Archinect - Features

A Conversation with Bjarke Ingels on AI, 3D Printing, and the Future of the Architectural Profession

2024-03-19T08:56:00-04:00

It has been almost ten years since Archinect last spoke with Bjarke Ingels. Back then, the topic of conversation was BIG's 'Hot to Cold' exhibition at the National Building Museum. Today, after a decade that has included award-winning Manhattan skyscrapers, floating cities, a Netflix profile, and a Serpentine Pavilion, it's hard to know where to start.

Among the most intriguing recent outputs of BIG's 700-strong team across the United States, Europe, and Asia, however, is their explorations in the field of 3D printing. In collaboration with construction technology specialists ICON, Ingels and his firm have overseen the design and delivery of a wide variety of 3D printed schemes, from a 100-home residential neighborhood and high-end hospitality project, both in Texas, to a Mars simulation habitat developed in collaboration with NASA. Now, in 2024, the team has embarked on its latest 3D printing endeavor: a selection of single-family houses, designed by BIG, to be included in ICON's n...

3D Printing, Artificial Intelligence, and Space Habitats: A Conversation with ICON’s Melodie Yashar

2024-03-12T16:00:00-04:00

As a ‘Space Architect’ working on the design and delivery of 3D printed habitats on the Moon and Mars, Melodie Yashar is aware that, even in space, 3D printing does not exist in a vacuum. Like any construction methodology, it requires a confluence of design intent, delivery systems, material science, and accessible economics.

In her role as Vice President of Building Design & Performance at the construction technologies company ICON, Yashar is overseeing the design and implementation of products across all these fields, with an immediate primary goal of establishing a more affordable and sustainable design and construction system. As Yashar outlined in her 2022 TED Talk, the lessons learned from such ambitious endeavors here on Earth can spark lines of inquiry for perhaps humanity’s ultimate unresolved ambitious endeavor: surviving and thriving beyond Earth itself.

Last week, Archinect’s Niall Patrick Walsh spoke with Yashar as ICON was in the process of unveiling a suite of new tec...

AI Bias and Digital Colonialism; A Conversation with Morehshin Allahyari

2023-10-16T08:16:00-04:00

Whether through her art, writings, or lectures, Morehshin Allahyari's work evokes a range of emotions among its audience. There is wonder and intrigue at her reinterpretation of centuries-old Middle Eastern stories, images, and artifacts. There is introspection on our preconceived views on concepts from open-source data to digital archiving. Finally, there is a blend of frustration and motivation to act as Allahyari takes us on a journey through the exploitative history of colonial power relations between the West and the Middle East.

Using 3D simulation, video, sculpture, and digital fabrication, Allahyari warns us of a modern landscape in which power dynamics straddle both digital and physical worlds, articulating her theory of Digital Colonialism as a "framework for critically examining the tendency for information technologies to be deployed in ways that reproduce colonial power relations." In an age of artificial intelligence, the messages and critiques found within Allahyari's...

‘In the Climate Context, Architects Need to Push a New Frontier’; A Conversation with Mario Cucinella

2023-04-22T05:29:00-04:00

When TECLA was unveiled to the world at the beginning of 2021, it captured the attention of both the architectural community and the imagination of the mainstream media. The world's first 3D-printed house made from raw earth, TECLA was one of 17 projects showcased at COP26 in an exhibition highlighting pathways for the built environment to reduce its carbon footprint.

For Mario Cucinella, the architect behind TECLA, the project represents a broader conviction to “imagine a world where beauty is soulful and sustainable.” This same conviction has seen Cucinella and his team at Mario Cucinella Architects establish not only a portfolio of projects driven by dual principles of sustainability and creativity, but an in-house School of Sustainability encompassing environmentally-themed education, research, and practice.

Archinect’s Niall Patrick Walsh sat down with Cucinella recently at the 2022 World Architecture Festival in Lisbon, Portugal for a wide-ranging discussion encompassing the f...

Does 3D Printed Architecture Have Real Potential? We Talk With an Architect About His Experience Designing and Building a 3D Printed House

2021-12-15T07:45:00-05:00

3D printing is older than you may think. The term was first coined in a 1984 patent, while the idea of generating 3D objects from 2D drawings dates back to sci-fi visions as early as 1945. Fast forward to today, and 3D printing has become a viable method of producing everything from medical stents to passenger vehicles. For those involved in building design and construction, the advent of 3D printing poses several questions: What is it like to design and build a 3D printed structure? How does an architect approach the process? What does the future hold for 3D printed architecture?

