PACIFIC DESIGN & MANUFACTURING

This wall-mounted 3D render-farm was created to impress and educate our clients of the 3D rendering queue system and processing. As it became the topic of conversation at initial arrival at our office, it allowed us to explain an important (and time consuming) workflow of our creative product and visualization process.

PC World: “We have PCs packed into pianos, barbecue grills, gas pumps, and whisky bottles–and that doesn’t even scratch the surface. Check out these 20 wild, working pieces of PC art. When North Carolina modder and industrial designer Fredrik Perman was tapped to do some design work for the office of Pacific Design & Manufacturing, he figured, what better way to do a remodel than to pack six Intel dual-core processors into a glass case and place it on a wall? This monster works as a render farm hub that also controls the file and phone server in the adjoining room. For effect, Perman added ten 12-inch blue cathode light strips, six LED fans, and a wall-mounted 15-inch LCD screen.”

Up above is exactly what you’d see if you walked into the lobby of Pacific Design & Manufacturing. Six powerful computers, all consolidated into one wall-mounted case. Along with fellow designer Michael Stabile, PDM took advantage of a move to a new office to spruce up the company’s render-farm used to churn through conceptual designs. 

The acrylic case doesn’t have a top and sides to add some ventilation, and a battery of six, upward-blowing LED-lit fans keep everything cool. That monitor allows access to the render farm from the lobby (though there are several other terminals on the other side of the wall, all linked to the unit by a KVM switch). There’s also a speaker up top for sweet lobby tunes.