Dragons brought back to life thanks to 3D technologies

Take a tour of London this summer and visit Kew Gardens, where you can admire The Great Pagoda, an octagonal ten-storey tower designed in 1762 and recently restored with 3D technology. It has just reopened to the public today: the 72 dragons who decorate it have been printed in 3D and have resumed their place after more than 230 years of absence.

The Great Pagoda was designed by Sir William Chambers as a gift for Princess Augusta, the founder of Kew Botanical Gardens. At each corner of the tower, on the ten floors, one could see painted wooden dragons which, twenty years after had been removed to repair the roof of the tower were never replaced. UNESCO World Heritage, the architecture needed substantial restorations. It was the Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) who took charge of this work and soon realised that bringing back these dragons to life was not going to be easy.

A 3D printed dragon

72 dragons was 3D printed

Restoration work is often lengthy, costly, and sometimes creates difficulties in terms of design and accuracy in the reproduction of the original work. The 3D technology can then become a solution to overcome these challenges and some are increasingly used to carry out these cultural and historical restorations. HRP turned to 3D Systems’ SLS technology to create lightweight, durable replicas of the original dragons.