Archinect - News

2024 showcased the potential of 3D printing in architecture

2024-12-20T08:00:00-05:00

The architecture world witnessed a transformative year in 2024, with 3D printing continuing to broaden the possibilities of design and construction. From high-profile collaborations between architecture firms and technology companies to groundbreaking projects that span continents—and even reach beyond Earth—this year marked a surge in innovation across construction sites and research labs alike.

This year, Archinect’s editorial included exclusive insights from BIG’s Bjarke Ingels and ICON’s Melodie Yashar, digging deeper into a collaboration spanning 3D printing materials, hardware, software, and business models. Elsewhere, we saw notable projects such as North America’s first 3D-printed three-story home and the world’s tallest 3D-printed tower in Switzerland, and innovative research led by institutions including MIT, Princeton, ETH Zurich, and IAAC, dwelling on topics as diverse as fish scales to liquid metal.

To further explore these trends, we have set out the key developments a...

New 3D concrete printing method captures carbon to reduce construction emissions

2024-12-16T18:53:00-05:00

Researchers at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, have developed a 3D concrete printing process that captures and stores carbon dioxide (CO₂) during production. The method incorporates CO₂ and steam—by-products of industrial processes—into the concrete mix, where CO₂ chemically bonds into a solid form.

The method, described in Carbon Capture Science & Technology, demonstrates a reduction in cement’s carbon footprint, a material responsible for 8% of global CO₂ emissions. The process has shown improved mechanical properties, including a 36.8% increase in compression strength and a 45.3% improvement in bending strength, and traps 38% more carbon compared to conventional 3D concrete printing.

Additional findings include:

Reduced Porosity: Open porosity decreased by up to 72%, improving durability and resistance to environmental factors.
Enhanced Printability: The process improves printability, allowing structures to be built with a 50% increase in build height capacity...

Invisible Studio creates rammed stone yoga studio in UK countryside

2024-11-14T08:27:00-05:00

UK-based Invisible Studio has completed a rammed stone yoga studio for the Newt Hotel in Somerset, UK. Aside from its innovative use of rammed earth, the scheme is defined by a 36-foot-long rooflight made from a single insulated double-glazed unit.

Image credit: Jim Stephenson

The studio is lined entirely in beech slats to provide a "warm and immersive sanctuary-like space." The external skin uses the same rammed stone as the hotel’s adjacent gym, made from local limestone to give it a distinctive red color. Meanwhile, copper detailing borrows from the palette of materials established by the hotel’s Beezantium.

Image credit: Jim Stephenson

“The rammed stone external skin is something we get asked about a good deal, particularly with no roof overhang,” Invisible Studio founder Piers Taylor explains. “The mix is colored only by using local ‘Hadspen’ limestone, which has a distinctive red hue, which is crushed from 45mm to dust. Th...

Oregon researchers build prototype mass timber home that ‘fits together like gingerbread house’

2024-11-07T11:13:00-05:00

A research team in Oregon has unveiled a mass timber prototype home that seeks to showcase a sustainable, energy-efficient alternative to traditional home construction. Designed by the TallWood Design Institute, a collaboration between the University of Oregon and Oregon State University, the 760-square-foot project was unveiled at an open house event on November 7th.

Image courtesy of the University of Oregon

The home, built from locally sourced mass plywood panels produced by Freres Engineered Wood, aims to address key issues such as affordable housing shortages, wildfire resilience, and economic sustainability. Unlike conventional timber construction, the home is constructed of mass plywood panels shaped to fit together like pieces of a gingerbread house, the team says.

Image courtesy of the University of Oregon

Through the project, the team imagines a future where a home could arrive in a flatpack ...

MIT team creates 3D-printed glass bricks for reusable construction

2024-09-21T12:31:00-04:00

MIT engineers have created 3D-printed glass bricks that could offer a new approach to construction with sustainable and reusable materials. These interlocking bricks, which offer similar strength to concrete, are designed for circular construction, allowing buildings to be disassembled and reassembled at the end of their life cycle.

The team, led by Assistant Professor Kaitlyn Becker and former MIT researcher Michael Stern, developed the glass bricks using a custom 3D printing technology from MIT spinoff Evenline. Made from recycled glass, the bricks are shaped like figure eights and interlock like LEGO pieces, offering flexibility in assembly and disassembly.

