Experiments with 3D printing technologies in masonry construction

Abstract

Modern masonry construction finds itself in a cyclical pattern of "more of the same," insisting on standardized, basic designs consisting of little more than uniform stones laid in regular courses, which do little to add to the variability of the modem world. While these forms attain a surety in structural stability, they offer little in the form of variable aesthetics. 3D-printing, consistently hailed as one of the most promising developments of the 21 " century, allowing individuals from every walk of life to create and produce in real time, has, contrarily, failed to grasp our greater aspirations in the field of Architecture. Most attempts at the incorporation of 3D-printing technology in Architecture have simply been to scale the technologies to print larger and larger objects, eventually working up to entire buildings. While these efforts are beneficial in some ways, they consist of numerous drawbacks which make these types of strategies ultimately implausible, at least for the moment. Modern construction, once thought to be secure in its standards of structure and implementation, is now being challenged to develop designs far more elaborate than their "glass tower" counterparts by pushing the boundaries of what architectural moves are possible. The long held beliefs that stone must be orthogonal and uniform to be utilized in large-scale construction projects are being revamped in the wake of the 3D printing boom. This thesis seeks to find a synthesis between these two methods of modern construction, unifying the versatility and variability of 3D-printing and the stability and natural aesthetic of masonry, to create viable and aesthetically appealing architectural forms for the 2 1st century.