Building Bytes

www.buildingbytes.info

Combining a traditional building material (ceramics) with a new fabrication technique (3D printing) to re-think an ancient building component (bricks), this project demonstrates how 3D printers can become portable, inexpensive brick factories for large-scale construction. Bricks are an ancient building component and their fabrication has seen several innovations throughout history; however it has consistently relied on a system of molds or extrusions that produce the same shape hundreds, or thousands, of times. This project is an exploration of a new fabrication tool for bricks: desktop 3D printers. This technique does not rely on molds, but rather prints each brick individually, allowing users to fabricate complex forms within which each brick can be unique.

Four brick applications were tested: 1) columns and towers, 2) domes of interlocking bricks, 3) vertical tiling, 4) modular honeycomb stackable bricks. This research aimed to test the system with two fabrication styles: uniformity (the same brick printed multiple times) and variation (unique bricks that create a form).

Music: Calf by Isan