The interconnectedness of digital fabrication techniques and material processes is crucial for fostering an interdisciplinary comprehension of design and construction, leading to a holistic understanding of the built environment. Within the Additive Manufacturing Seminar, engineers and architects acquire adaptable skills essential for today’s digital construction challenges. This is a collaborative course between the iBMB (Institut für Baustoffe, Massivbau und Brandschutz) and the ITE (Institut für Tragwerksentwurf) where engineers and architects will come together through an interdisciplinary research and working environment exploring novel additive manufacturing applications.
The seminar consists of three main modules:
The central design task of the seminar was the conception, development, and fabrication of a full-scale demonstrator that integrates material research, digital design, and additive manufacturing workflows. Students were challenged to collaboratively design a structurally legible column composed of segmented, extrusion-based 3D-printed clay elements. The task required them to iteratively translate material behavior, geometrical constraints, and fabrication parameters into design decisions. Through hands-on prototyping and continuous feedback between digital modeling and physical printing, students explored issues of segmentation, interface detailing, structural continuity, and assembly logic. The demonstrator served not only as a final artifact but as a research vehicle through which students critically engaged with the potentials and limitations of earth 3d printing in an interdisciplinary context.
Students: L. Alkalaani, H. C. Doan, J. Grobe, L. Krüger, L. Muth, L. Segeler, P. Viets, N. Witt
Photographer: Tjark Spiele
Johannes Buchenberger, Jan Duensing, Jonas Gruhl, Emil Haase, Jacobs Konrad, Linus Pätzold, Milan Reusch
[1] Mai, I., Gosslar, J., Khader, N., Lowke, D., Hack, N. (2024). Workflow for Earth-Based 3D-Printing. In: Beckett, C., Bras, A., Fabbri, A., Keita, E., Perlot, C., Perrot, A. (eds) Second RILEM International Conference on Earthen Construction. ICEC 2024. RILEM Bookseries, vol 52. Springer, Cham. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-62690-6_8
