Story ID: 326 Greenpoint.doc
Greenpoint’s Scale-model Azure Dreamliner Makes MEBA Debut
By: James Wynbrandt
Caption: Dreamliner model shows Greenpoint interior, as it prepares to flight-test first 747-8 completion.
Word Count: 637
Completion center Greenpoint Technologies (Stand 437) is showcasing its Boeing 787-9 Azure 1/20th scale model Dreamliner, which is making its debut appearance in the Middle East here at MEBA 2014. A wonder of large-scale miniaturization, the model gives an outside-in look at the Azure’s open living space with its forward master suite, private office, and two aft mini suites for guest accommodations. All the features and appointments of these interiors, as well as the center gathering area’s entertainment lounge and formal dining room, which surround an artistic sculpture, and rendered in fine detail. An aft spa-serenity room features all the equipment necessary for airborne exercise and relaxation.

Greenpoint calls the Azure interior a “buildable” 787-9 design, one that accounts for critical decompression venting requirements specific to this airframe. It was created by the Greenpoint Design Team along with lead designer Julie Myers, an established Seattle designer and educator who has partnered with Greenpoint since 2011. The team worked closely with engineering and certification to define the technical integration of each component, including ceiling design, sidewall attachments, window integration, IFE integration, plumbing systems, electrical load analysis, and rapid decompression and structural substantiation. The result is an interior that conceals the technical, interior and systems integration within the airframe.

The designers sought to incorporate the innovative principle of the “Modern” design movement, expressed through lines and texture: When exposed to light, the design elements project a confidence and reflective quality that revolve around the deckplan, evoking a sense of expansiveness and luxury. Each space is dedicated to the highest level of function, decorum, and collaborative exchange, with technology present in each room for privacy or entertainment.

For coverings and cabinetry the design team selected elements such as Ebony, Fig Sycamore, Karelian Burl Birch and marble for their inherent natural qualities, as well as for the visual elements of their complex patterns, depth, and movement in multiple direction. Accents of polished metals balance the organic interior elements and offer an experience of reflection.

Azure’s inspiration began with “the love of the 787’s open architecture and large windows,” according to the designers, and grew to encapsulate “the client’s energy of curiosity, entrepreneurship and adventure. Our client profile appreciates the progressive design of motion and technological advancements, layer by layer the interior unfolds into a unique landscape of engineered artistry.”

The model design recently won the International Interior Design Association Northern Pacific Chapter’s “In Concept” category, which recognizes unbuilt interior projects and realized project designs. Meanwhile, Greenpoint is ready and able to create a full-scale version of the Azure as it’s displayed here at the show. The company, a division of Zodiac Aerospace, took on its first 787 project this year, and will launch a second in 2015. The 787 Dreamliner represents the next generation of interior completions, presenting unique challenges due to its composite fuselage, and requiring special training and tools.

Meanwhile, at its Kirkland, Washington headquarters, Greenpoint recently began certification flight-testing for a head-of-state 747-8 completion. Greenpoint calls this “a monumental step for the Boeing VIP 747-8 program,” noting that this will be the first executive configured 747-8 to take flight after full interior completion. Deliveries began to completion centers in 2011, and Greenpoint’s aircraft was the fifth delivered by Boeing, received in 2011.

“It’s incredible to see her fly again, after being cooped up in the hangar for so long,” said Greenpoint chairman Jon Buccola. “Nothing is better than to design, engineer, and install an interior then fly it for final testing.” The company is “days from delivery” after a 36-month project, Buccola said in mid-November. “It will be a joyous occasion for all of us but most of all our client, who is eager and ready to put this airplane to use.”