Each manufacturing method is shown from left to right: FH (Fully Hollow), PC (Print-Cast), and FP (Fully Printed). Credits:Image: Ethan Townsend

In mechanical testing, the glass bricks demonstrated strength comparable to concrete blocks, proving their potential for real-world architectural applications. The team experimented wi...

Engineers develop bone-inspired concrete for stronger structures

2024-09-19T13:33:00-04:00

Inspired by the natural architecture of human bone, engineers at Princeton University have developed a new cement-based material that significantly enhances the toughness of traditional concrete. This innovative material resists cracking and sudden failure, making it a promising solution for more durable and long-lasting architectural structures.

The research, led by Professor Reza Moini and Ph.D. candidate Shashank Gupta from Princeton's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was published in Advanced Materials. The study introduces a unique design that incorporates cylindrical and elliptical tubes within the cement paste. Mimicking the structure of bone, specifically the tubular osteons found in human cortical bone, this design allows the concrete to trap and delay crack propagation. This “stepwise cracking” mechanism absorbs more energy, reducing the likelihood of sudden collapse.

Architecture of cortical bone. a) Schematic cross-section of human femur bone illustr...

Princeton researchers develop concrete 3D printing method inspired by ancient fish scales

2024-09-05T08:00:00-04:00

Researchers at Princeton University’s Engineering School have developed a method for 3D printing concrete with improved crack resistance. Taking inspiration from fish scales, the team led by assistant professor Reza Moini claims their design increases resistance to cracking by as much as 63% compared to conventional cast concrete.

Princeton’s method drew inspiration from the double-helical structures that form the scales of an ancient fish lineage named coelacanths. The resulting design sees concrete arranged into individual strands, with robotic 3D printing used to weakly connect each strand to its neighbor.

“The researchers used different design schemes to combine many stacks of strands into larger functional shapes, such as beams,” Princeton explains. “The design schemes rely on slightly changing the orientation of each stack to create a double-helical arrangement (two orthogonal layers twisted across the height) in the beams that is key to improving the material’s resistance to ...

UMaine experiments with 3D printed floor panels made from recyclable natural materials

2024-08-10T11:00:00-04:00

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Maine are leading interesting new engineering research into floor cassettes made using recyclable natural materials that are strong enough to be used in multi-story buildings. Thanks to experiments at UMaine's cutting-edge Advanced Structures and Composites Center (which previously contributed to our coverage of bio-based 3D printed homes), engineers were able to produce a capable model made from polylactic acid and lumber by-products, such as wood flour.

The SM2ART Nfloor cassette components can be 3D printed in roughly two-thirds the time it takes for a typical floor cassette to be factory assembled, thus saving labor costs. Scott Tomlinson, a structural engineer at the Center, shared: "This technology holds a lot of promise for the future of sustainable buildings." The project came together at the initiative of the SHoP offshoot Assembly OSM.

The work was also recently on display as part of the ...

German researchers discover carbon sequestering concrete additive made from cyanobacteria

2024-07-29T19:37:00-04:00

Researchers from Germany's Fraunhofer Institute have discovered a new bioconcrete solution made using cyanobacteria (formerly known as blue-green algae) that sequesters carbon through a process of photosynthesis. Their work for the “BioCarboBeton” project examined the potential of stromatolites to be used as an additive in traditional concrete mixtures, finding success after mimicking their natural binding processes by using a new technological method.

The project, which aims to scale up production for commercial uses, also found potential applications in insulation material, brick, formwork filling, and even mortar.

Take a look also at similar SOM and Drexel University-led material research for concrete and concrete alternatives that we published in the past year.

University of Chicago researchers create cooling fabric that can block heat from structures in cities

2024-06-24T20:10:00-04:00

Future city dwellers could beat the heat with clothes made of a new fabric that keeps them cool. The textile, made of a plastic material and silver nanowires, is designed to stay cool in urban settings by taking advantage of a principle known as radiative cooling – the natural process by which objects radiate heat into space.

The material was designed by a team of researchers at the University of Chicago led by Po-Chun Hsu, an Assistant Professor of Molecular Engineering. They designed it to block more than half of the radiation from the buildings and the ground. As reported by New Scientist, the material emits heat in the form of infrared radiation into space, while reflecting the sun’s radiation and infrared radiation emitted by surrounding structures, such as buildings and pavement.

