Ghana Social Centre Aided by 3D Printing

A terrible storm in Ghana badly damaged the Catholic-operated community hall, resulting in the demolition of the ruins. The diocese contracted the replacement build to Munich-based architect Wieland Schimdt, who had to design a structure that used nearby materials, was environmentally friendly and was able to withstand the oppressive tropical heat - both structurally and for its inhabitants. 

 

While the design was created, residents were understandably curious about the new hall. Schmidt made the decision to produce a miniature version of the new hall on a Voxeljet 3D printer of 84 x 84 x 22.5 cm. This model was put on display to satisfy the curiosity of those who will be using the building. 

 

Two dimensional rendered views are a huge leap forward from drawings, but there's nothing quite like seeing the building in 3D, in real life. 

 

Via TCT Online

Inspired by Biomimetics

We've previously written on research into the application of 3D printing in building construction. The idea is that rather than having a completely uniform interior geometry for building materials, we create variably shaped interiors. In other words, instead of bricks with solid or uniformly latticed interiors, more material occurs in places where more physical stress takes place. 

 

This approach mimics the biological approach to bones. If you inspect the interior of a bone you won't find a uniform geometry. instead you see a very efficient use of materials to provide just the right strength for the bone's use. 

 

We found an architecture site dedicated to this idea: Biomimetic Architecture, whose definition of Biomimicry is: 

 

The architectural profession is rapidly embracing digital design technologies developed and applied in the framework of biologically inspired processes. Put simply, nature is the largest laboratory that ever existed and ever will. While biomimicry does not exclude emulating form, we are interested in the processes and systems in which all design resides.

 

If you need inspiration for amazing designs, go no further than Biomimetic Architecture.

  

Via Biomimetic Architecture (Hat tip to Deniz)

Add a Floor for only $129

There are tens of thousands of new web-based services that do practically everything, from counting kids' allowances to photo editing to managing your sales process. One of them is FloorPlanner, "the easiest way to create floor plans". They provide a simple web interface with drag and drop capability for true ease of use. 

 

The service offers two types of personal accounts, in addition to several professional account types: Free (but ad-supported), which provides the ability to create "one house" and a "Plus" account that permits up to "5 houses" without any distracting ads. Plus costs a very low €19 per year. 

 

The development we noticed was a special option to actually print the floor you've designed - for only USD$129. FloorPlanner has teamed with industry giant Materialise to produce the printed floors, apparently "within 10 days" each.

 

FloorPlanner suggests these models would be excellent for builders and architects to show to prospective clients as well as "a great gift for new home-owners". We totally agree. 

 

Via FloorPlanner

Sweet Onion Dwelling

The nice people at Sweet Onion Creations focus on building highly realistic 3D architectural models, often making heavy use of 3D printing technology. They've posted a video of how they go about the build process, which combines advanced 3D printing with many conventional model building techniques. In the video they construct an amazingly detailed model of a house.
 
There are many aspects of the model that can't be 3D printed today, including the basswood siding, fuzzy landscaping vegetation, high-tension cabling and of course the interior electrical lighting. However, the conclusion is clear: combining 3D printing with conventional techniques results in an amazing model.

Via YouTube

Designing Interface Architecture

FABberz and the Live Architecture Network are collaborating on a new venture to bring design tools to students in Brazil. Their idea: produce collaborative designs with residents and students to improve housing conditions in the slums of Rio de Janeiro.

They'll be holding a series of workshops leading up to the 2016 Olympics, which are being held in Rio in that year. The first workshop will be held with local architects soon. Students will be introduced to "cutting edge parametric design tools", and their goal will be housing that is not only affordable, but also sustainable. Hopefully issues with housing, crime and drugs will be reduced.

The project needs funding, as all projects do. They've chosen to use Kickstarter as their fundraising platform. The project requires USD$7,000, but has only $1,000 as of this writing. Deadline: January 9, 2010. If you would like to support this worthy venture, please proceed directly to the link below!

And you thought there were few good spin-offs from the Olympics!

Via KickStarter