Smooth Cut, Sharp Design - Waterjet Technology

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The Baldwin White design team had planned to do laser cuts on the one-half-inch-thick aluminum panels for the children's quotations, but discovered that laser cutting would not work with this material. The team was unable to find anyone able to do the work until they tracked down Creative Edge. Says Spears, "Here we were searching all over the country and right in our backyard we found someone. ... It's amazing that we have this great resource that is virtually unknown in Iowa."

Creative Edge's clients run the gamut from medical implant manufacturers to aircraft parts suppliers, upscale hotels to department stores. Thousands of one-inch-thick stainless steel letters that are fourteen inches high were cut by Creative Edge for signage throughout a Hyatt regency Hotel complex in San Francisco. Solid stainless steel was selected for the project to resist corrosion from the salty air. Creative Edge recently completed a series of inlaid medallion mosaics for Lord & Taylor using three

kinds of marble, brass lettering and ornate brass scrollwork. "Architectural signage is an area that has grown with us," says Aalto. "With waterjet, you can incorporate a new, high-end image ... but it's affordable.

"I think waterjet and our company is actually having an influence on the direction of decorative elements and the kinds of things architects and builders are putting into their designs," says Aalto. "I would say there's a mini-renaissance taking place. ... Many of the things done painstakingly by hand a hundred years ago, which have since fallen away, can now be done efficiently in a modern way, with no loss of detail. In fact, things can actually be done with more detail."

Innovative technology is driving our world culture, shaping the way we perceive the world. In terms of architectural design, abrasive waterjet cutting is creating some breathtaking shapes.

Christina Ladd Campbell is a freelance writer who lives in Fairfield, Iowa.