Innovating materials for large scale additive manufacturing: Salt, soil, cement and chardonnay

Abstract

This paper documents four case studies: the Saltygloo, MUD Frontiers, Bloom and the Cabin of 3D Printed Curiosities, that use novel 3D printed materials including salt, soil, cement, and chardonnay in the construction of built proto-architectures. Each of these materials starts as powder or ends as dust, is ubiquitous and plentiful, but must be transformed for 3D printing. The case studies also come from a place of design activism and contemporary concerns, they draw from the past to inform the future, and each project is seen as an opportunity to bring about change by making additive manufacturing more accessible, less expensive, more ecological and sustainable.