Three-dimensional printing is one of the most talked-about technologies of this decade. Some consider it the beginning of the third industrial revolution, while others point out the constraints of the technique. Is 3D printing changing our architecture, and is it the way we’ll design our homes in the future? Below, we look at the phenomenon of 3D printing worldwide, including a delicate resin pavilion in China, classical-design-inspired concrete beams in Italy and buildings that “think” in Germany.
The technology of 3D printing was invented by Chuck Hull, an American engineer. He initially called the new process stereolithography and patented it in 1986. The technique links molecules using laser light to form polymers into solid shapes.
Initially, industries such as automotive manufacturing used the technology for what became known as rapid prototyping. The advantage was that no molds were required and there was no waste, unlike in milling, where a shape is cut and the material around it is discarded. In 3D printing, objects are constructed layer by layer. The idea stems from printing with ink; in that process, the ink lies on top of the paper. If the process was repeated time and again, but with more solid materials and a slight shift to create movements in the layers, a 3D printing effect would occur.
Materials used in 3D printing range from the more common synthetic resins and plastics to steel and concrete. Some are experimenting with natural materials such as bamboo, wood and natural stone waste. Small versions of 3D printers are finding their way into designers’ studios, schools and private homes.
But some synthetic materials used for printing are suspected of emitting toxins. In the course of an experiment, a doctoral student at the University of California at Riverside found that her zebra fish were dying in the container she had printed. A research team then tested the products of two of the most common 3D printers and discovered that the toxicity levels of both were quite alarming. Researchers worldwide are working to find safe materials and techniques and caution that the printers should be used in well-ventilated places.
In China, superlatives represent progress, so it should come as no surprise that the largest printed architectural object was created there. Vulcan, a pavilion seen here, was revealed to visitors from all over the world during Beijing Design Week 2015. It was designed by architects Xu Feng and Yu Lei. But it was not printed all in one piece. Its curved form — 27 feet (8.2 meters) long and 9.4 feet (2.9 meters) high — was assembled from 1,023 individual components, all produced by a printer.
Although this achievement was rewarded with an entry in Guinness World Records, it also shows the limits of today’s 3D printing technology: To print entire houses, the printers would have to be gigantic or run on huge scaffolds. Scale is the reason 3D printing is still in its infancy where architecture is concerned.
Professor Achim Menges, head of the renowned Institute for Computational Design at Stuttgart University, knows that innovation is an invitation to leave behind old thought patterns. “First you use the new technology to build objects in the traditional way, as demonstrated by the example from China, where they are building conventional houses with 3D printers,” he says. “Designs and constructions that are genuinely specific to the new process are not created until the second step.”
This means, for example, that “3D printing will make geometric complexity in building construction possible without much additional effort or expense. This knowledge in turn informs the design process,” Menges says. Just as developments in software changed the aesthetic of architecture, so could 3D printing.
Because the technology creates components with multiple layers, “we will have the possibility of creating very complex building components with gradient characteristics,” Menges says. “Components could be soft on one end and hard on the other due to different printing materials being used in the course of the printing with a multi-material printer.”
How 3D printing is disrupting the architecture and design industry [New Atlas]