Just add Water to These 3D Printed Walls
Now 3D printers can build living walls that can bloom and grow.
3D has come a really long way since its early days. You can print bowls, furniture, even entire homes. Now eight designers have come together to use this technology to create a greener way of building, literally.
The new technology, aptly named To Grow a Building – a performative lab space – was displayed during the Jerusalem Design Week in June, 2022. It consisted of a custom made robotic arm that was designed to 3d print with seeded soil, reported Fast Company.
In just six weeks, with a little care and watering, these green walls have sprouted a lush layer of radishes. You could actually make a delicious salad from the walls of your home.
Environmental advantages
One of the advantages of this system, according to design boom, is that while the outside of the building blooms with greenery, the roots of those plants serve as extra support for the building internally.
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Another advantage, reported Fast Company, is that the material used to create these structures is all local and organic.Some of the most common building materials, such as concrete and steel, are responsible for 22 percent of global emissions. Using organic material could help reduce those emissions.
“We wanted to create architecture that is made out of totally organic and local materials that you don’t need to transport materials from the other side of the world,” Nof Nathansohn, one of the architects and designers working on the project, told Fast Company.
Challenges to overcome
There are however, challenges that still need to be overcome before this environmentally friendly type of building could become a reality.
Currently, the structures can only reach a certain height before they start falling in on themselves. In addition, the team does not yet know how strong the root system will actually become, or if the potential buildings would need support beyond the roots.
Whatever the case, the To Grow a Building project is a good start towards a greener and more delicious type of architecture.
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