"World's First 3D-Printed Architecture" Created In California

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"World's First 3D-Printed Architecture" Created In California

A team of California-based architects has built the world’s first architectural structure using standard 3D printers .  Called Echoviren after a special type of coastal redwood, the 10 x 10 x 8 foot pavilion was completed last weekend.  Architecture studio Smith|Allen designed a total of 585 individual biodegradable plastic components which were 3D printed over the course of two months, and 10,800 hours to print the components, but just four days to assemble them on site.

Echoviren is located in a redwood forest at Project 387, an arts residency program near San Francisco.

Each component is made of a plant-based PLA bio-plastic, meaning the structure will decompose over time, disappearing within 30-50 years. "As it weathers it will become a micro-habitat for insects, moss, and birds," the architects write. In an interview, Bryan Allen called it “a technological echo, a reflection, and specter of life and of the forest.”

Each component of the structure is made of a plant-based PLA bio-plastic

Allen added: "The overall form is driven by the structural requirements of building in PLA. The section is pyramidal so each of the walls is self supporting. As the structure is completed it becomes a compression structure with the top most layer forming a compression ring."

The section is pyramidal so each of the walls is self supporting

The pyramidal sections make up the self-supporting circular wall that has the top part functioning as a compression ring. The pattern used for the structure was inspired by and based on cellular forms of sequoia cells, which allows for a great amount of strength while maintaining minimal volume.

The team used 7 of the Type A Machines Series 1 printers and worked with Ron Rael at Emerging Objects and at Berkeley to develop new materials. All attempts to built the structure using ZCorp, BFBs or Makerbots failed or were too costly. According to Allen, the Series 1 enabled the designers to 3D print large pieces reliably and at an acceptable price.

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