Printing Architecture : Innovative Recipes for 3D Printing (Paperback)

Product DescriptionAlthough 3D printing promises a revolution in many industries, primarily industrial manufacturing, nowhere are the possibilities greater than in the field of product design and modular architecture. Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello, of the cutting-edge San Francisco–based design firm Emerging Objects, have developed remarkable techniques for "printing" from a wide variety of powders, including sawdust, clay, cement, rubber, concrete, salt, and even coffee grounds, opening an entire realm of material, phenomenological, and ecological possibilities to designers. In addition to case studies and illustrations of their own work, Rael and San Fratello offer guidance for sourcing alternative materials, specific recipes for mixing compounds, and step-by-step instructions for conducting bench tests and setting parameters for material testing, to help readers to understand the process of developing powder-based materials and their unique qualities.Review"3-D printing and the world of architecture and design are natural fits for each other, as the technology allows for rapid prototyping and model-making at a low cost. Printing Architecture runs readers through a series of case studies, from small household items all the way up to complex 3-D printed structures, to give ground-up examples of how the technology will change the design field."- The Architect's NewspaperAbout the AuthorRonald Rael and Virginia San Fratello are professors at University of California, Berkeley and San Jose State University, respectively. Their firm, Emerging Objects, has been instrumental in developing new materials for powder-based 3D printing. Rael is the author of Earth Architecture and Borderwall as Architecture.