Previously on Archinect: University of Maryland researchers develop 'cooling glass' that can redirect a building's heat into space

The researchers developed a three-layer textile, where the inner layer is made of common fabric, such as wool or cotton, and the middle layer consists of silver nanowires that reflect most radiation. The top layer is made of a plastic material called polymethylpentene, which emits a narrow band of infrared radiation. Outdoor tests found that the material stayed 16ºF cooler than a regular silk fa...

Princeton University researchers develop tougher cement inspired by shells

2024-06-13T14:48:00-04:00

Engineers at Princeton University have developed a new cement composite, inspired by the material found within certain shells, that is 17 times more crack-resistant than standard cement and 19 times more able to stretch and deform without breaking.

The research team was led by Reza Moini, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. In a recently published article in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, the team reported that creating alternating layers of tabulated cement paste and thin polymer can significantly increase the material’s durability.

Often looking towards biology for inspiration in their work on building materials, the researchers were drawn to a natural material called nacre, also known as mother of pearl. The material is produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer, and it is also the material that pearls are made of. According to the researchers, nacre consists of a hard mineral called aragonite, which are glued together by a soft bio...

Swedish companies unveil low-carbon wall system 60% lighter than traditional concrete

2024-03-15T12:45:00-04:00

A group of materials companies in Sweden has collaborated on a hybrid wall element with a lower carbon footprint than conventional concrete wall elements.

The joint venture, comprising concrete element manufacturer Heidelberg Materials Preca and engineered timber manufacturer Metsä Wood, is now rolling out the element for live construction projects.

Image credit: Heidelberg Materials Preca / Metsä Wood

The wall consists of a facade element in a sandwich construction with an outer layer made of 'climate-improved' concrete, intermediate insulation, and a load-bearing inner panel made of strong, material-efficient laminated veneer lumber. According to the group, the wall module has approximately 30–50% less of a climate impact than an equivalent traditional concrete wall while also being 60% lighter.

Image credit: Heidelberg Materials Preca / Metsä Wood

To test the wall, the team constructed a home using the elements. The structure was equipped with moisture sensors to monitor the wall ...

ETH Zurich’s 3D printed sculpture oscillates between ‘opaque boundary’ and ‘transparent curtain’

2024-03-14T12:06:00-04:00

ETH Zurich has unveiled a 6.5-foot-tall lightweight shell fabricated from 3D printing.

Named 'Fluid Forms,' and created by the institution’s Digital Building Technologies group, the structure seeks to showcase “an innovative robotic additive manufacturing method that enables the printing of doubly curved thin shells more efficiently.”

Video courtesy Ιoanna.M/YouTube

The design of Fluid Forms was inspired by the Costa minimal surface, which belongs to a family of shapes that minimize area for a given boundary, resulting in a geometry with strong structural properties. In contrast to horizontal plane printing, the fabrication process sees the print paths align to principal curvature directions, which, according to the team, reduces the need for external support and enhances the precision and surface quality of the curved surface.

Image credit: Dominik Vogel

“The print path orientation is controlled through a vector-field optimization method that has been fi...

Snøhetta designs hemp-based lighting product inspired by 1970s ateljé Lyktan line

2024-03-13T12:02:00-04:00

Snøhetta has designed a line of lighting products for Swedish lighting manufacturer ateljé Lyktan.

The line, named Superdupertube, sees a revision of the manufacturer’s 1970s Supertube product, which was given a “contemporary makeover through extensive material research.”

Image credit: ateljé Lyktan

Image credit: Jonas Lindstrom

“When ateljé Lyktan challenged us to create a new technical office luminaire, we rediscovered their iconic Supertube from the 1970s,” said Snøhetta Partner Jenny B. Osuldsen about the project. “Our joint decision was clear — let's update and elevate the Supertube to a 2.0 version, guided by our commitment to sustainability and cradle-to-cradle thinking.”

Image credit: ateljé Lyktan

The project began as an exploration into how ateljé Lyktan’s products could be reimagined using locally sourced materials with a smaller ecological footprint. Initial experiments with pine cones and coffee grounds led to the choice of hemp fiber, which the...

AI designer and multi-story 3D printer among ICON technologies unveiled at SXSW

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

Construction technologies company ICON has unveiled a suite of new technologies at SXSW, including a multi-story robotic construction system and an AI-powered design system.

At a SXSW event dubbed ‘Domus Ex Machina,’ the company also presented a new low-carbon building material for 3D printing alongside a digital catalog for residential 3D printed architecture containing more than 60 designs.

