Engineering Firm and Design Studio Receive National Award for Art-Inspired Bus Stop Sheltes in Orlando

Entech Creative Industries — an Orlando, Fla.-based custom engineering and fabrication services firm — and Walt Geiger Studios recently won a national award from the world's largest trade group representing the composites industries. The "Design: Most Creative Application" award was presented for the creation of art-inspired bus stop shelters installed along Orlando's International Drive.

Presented by the American Composites Manufactures Association (ACMA), the Awards for Composites Excellence recognize technological achievement, innovation in composites manufacturing and advancements in product development.

"We are honored to have received this award from the ACMA," said John Marhoefer, principal engineer and CEO of Entech Creative. "The future of composites is ever-changing. While composites are used to fabricate everything from chairs to bathtubs, traditionally they have not been used to build structures. We are gratified to have helped advance the use of composite materials in new applications."

Known as the "Cascade Series," the white, curvilinear structures are made of 100 percent composite materials, and include a honeycomb core sandwiched by layers of fiberglass skin, called the Entech EG 21 Series Formable Composite Panel. The shelters are composed of four different figures, each approximately three feet wide and 15 to 16 feet tall, which were placed in groups at four Orlando-area bus stops.

"Receiving this award humbles us in so many ways," said Walter Geiger, president of Walt Geiger Studios. "As an artist, I believe everyone benefits from the opportunity to interact with art, and people who prosper in a community have the responsibility to give back. I prefer to have my art pieces be a part of the fabric of a city, accessible to everyone, rather than placed in a museum."