Archinect - News 2024-11-24T02:14:21-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/150077859/the-lotus-house-explores-the-potential-of-3d-printing-for-sustainable-construction The Lotus House Explores the Potential of 3D Printing for Sustainable Construction Liam Otten 2018-08-15T12:21:00-04:00 >2024-03-15T01:45:58-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/63/631716ffa54f03f71180aeee894e06f0.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>From consumer goods to medical devices, <a href="https://archinect.com/news/tag/475/3d-printing" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">3D printing</a> is reshaping the manufacturing world. But what about construction? Could this technology change the way buildings are made?</p> <p>That&rsquo;s the question posed by a team from Washington University in St. Louis.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/WashUSolarDecathlon/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Over the past eight months</a>, students from the&nbsp;<a href="https://archinect.com/schools/cover/17418/washington-university-in-st-louis" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sam Fox School of Design &amp; Visual Arts</a> and the&nbsp;<a href="https://engineering.wustl.edu/Pages/home.aspx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">School of Engineering &amp; Applied Science</a>&nbsp;&mdash; with support from the&nbsp;<a href="https://incees.wustl.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">International Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability (InCEES)</a>&mdash;&nbsp;have used 3D printing to design and fabricate elements of&nbsp;Lotus House, an energy-efficient prototype residence unveiled this month as part of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.solardecathlon.gov/international-china.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Solar Decathlon China 2018</a>.</p> <p>In this Q&amp;A, project manager Kinga Pabjan, a master&rsquo;s candidate in architecture and construction management, discusses Lotus House, 3D printing and the future of sustainable construction.</p> <figure><p><a href="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/23/23f88a66ca75c16016e005a4118e581d.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&amp;w=1028" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/23/23f88a66ca75c16016e005a4118e581d.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&amp;w=514"></a></p><figcaption>Project manager Kinga Pabjan. (Courtesy Team WashU)</figcaption></figure><p><strong>Describe Lotus House. What inspired the design?</strong><br></p> <p>Lotus House is a 650-square-foot, single-story home. The...</p>