ARCH_500-600 Options Studio: ‘Advanced Material and Process: An Entirely 3D-Printed Multifamily Building’

 

Digital Materiality—as data, material, programming, and construction were interwoven so that the algorithmic logic of the computer could directly connect with the reality of built architecture.

—F. Gramazio, M. Kohler, & J. Willmann, “The Robotic Touch: How Robots Change Architecture,” 2014

 

 

For the past few decades, the building industry has undergone accelerated evolution, transforming new technologies, cutting-edge materials, and innovative processes including big data, synthetic polymers, and digital fabrication. 3D-printing technologies have paved new avenues for design diversity and the possibilities of building construction. It is one of the new technologies aimed at digital materiality. The use of 3D printing in the area of architecture is highly dependent on the accuracy of the printer, the printing materials, and the cost. It is the primary vehicle toward a new paradigm for the building industry because it fundamentally changes the way we produce, deliver, and build for the future.

 

 

Working with industrial partners and entrepreneurs such as Apis Cor, this studio explored the frontier of 3D printing in areas of multistory building design and construction. Students developed a prototype for a multifamily, multistory building with organic-form enclosure using cement-based materials and processes and highly customized furniture using bamboo/wood fiber-reinforced composite materials. Students learned to use Grasshopper for Rhino or Dynamo for REVIT to drive an Apis Cor 3D-printing robot or Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) machine.

 

 

Students gained a comprehensive understanding of state-of-the-art 3D printing as it applies to the building industry in the field of free-form architecture. They researched 3D-printing processes and discussed existing 3D-printed buildings and furniture. Proposals addressed the strengths and weaknesses of 3D printing buildings and its application, along with present challenges and future outlook, in architecture. This work was supplemented by a field trip to the Apis Cor laboratory in Boston as well as with lectures, consultations, and reviews by industry leaders from SOM and notable professionals. At the end of the semester, students printed full-scale prototype samples for proof of concept.

 

 

As Team WashU, the studio participated in the conceptual design competition for the 2019 U.S. Solar Decathlon Design Challenge and four students were selected to present their works in April at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Denver, Colorado. Similar to Team WashU Lotus House that entered the 2018 Solar Decathlon China competition, students may be selected to further develop solid conceptual plans from this studio and build a portion of the building on a 20-meter by 20-meter site in the 2020 Solar Decathlon China competition with industry sponsors.