In this article, we seek answers to these questions by speaking with an architect who has gained real-world experience in delivering a 3D printed house as well as one of the world’s leading innovators in 3D printed construction.

University of Florida Graduates Mani Karami and Drew Kauffman Create Photobioreactor Facade Systems for Algae Architecture

2020-07-30T13:27:00-04:00

In their project Biokinetics, University of Florida School of Architecture M.Arch graduates Drew Kauffman and Mani Karami explore kinetic design systems as they apply to photobioreactor facade systems powered by algae growth. The duo, working under their project advisors Professor Lee-Su Huang (chair) and Professor Jason Alread (co-chair), experiment with a series of material studies to help create this new system.

They share, "With an emphasis on digital fabrication technologies including thermoforming, 3D printing, and CNC routing, Biokinetics advances the complementary disciplines of algae cultivation and facade design." Archinect connected with the two as they discuss the details of their research as well as their entrance into professional practice after graduating during a pandemic.

Archinect's Spotlight on 2020 Thesis Projects: 2020 has been an extraordinarily challenging year for architecture graduates. Students were displaced as schools shut down, academic communities had t...

Florida International University M.Arch Student Renzo Lopez Attempts Coral Reef Restoration Through 3D Printing

2020-07-22T13:01:00-04:00

Coral reefs are a key component to the world's ecosystems. For his M.Arch thesis, Florida International University graduate Renzo Lopez utilizes a common tool in any architecture studio as a means to investigate the possibilities understanding the construction of coral reefs: 3D printing. In his thesis, titled Para-symbiotic, Lopez explores the potential generative applications of intrusion, extrusion, and other 3D printing approaches. He questions, "What if it were possible to attach a robotic apparatus to the base of coral polyp(s) which allowed it to simply orient itself in its own self process of extrusion? Could this self extrusion allow it to afford a certain level of protection from the adverse environmental conditions which currently threaten its existence?"

Archinect connected with Lopez to hear more about the transition from in-person to remote learning and how his project adapted to the situation. He also provides insight on his thoughts on the pandemic and how it has aff...

A Conversation With Julia Koerner, Architecture’s Queen of 3D Fabrication

2019-05-06T12:00:00-04:00

From the runway to the big screen, and now the red carpet, Austrian architect Julia Koerner has set herself apart as a designer due to her relentless quest for 3D fabrication mastery. Quickly becoming a household name, Koerner splits her time running her practice JK Design GmbH and her role as a faculty member at UCLA's Architecture and Urban Design department. Her architecture background is nothing short of impressive, attending the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and the Architectural Association in London. During her studies, she was surrounded and influenced by the minds of Zaha Hadid, Wolf Prix, and Greg Lynn.

Koerner's prowess in digital computation transformed her into one of the industry's leading 3D fabrication designers. Archinect spent some time with Koerner for an in-depth interview discussing her start as a designer, working in fashion, teaching, and what it was like working on the Oscar-winning film, Black Panther.

3D-printing a better skeleton for concrete structures, with Platt Boyd of Branch Technology

2016-08-30T11:45:00-04:00

Platt Boyd is the Founder and CEO of Branch Technology, a start-up in Chattanooga, Tennessee that is actively pursuing the intersection of technology and construction. Their Cellular Fabrication (C-Fab) system combines industrial robotics and material science to 3D print a large-scale, optimized lattice system for concrete structures.

In order to source the design for the first full-scale application of their system, Branch recently held the Freeform Home Design Challenge—the winning entry by WATG Urban Architecture Studio will start production in early 2017.

Student Works: 3D printing the new millenial domicile with UCLA and HUD

2014-05-16T11:20:00-04:00

Taking a minimalist approach to both design and production, students in UCLA’s 3M futureLAB studio condensed micro-housing to an even smaller scale, with their 3D-printed, one-person, transportable housing unit. Conceived for the ideals of a fiercely mobile young professional, the full-scale model measures a lilliputian 4.84sq meters, and manages to include a multi-media interface in addition to a bathroom, kitchen and bedroom.