Phoenix multi-story printer. Image credit: ICON

“In the future, I believe nearly all construction will be done by robots, and nearly all construction-related information will be processed and managed by AI systems,” said Jason Ballard, ICON Co-Founder and CEO, announcing the new systems. “It is clear to me that this is the way to cut the cost and time of construction in half while making homes that are twice as good and more faithfully express the values and hopes of the people who live in them.”

Phoenix multi-story printer. Image credit: ICON

Among the new technologies unveiled is Phoenix, ICON...

ecoLogicStudio’s collection of biophilic design products includes algae-based air purifier and 3D printed compostable stool

2024-03-07T11:43:00-05:00

London-based ecoLogicStudio has unveiled a collection of biophilic design products as part of their wider PhotoSynethetica research project.

The collection includes a desktop biotechnological air purifier, a compostable stool, and a 3D printed jewel made of re-metabolized pollution.

Image credit: Pepe Fotografia

The project was overseen by ecoLogicStudio directors Claudia Pasquero and Marco Poletto, who spoke with Archinect last year on a range of topics related to PhotoSynethetica and ‘ecological intelligence.’ Launched as a research project in 2018 with an academic consortium, the project seeks to “tackle the negative effects of climate change and air pollution on urban wellbeing.”

Image credit: Pepe Fotografia

Each piece in the latest collection has been designed to connect biophilic and design spheres, such as biomass grown from the air purification process becoming a raw material for 3D printing the collection’s compostable stool and jewel. “This collection is born from the drea...

Researchers look at the possibilities of wood fly ash by-products as an alternative in rammed earth construction

2024-03-02T08:00:00-05:00

New findings published in the journal Construction and Building Materials from a team of materials researchers working at the University of British Columbia Okanagan's School of Engineering have demonstrated the sustainable qualities of using wood fly ash by-products as alternatives to traditional concrete additives.

The study was undertaken in light of some recent popularity of rammed earth construction in the architectural field, an ancient form of building whose mastery has propelled the 2022 Pritzker Prize winner Diébédo Francis Kéré and several others to prominence parallel with the industry's fight against climate change.

"Everything old is new again and that is precisely why we've been investigating rammed earth construction," Dr. Sumi Siddiqua explained to the UBCO news outlet. "There is an increasing demand for sustainable building products here in Canada and around the world, and materials like fly ash are just the start of a new and important trend."

Siddiqua’s team was...

Production begins on the world’s tallest 3D printed structure

2024-02-16T11:40:00-05:00

Production has begun on a 3D printed tower in Switzerland, which is expected to be the tallest structure of its kind in the world. Named the ‘Tor Alva’ or ‘White Tower,’ the project is currently being fabricated at ETH Zurich, where the first eight columns of the tower’s lower floor commenced 3D printing in February.

Image credit: Hansmeyer/Dillenburger

The columns’ fabrication sees a robot extrude the concrete in 8mm-high layered print paths. In a departure from traditional concrete construction, the 3D printing process means formwork is no longer required, freeing new avenues for the team to experiment with shapes, surface details, and cavities. The tower will also be the first instance of printed concrete being used in a fully structural manner, with steel reinforcement inserted during the robotic production process.

Image credit: R. Masallam

The tower will be constructed in the remote Swiss Alps village of Mulegns, where it will host music and theater performances. At 98 feet (nea...

Researchers use cellulose and algae to create 3D printed architectural material

2024-02-09T13:46:00-05:00

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have published their study into how materials made from nanocellulose and algae can be used as sustainable architectural materials. The research, conducted in collaboration with the Wallenberg Wood Science Center, “shows how the abundant sustainable material can be 3D printed into a wide array of architectural components, using much less energy than conventional construction methods,” according to the team.

Nanocellulose, molecules consisting of hundreds or thousands of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms, are already used in biomedicine to 3D print scaffolds for tissue and cell growth but have never been used in an architectural material. The researchers, therefore, mixed nanocellulose fibers and water with an algae-based material called alginate to produce a 3D printable material with architectural uses in mind.

“For the first time...

NASA tests autonomous construction robots for future use in outer space

2024-02-06T11:09:00-05:00

NASA has unveiled details of a robotic system designed to construct and maintain structural components in space. The system, developed by NASA’s Automated Reconfigurable Mission Adaptive Digital Assembly Systems (ARMADAS) team, consists of inchworm-like robots that may one day assemble, repair, and reconfigure structural materials in orbit, on the lunar surface, or on other planets, before humans arrive.

