Contour Crafting

Housing and shelter remains the most important of human needs, and a majority of the urban population in developing countries is in desperate need for this very fundamental of human needs. Despite this we do not see significant advancement in technologies that address this critical issue. Recently, a friend shared this video about this new technology that could be the beginning of an answer.

3D printing is fast gaining popularity in the field of product prototyping. Now, we can print an entire 2,500 sqft house in 20 hours. In manufacturing we use a process called CAD/CAM (computer-aided design / computer-aided manufacturing). 3D models are designed on a computer and then manufactured using CNC Machines or 3D printers. The design is manufactured into a physical object automatically, with instruction from 3D computer model to physical object without human interface. Automated construction basically scales up this process. The size of the 3D printer is large enough to construct walls by depositing concrete based material layer upon layer to build a wall.

We all know that the way towards affordability is:

1. Modularity

2. Standardization

3. Mass production

In the past, these have given rise to the post WW-II housing in Europe and tract housing in the US. The reason behind this was that the available technology produced similar-looking, homogeneous places. But this technology has the potential to address that, allowing us to produce unique houses, as was demonstrated using Nader Khalili's vaulted mud houses.

By integrating BIM/ BAM with CAD/ CAM will take Computational/ Parametric Design to a whole new level. This is a new frontier for architectural design and impact potential on urban environments.

In the TED Talk video below, Behrokh Khoshnevis, a professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC), demonstrates automated construction, using 3D printers to build an entire house in 20 hours.

For further information: http://www.contourcrafting.org/

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