Key operations in replicating Frank Lloyd Wright's "textile block" walls were the manufacture of form liners and the achievement of proper color and texture by using a dry-pack mortar. The first step was manufacture of the fiber glass form liners using the original aluminum molds as matrices. This work started well ahead of site preparation. In addition to the many relatively simple smooth-surfaced blocks, there were 200 different bas-relief block designs to be reproduced. These were made by two different procedures, depending on the quantity of form liners needed. This article discusses manufacture of the form liners, dry-pack mortar, panel casting, and panel erection. MANUFACTURE OF FORM LINERS Where only a few reproductions were needed, an initial mold of fiber glass was taken from the original aluminum mold. From this positive-image fiber glass mold a fiber glass form liner was made. This form liner, bearing the negative image of the face of a single block, was placed image side up on the casting slab, along with other block-sized forms. They shaped the exterior face of the site cast panel, this combination of positive images now appearing to be courses of hand-laid block. Where many reproductions of a particular block design were needed, the sequence was: aluminum mold (negative) to fiber glass mold (positive) to plaster cast (negative) to a set of epoxy resin closed-mold dies (positive). As many as 2000 fiber glass form liners (negative) were made from a single set of mold dies for placement in the casting bed to produce the effect of hand-laid block (positive).
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