A Scaling Omnidirectional Lattice Locomoting Explorer (SOLL-E) builder robot carries a small building block called a voxel – short for volumetric pixel – as it maneuvers, stepping inchworm-style, along the exterior of a mechanical metamaterial structure. Image credit: NASA/Dominic Hart

NASA’s system revolves around a set of 3D building blocks called voxels, which resemble a wire-frame soccer ball. Made of strong, lightweight composite materials, the voxels combine to create a system that, according to NASA, is comparable to current high-performance structures such as bridges, aircraf...

MIT researchers develop rapid 3D printing process with liquid metal

2024-01-30T12:40:00-05:00

News is circulating about a novel method for 3D printing liquid metals that was developed by researchers working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Self-Assembly Lab.

The invention can print furniture-sized components using molten aluminum and a ceramic nozzle graphite printer. They say their discovery works without re-melting the recycled materials, as is the case with many current technologies. It resembles a small furnace into which book-sized blocks of the material are fed. The technique, called liquid metal printing (LMP), creates material that is durable enough to withstand CNC milling and other steps in the post-design delivery process.

Image credit: MIT Self-Assembly Lab

The hope now is to refine the technique to allow for more consistent and higher-resolution prints. Such rapid and deployable solutions could become an attractive choice for architectural designers looking to scale up development and building projects in the future.

Image credit: MIT Self-Asse...

Drexel team uses bacteria to create self-healing concrete

2023-12-29T11:40:00-05:00

A team from Drexel University has published their research into a self-healing system for concrete. The team, operating in the University’s College of Engineering, embedded bacteria in their concrete system that, when activated by water, can repair cracks in the concrete.

Named ‘BioFiber,’ the Drexel system sees a polymer fiber encased in a bacteria-laden hydrogel and a protective, damage-responsive shell. A grid of BioFibers embedded in a concrete structure can improve the system’s durability, prevent cracks from growing, and enable self-healing, according to the research published in the journal Construction and Building Materials.

The team was inspired by the ability of human skin tissue to self-heal, and the ability of vascular systems to help organisms heal their own wounds. The team identified a strain of Lysinibacillus sphaericus bacteria as a bio-healing agent for the fiber, which is found in soil and can produce a stone-like material capable of healing exposed cracks in con...

Architecture's top green projects and sustainability innovations in 2023

2023-12-27T20:28:00-05:00

Wrapping up a year in the wake of the recently concluded COP28 UN climate summit that resulted in, well, mild levels of agreement on the role of fossil fuels, it is possible to sense a slightly increased urgency toward this most pressing planetary issue on a high-minded diplomatic level. As we're quickly approaching the quarter mark of the 21st century, however, much more concrete action and innovation in various sectors of the AEC domain is needed — and is already happening — on the ground level as well, as we have seen in our reporting on Archinect.

Continuing with our 2023 Year in Review series, let's take a look back at some of the story highlights focusing on decarbonization efforts, material research, policy implementation, and successful applications of sustainability principles this year.

Building Electrification

Energy-efficient heat pump technology is gaining in popularity. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons user Øyvind Holmstad.

The process of gradually phasing out fossil f...

Louisiana State and NASA to develop waterless concrete for 3D printing on the Moon

2023-12-14T12:06:00-05:00

Louisiana State University is collaborating with NASA on a project investigating the potential for natural materials on the Moon to be used as 3D printed waterless concrete. The research is part of a wider mission to develop feasible robotic construction technologies that can support the building of long-term settlements on the Lunar surface, including habitats, landing pads, and radiation shields.

The research is a partnership between LSU Construction Management Assistant Professor Ali Kazemian alongside scientists Michael Fiske and Jennifer Edmunson from the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. Together, the team will investigate how raw materials already available on the Moon and Mars, namely sulfur and regolith, can be used to develop 3D printed waterless concrete.

Related on Archinect: ICON to work with DARPA on a framework for Lunar architecture. Image credit: BIG

Supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, the team will study the performance and limits ...

ICON to work with DARPA on a framework for lunar architecture

2023-12-11T12:12:00-05:00

The construction technology company ICON has been chosen by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) among 14 partners to build a framework for lunar architecture. The LunA-10 Lunar Architecture Study will run for seven months with the aim to “create a framework for interoperable commercial lunar architecture that will help to guide lunar research and investment over the next ten years.”

