Recently, in an interview by Cactus Media for Stoneweg TV, Edouard Cabay and Alexandre Dubor, Directors of the 3D Printing Architecture Postgraduate (3DPA), discussed the importance of 3D printing and earth-based construction on shaping an environmentally friendly and highly customized future for architectural design and construction.

Tell us about the impact of new tools in architectural design and construction.
In the past 20 or 30 years, we have seen the emergence of a lot of new tools in the field of architectural design and construction. What we do is to materialize this digital architecture into a real construction. Working in an environment that is both physical and digital allows us to work towards solutions that are much more customized than building in the same way.

What are the benefits of 3D printing in architectural design?
3D printing is a technique that enables us to build faster, it’s more efficient, and it’s automated. Of course we are interested in these qualities, but as architects we are able to have a larger amount of flexibility in design, meaning that your house can be different from my house, and we can create architectural solutions that are adapted to the context in which we are.

How do tools like robots and 3D printers create new opportunities and challenges in architectural design?
In design, tools such as robots and 3D printers create new opportunities and also new limits on what we can do in architecture. Today, they’re still a bit expensive, but surely they’re becoming more and more affordable, and we’re still exploring them. It’s a new thing where we believe there’s still a lot to learn. We have to work a lot to get into the legal barriers, and we have to be confident with the technology so that we can deliver buildings that last for decades. We have a problem of sustainability in construction, but we also have inefficient buildings that use a lot of energy to keep the heat or the cold inside our building. And suddenly, using all this technology, it’s a very good occasion to rethink the way we do architecture, looking now, what is our impact, not only on the budget, but also get integrated better in our nature, in our environment.

Tell us about your prototype, TOVA, and how you envision the role of 3D printing, especially earth 3D printing, in the future of architecture.
Tova is a small piece of architecture that was constructed by using 3D printing and earth. In the natural part of the Collserola Park, we have used the earth directly from the ground, we have mixed it with natural fibers and we have passed it to our 3D printers in order to construct this small 4×4 structure, which is aging very well. This was for us a demonstration that we could be much more sustainable than the current construction industry yet deliver quality architecture, which is very good to be inside and a very interesting space to live in.

It feels homey to be in this kind of building, and especially when you look at very extreme climate change, you end up in this building with a very well regulated space. Earth is a material that you can easily recycle, fix, and adapt. So it’s really easy to demolish a wall, recycle this earth, and make another wall somewhere else in your building. We don’t believe that 3D printing is going to replace any of the existing techniques. We believe in the hybridization of techniques and of materials.

In conclusion, how do you imagine the integration of these technologies in construction?
Probably there’s not one technology fit all, and probably not 3D printing for everything, but earth 3D printing has a huge role to play, especially in the housing market. We believe that within the not too distant future, we will all be living in buildings that are, if not completely 3D printed, partially 3D printed. if not completely 3D printed, partially 3D printed.

Probably there’s not one technology fit all, and probably not 3D printing for everything, but earth 3D printing has a huge role to play, especially in the housing market. We believe that within the not too distant future, we will all be living in buildings that are, if not completely 3D printed, partially 3D printed. if not completely 3D printed, partially 3D printed.

About the Postgraduate in 3D Printing Architecture

The Postgraduate in 3D Printing Architecture is a 6-month long intensive programme in the field of additive manufacturing of sustainable architecture. Between the use of advanced technology for construction and the desire to develop a holistic design approach to architecture, it engages with different areas of research that include robotic manufacturing, material research and performance-based design.

Apply today to the Postgraduate in 3D Printing Architecture!

Credits:
Video by © Cactus Media
Published on Stoneweg