There's endless chatter these days about creating functional architecture from 3D printing, the voguish construction method prime to create bizarre, baroque, otherworldly—in some cases, actually otherworldly, as in relating to the world of Mars. So just for the sake of simplicity let's go with Design Milk's statement: architect Byran Allen and installation artist Stephanie Smith are contenders for the first-ever 3D-printed structure on Earth.
Less "house" and more "glowing alien hut," Echoviren, as their creation is called, measures 800 cubic feet. Using 500 separate snap-fit bricks produced continuously for two months (10,800 hours) by seven 3D printers, the team was able to construct the thing on-site in a redwood forest, not far from Smith Allen Studio's Oakland, Calif., office, in only four days. That's about two months and four days of work to fabricate a structure that will last 30 to 50 years, if the rate of decomposition for bio-plastic is an accurate indication of Echoviren's lifespan.
· World's First 3D-Printed Architecture by Smith Allen Studio [Design Milk]
· All Computer Projects posts [Curbed National]
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