The CIRVA facilities actually consist of two spaces, one for handling the glass and one for making wood and plaster molds and other tools. Shown here are glass-cutting machines, which are similar to wood-cutters but with diamond blades. “The technicians here are great because they never say no, that’s impossible,” Willenz says. “They very much like to be challenged and to do something they haven’t tried before, something that isn’t obvious for glass, and they’re ingenious enough that they always work it out.”