3D printing promises to transform architecture forever—and create forms that blow today’s buildings out of the water

Architecture is a very rare field in which new materials emerge.

Concrete, masonry, and wood have been the mainstays of many structures throughout history.

The adoption of steel frames changed architecture forever in the 1880s. Steel enabled architects design taller buildings with bigger windows. The result was the skyscrapers that are today’s cityscapes.

Construction materials have been limited to a small number of mass-produced parts since the industrial revolution. This standardized set of parts, which includes steel beams and plywood panels has been used to design and construct buildings for more than 150 years.

With the advancements in large-scale additive manufacturing, this could change. There has never been a breakthrough that could transform the way buildings are designed and built as dramatically since the adoptions of the steel frames.

A large-scale additive manufacturing process, such as desktop 3D printers, involves the construction of objects one layer at time. The print material, whether clay, concrete, or plastic, is extruded as a fluid and hardens to its final form.

As the director of the Institute for Smart Structures, University of Tennessee I have had the opportunity to participate in a number of projects that use this technology.

Although there are still some obstacles to widespread adoption of this technology, I see a future where buildings will be built entirely out of recycled materials or materials sourced on site, using forms inspired by nature’s geometries.

Promising prototypes

The Trillium Pavilion is one of these structures. It is an open-air structure made from recycled ABS polymer. This plastic is widely used in a variety of consumer products.

The structure’s thin and double-curved surfaces were inspired from the petals of the flower that gave it its name. Students designed the project, Loci Robotics printed it and it was constructed at Cherokee Farm, University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Another example of large-scale additive production is Tecla. This prototype dwelling measuring 450 square feet (41.8 m2) was designed by Mario Cucinella Architectures. It was printed in Massa Lombarda (a small Italian town).

Tecla was made from clay taken from the local river. This unique combination of cheap material and radial geometry resulted in an energy-efficient alternative housing.

The U.S. architecture firm Lake Flato joined forces with ICON to create concrete exterior walls for a house called “House Zero” (Austin, Texas).

The home, measuring 2,000 feet in area (185.8 square meters), demonstrates the efficiency and speed of 3D-printed cement. It also features a striking contrast between the curvilinear walls of the structure and the exposed timber frame.

The planning process

Three knowledge areas are required for large-scale additive manufacturing: digital design, digital fabrication, and material science.

To start, architects create computer models for all components that will be printed. The software can be used by these designers to determine how the components will react to structural forces, and to adjust the components accordingly. These tools can be used to help designers reduce weight and automate design processes such as smoothing complicated geometric intersections before printing.

The slicer software converts the computer model into instructions for the 3D printer.

You might assume 3D printers work at a relatively small scale—think cellphone cases and toothbrush holders.

3D printing technology has made it possible to scale up the hardware in a significant way. Sometimes the printing is done via what’s called a gantry-based system—a rectangular framework of sliding rails similar to a desktop 3D printer. Robotic arms are becoming more popular due to their ability print in any orientation.

It is possible for the printing site to vary. While smaller parts and furnishings can be printed in factories for printing, entire houses must be printed on site.

Large-scale additive manufacturing can be done with a variety of materials. Concrete is a well-known choice due to its reliability and ease of use. Clay is an intriguing alternative because it can be harvested on-site—which is what the designers of Tecla did.

Polymers and plastics could be the most versatile. These materials can be made in a variety of ways to meet specific aesthetic and structural requirements. They can also come from organically and recycled materials.

Inspiration comes from the natural world

Because additive manufacturing builds layer by layer, using only the material and energy required to make a particular component, it’s a far more efficient building process than “subtractive methods,” which involve cutting away excess material—think milling a wood beam out of a tree.

3D printing is possible for even common materials such as concrete and plastics, without the need to create molds or formwork.

Most construction materials are mass produced today on production lines that are intended to produce the exact same components. This reduces costs, but leaves little opportunity for customization.

Large-scale additive manufacturing eliminates the need for tools, forms, or dies. This allows each part to be uniquely created without any time penalties for additional complexity or customization.

Large-scale additive manufacturing also offers the possibility to create complex components with internal gaps. This could allow walls to be printed with conduit and ductwork already in position.

In addition, research is taking place to explore the possibilities of multi-material 3D printing, a technique that could allow windows, insulation, structural reinforcement—even wiring—to be fully integrated into a single printed component.

The way that layer-by-layer additive manufacturing mirrors natural processes such as shell formation is one of my favorite aspects.

This opens up new possibilities for designers, who can implement geometries difficult to create using other construction methods. However, they are very common in nature.

Lightweight lattices made of tubes could be created using structural frames that are inspired by the fine structure found in bird bones. They would have varying sizes to reflect the forces they encounter. Façades that evoke the shapes of plant leaves might be designed to simultaneously shade the building and produce solar power.

Learning curve

There are many obstacles to large-scale additive manufacturing’s wider adoption despite its many positive attributes.

The biggest challenge is its novelty. The entire infrastructure is built around traditional construction methods like concrete, steel and wood. This includes supply chains and building codes. The cost of digital fabrication hardware can be quite expensive, and it is not easy to learn the design skills required to work with these materials.

3D printing in architecture will only be successful if it finds its niche. It will take a special application of large-scale additive production to make it popular, much like word processing did for desktop computers.

Maybe it will be its ability print extremely efficient structural frames. I also already see its promise for creating unique sculptural façades that can be recycled and reprinted at the end of their useful life.

Whatever the case, it is likely that some combination factors will ensure that future buildings are 3D-printed.

This article is republished under Creative Commons licence from The Conversation. You can read the original article.