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“ 3D printing lets us create more efficient structures using nonstandard geometries .”
— tristan morgan , computational design and automation lead , aurecon
and structures by making the complex joints and junctions that support them . For example , their
Blobee pavilion , made to be installed in public areas to create a private space , has a construction combining plastic joints with glass panels into an angular dome . Each adaptive joint had to meet specific requirements to connect beams at different planes . HS Hi-Tech designed and produced these bespoke parts using HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing technology , which mixes powder and a binder to create a plastic polymer .
“ HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing technology has accelerated almost every process in our company ,”
said Seung Gyu Yu , head officer of the construction 3D printing laboratory at HS Hi-Tech when the Blobee was unveiled . “ It allows engineers to maximize their freedom of design , and development can be very agile and helps to cost-effectively produce large quantities of customized products .”
The company also partnered with the DBT group to build a pavilion made from one of the world ’ s most sustainable materials , bamboo , and which weighs less than 500 pounds . To fix the rods together into the sprawling , triple-cantilevered shape the designers imagined , they 3D printed 380 different joints customized to their location in the structure . Using commercial technology not only made the process quick and cost-effective , it also guaranteed that the pavilion can be replicated anywhere in the world by makers using locally grown bamboo , minimizing emissions from transport .
PILLAR TO POST The Blue Tree column is 3D printed with pulp made from recycled coffee cups and dyed with indigo ; dancer Riikka Läser moves through the nine individually designed 3D-printed columns in the 2019 Concrete Choreography installation in Riom , Switzerland , left .
Building with the unexpected Other architects are using the advent of 3D printing to explore construction with unusual materials , such as metal , sand , and even “ living ” materials like mycelium or seed-impregnated soil . J