The 14 companies have been chosen for their prior engagement with the space industry, whose products and services may form the foundational elements for a future lunar economy. Aside from ICON’s focus on construction, the group also contains specialists across power, communications, and mobility.

“By participating in LunA-10, we can understand what inputs are going to be available, when, at what cost, and in what quantities,” said Evan Jensen, ICON’s Vice President o...

ETH Zurich researcher develops 3D printed insulation foam using recycled materials

2023-12-01T11:48:00-05:00

ETH Zurich has published details of new research into lightweight building components produced using 3D printing. Led by doctoral architecture researcher Patrick Bedarf, the Airlements project centers on cement-free mineral foams derived from recycled industrial waste.

Working within the institution’s Digital Building Technologies group led by Professor Benjamin Dillenburger, Bedarf’s project emerged from a doctoral thesis on lightweight insulating construction elements, and how complex shapes could be manufactured with fewer material inputs. Bedarf ultimately deployed a sustainable insulation material produced by the ETH spin-off FenX using recycled industrial waste.

FenX’s mineral foam material is mostly made from fly ash, a waste product from industrial blast furnaces. Bedarf’s process then deploys 3D printing to shape the material into bespoke building parts without the need for formwork, which is traditionally only partly reusable and more time-consuming.

“Without automation, ...

University of Maryland researchers develop 'cooling glass' that can redirect a building's heat into space

2023-11-17T11:54:00-05:00

Researchers aiming to combat rising global temperatures have developed a new 'cooling glass' that can turn down the heat indoors without electricity by drawing on the cold depths of space. The new technology, a microporous glass coating, can lower the temperature of the material beneath it by 3.5 degrees Celsius at noon, and has the potential to reduce a mid-rise apartment building's yearly carbon emissions by 10 percent.

The technology was developed by a research team at the University of Maryland, led by Distinguished University Professor Liangbing Hu in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. The coating functions by reflecting up to 99% of solar radiation to prevent buildings from absorbing heat. It emits heat in the form of longwave infrared radiation into space. The phenomenon is known as radiative cooling, in which space serves as a heat sink for the buildings.

According to the research team, their glass is more environmentally stable than previous attempts at cooling coatings. The glass can be applied to a variety of surfaces, such as tile, brick, and metal, which makes it scalable and available for wide use. The researchers envision the new material as a key contributor to the solution to climate change due to its potential to reduce a structure’s energy usage and carbon footprint. The team is now working to further test the glass and understand its practical applications.

...

Designing 3D lattice structures could be your next career opportunity

2023-11-01T12:55:00-04:00

Following last week’s look at an opening for a Head of PR at MAD Architects, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for a Digital Design Specialist at Branch Technology.

The role, based in Chattanooga, TN, calls for an individual who will support the company’s mission of bringing “unprecedented design freedom and resource stewardship to the construction industry through large-scale 3D printing.” Among the requirements for the role are 5+ years of professional experience in design at a firm or fabrication shop, alongside advanced parametric 3D modeling proficiencies in Rhino, Grasshopper, and Revit.

Design Miami Pavilions by Branch Technology & SHoP Architects. Photo via Branch Technology.

Why the role interests us

Branch Technology’s emphasis on innovations in 3D printing has previously been featured in our editorial. In 2018, the firm was recognized alongside SHoP at the AIA Tennessee Design Awards for their Design Mia...

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.

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...

Coffee grounds can make concrete a little stronger, too, according to a new RMIT study

2023-08-28T11:58:00-04:00

Engineers in Australia have found a way of making stronger concrete with roasted used-coffee grounds, to give the drink-additive a "double shot" at life and reduce waste going to landfills. [...] Published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, the study by RMIT engineers is the first to prove that waste coffee grounds can be used to improve concrete.

The study found that three different coffee ground samples each increased their concrete pour’s compressive strengths by up to 30% once their organic compounds were broken down through pyrolysis. The discovery could go a long way in combatting issues such as food waste and the carbon impact of concrete’s still rampant use as a construction material worldwide. RMIT will follow up with additional mechanical and durability tests on the same samples.

"Our research is in the early stages, but these exciting findings offer an innovative way to greatly reduce the amount of organic waste that goes to landfill," the paper’s co-lead author, Dr. Shannon Kilmartin-Lynch, explained. Discarded PPE may also have a stirring second life in construction, according to a separate study the same team of researchers published last year.