Archinect - News

SOM unveils new algae-based Bio-Blocks technology at the Chicago Architecture Biennial

2023-09-29T14:01:00-04:00

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has debuted a new concrete alternative material as part of its participation in the fifth Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB 5), which is taking place now through February 11th at multiple locations citywide.

The firm’s Bio-Blocks technology is being presented as a replacement for traditional Concrete Masonry Units (or CMUs) and can reduce emissions on a project by up to 8% if used at scale. The blocks were fabricated with help from Prometheus Materials using microalgae that were then subject to the company’s patent-pending photosynthetic biocementation process. The results seen therein offer a one-metric-ton total offset, according to the product team.

Image © Dave Burk | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)

Displayed in a spiral construction courtesy of the International Masonry Institute and J&E Duff, Inc., in The Mews space at their 167 Green development in the city’s Fulton Market District, the product demonstrates its future potential as a building...

Montana makes history as the first U.S. state to approve 3D printed alternatives to concrete walls

2022-08-31T17:51:00-04:00

Montana has become the first state in the nation to adopt broad-ranging regulatory approval for the use of 3D printing in construction.

The state’s building code regulators recently voted to approve local contractor Tim Stark’s request to 3D print walls as an equal replacement for either CMUs or standard cored concrete blocks.

Stark was petitioning to use the special wall prototype developed by the Florida-based construction technology company Apis Cor and later tested at the University of Connecticut’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, resulting in a specification that was published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) in 2019.

Stark seeks to incorporate 3D printing into multiple housing developments in the hopes of expediting the construction process while at the same time reducing overal...