2024-11-21T15:14:15-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/138497945/cutting-across-the-chicago-architecture-biennial-rock-print-from-eth-z-rich-and-mit Nicholas Korody 2015-10-08T17:49:00-04:00 >2019-01-05T12:31:03-05:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/30/30z4ilm3awjsauq0.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>Rock Print, one of the most technologically-impressive installations at the Chicago Architecture Biennial, is the collaborative project of Gramazio Kohler Research of <a href="http://archinect.com/ethz" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ETH Z&uuml;rich</a> and <a href="http://archinect.com/mitarchitecture" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MIT</a>&rsquo;s Self-Assembly Lab. A towering stone assemblage put together by robots and secured with nothing more than thread, the installation is a reminder that feats of technical ingenuity can also be poetic.</p><p>According to the catalogue description, Rock Print &ldquo;brings forward a new category of potentially random-packed, poly-disperse structures that can be automatically fabricated in nonstandard shapes.&rdquo;</p><p>The project differs from existing jammed materials in that it operates on the macroscale, giving it potential architectural applications. And looking at its alien form, well-framed by a doorway into its room in the Chicago Cultural Center, the mind begins to run wild with the formal possibilities.</p><p><img title="" alt="" src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/650x/wk/wkoc3o4st7c75f74.jpg"></p><p>Perhaps most remarkable is that with the snip of a knife, the assemblage would fall to pieces (and it will, come clos...</p>