DSM resins boost Windy City’s Olympic bid

Chicago’s not just the home of the triennial NPE show.

The Windy City is also bidding to host the 2016 Olympic Games — and Somos resins from DSM Desotech were instrumental in making a large-scale model of the city designed to help promote that bid.

Unveiled by the Chicago Architecture Foundation in June, the model consists of more than 1,000 building structures, each made from SOMOS high-performance stereolithography (SL) resins, including WaterShed XC 11122, ProtoGen Gray 18920, and SOMOS 14122.

In addition to supplying all SL resin needed for the project, DSM staff helped to create each of the model’s structures, all of which were based on accurate digital models of the real buildings. For example, the Sears Tower — created with the WaterShed XC resin — stands approximately 35 inches tall and, at a scale of 50 feet to one inch, is approximately 600 times smaller than the actual structure.

“These buildings, made from Somos material, were undeniably the best choice for models of this scale and importance,” said Catherine Tinker of Chicago-based Columbian Model & Exhibit Works, which oversaw the project. “The buildings have outstanding detail, stability, and are easy to finish and paint.”

The model, which encompasses an area of more than 800 square feet, will be on display until November 20 at the Chicago Architecture Foundation building in downtown Chicago.