustable collar that can be moved in two directions, to take account of variations in size (models currently range from 700mm to 2300mm long). This mechanism can also adapt to new models as these are commissioned. With the ships already attached, the beam and H-frame cradles were carefully hoisted into place. A glass and steel lectern at the base of the cables acts as a protective barrier and also carries graphics and specifications that can be read from floor level. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The system was pre-finished off site in an effort to minimize in-situ work and disruption disruption /dis·rup·tion/ (dis-rup´shun) a morphologic defect resulting from the extrinsic breakdown of, or interference with, a developmental process. . Manufacture took around five weeks and the system was installed over three evenings. Additional ships can be housed either in new glass and metal cabinets, or substituted for one of the cable-hung versions by simply unbolting the model from its cradle. Elegantly minimal yet highly functional, Shopkit's is a truly shipshape solution. C.S. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
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