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China is using artificial intelligence to effectively turn a dam project on the Tibetan Plateau into the world’s largest 3D printer, according to scientists involved in the project.
The 180 metre (590 feet) high Yangqu hydropower plant will be built slice by slice – using unmanned excavators, trucks, bulldozers, pavers and rollers, all controlled by AI – in the same additive manufacturing process used in 3D printing.
— The South China Morning Post
The Yangqu dam project is set to finish in two years and is being overseen by Tsinghua University’s Liu Tianyun, who recently argued that developments in 3D printing have made the technology “identical to nature.” Its purported future annual output of nearly 5 billion kilowatt hours of... View full entry
3D printed home specialist Alquist 3D has announced plans to build what it calls the largest 3D printed home building project in the world. The initiative is dubbed Project Virginia and will see the development of 200 homes across the state. Alquist will kick off the project with a demonstration... View full entry
One of the most promising recent healthcare infrastructure concepts has engendered an offshoot project that looks to expand on its original framework design. As a product of the research done for their collaboration on the Al Daayan Health District Master Plan in Doha, OMA and Buro Happold have... View full entry
The Department of Defense (DOD) has once again teamed up with construction technology company ICON to produce three residential structures for the Fort Bliss military installation in El Paso. At 5,700 square feet apiece, the DOD says they will represent the largest 3D printed structures in... View full entry
The technological complexity behind one of the most fundamental parts of the design process has evolved progressively beyond paper and other rudimentary, hand skills-based ways of form-making to include 3D printing, laser-cutting, and even AR systems as the new and constantly improving tools that... View full entry
Last year Japan’s Serendix Partners caught our eye with its concept for spherical, 3D-printed houses. Not only do they have a stylish, futuristic appeal, Serendix wants them to be low-priced enough to make the cost of buying their 3D-printed houses comparable to that of a budget-friendly new car. — Japan Today
From start to finish, the small, egg-shaped dwelling, called the Sphere, took 23 hours and 12 minutes to build. The home, which won NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge in 2015, was designed by Japanese architect Masayuki Sono. It was constructed in the city of Komaki in Japan’s Aichi... View full entry
ICON has unveiled a completed 3D printed home in Austin, Texas designed by Lake|Flato. Named “House Zero,” the home adopts a “mid-century modernist ranch house aesthetic” while also exploring how 3D printing can enhance resilience and sustainability. The project comprises of a main... View full entry
California-based Azure Printed Homes has announced intentions to construct 14 prefabricated 3D printed homes using recycled plastic. The homes will form part of a new housing development in Ridgecrest, California, led by Oasis Development. The project will build on Azure’s existing production of... View full entry
A new study published by Primary Research Group has been released examining American college students and their use of 3D printers. The survey looks closely at how many and which students are using 3D printers at their colleges, along with how much they are using them. The report also collected... View full entry
The German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech) along with Danish 3D printer producer COBOD and Mexican cement company Cemex has completed the largest 3D printed building in the world made with real concrete. Located in the Omani capital of Muscat, the 2,100-square-foot structure was... View full entry
ETH Zurich has unveiled details of their latest investigation into advanced building materials in construction. The project, titled FoamWork, explores how foam 3D printing can assist in creating concrete formworks. The initiative saw ETH Zurich’s Digital Building Technologies team work in... View full entry
One Virginia family received the keys to their new 3D-printed home in time for Christmas. The home is Habitat for Humanity's first 3D-printed home in the nation, according to a Habitat news release. Janet V. Green, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg, told CNN it partnered with Alquist, a 3D printing company, earlier this year to begin the process. Alquist's crew printed the house. — CNN
The milestone was marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony on December 21st. The 1,200-square-foot house has three bedrooms, two full baths, and the concrete portion of the structure was printed in 12 hours. The home was built for April Stringfield, who purchased the home through Habitat for... View full entry
As part of the firm’s evolving partnership with ICON, BIG has once again teamed up with the Texas-based manufacturer to design a 100-home neighborhood in the tech company’s adopted hometown of Austin. Proffered as a potential solution to the dearth of housing units in the U.S. market, the... View full entry
TECLA, the world’s first raw earth house constructed using 3D printing, is to be exhibited as one of 17 projects in the Build Better Now virtual exhibition at COP26. As we previously reported, the exhibition will also feature a sustainability-focused 360-degree virtual pavilion designed by Make... View full entry
The University of Idaho recently announced that it has been awarded nearly $4 million from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program to develop technology for the conversion of wood waste into 3D-printing building materials. Research will... View full entry
