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Creating and installing the massive chandeliers on three Princess Cruises vessels resembled working on a large-scale (and very heavy) jigsaw puzzle.
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The Crown Princess cruise ship features a three-deck-high atrium dubbed La Piazza, with café-like spaces and shops designed to mimic an Italian streetscape. Two grand staircases within the space lead the eyes up to the ceiling, which is filled with twinkling optic "night lights" that surround a centerpiece chandelier created by Jancik Arts International (JAI).
That stained glass, three-tiered light fixture is12 feet in diameter, features more than 500 faceted crystals and weighs nearly a ton. (In addition to the chandelier on the Crown Princess, JAI created similar installations for its two sister ships, the Emerald Princess and the Ruby Princess.)
Below, JAI president and chief designer Angelique Jackson details some of the challenges her company had to overcome in fabricating and installing those super-sized chandeliers:
We designed the structural steel framework first. A small scale model was produced to illustrate to the architects and interior designers the shape and proportion. Next, two watercolor renditions, plus glass and crystal samples, were presented for approval. Working hand in hand with the art consultant, modifications were introduced to form the accepted artwork.
The next challenge entailed the structural aspects. How could this nearly one ton culmination of steel and glass be hung safely above on a moving vessel? And how can this material marry the surrounding elements for a successful installation? The answers are simple: Customize and control as many elements as possible.
JAI overbuilt the structure steel frame requirements and by virtue of the compound curved panels, the leaded glass is structurally sound as well. Realizing that the connection of the chandelier to the ceiling was most critical, JAI went to work on shop drawings that included a mounting bracket system that was welded into place by Italian contractors in Monfalcone, Italy.
This bracket then accepted the JAI custom steel frame with mechanical attachments. The frame, built in four sections in order to enter the ship's doorways, was also mechanically assembled by JAI and made ready for the glass installation, all accomplished on scaffolding towering three decks above the atrium floor.
The construction of the stained glass curved panels was not without its own challenges. First, the frame was custom built. Next, forms or molds were constructed in the JAI design studio in Clayton, Ga., to match the compound curves of the frame.
The small scale artwork was then created on full scale to assist the JAI glass craftspeople in the construction of the individual panels. The patterns and glass were adjusted to ensure all lines in the geometric pattern flow from panel to panel.
Glass direction, colors and crystals were placed according to the large-scale pattern. All pieces were soldered in place, and lead borders added to reinforce the shape and help ship panels safely to Italy in custom wood padded crates from the JAI fabrication studio in Ocala, Fla.
After all is said and done, when excited passengers and craftspeople alike are drawn to the shimmering crystals and colored lights above, it's pure magic after all.
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