Article:

As the field of 3D printing technologies expand, complex materials that require adeeper engagement, due to their more unstable properties, are of increasinginterest. Cementitious composites, clays and other ceramic materials are ofparticular relevance: their potential for fast large-scale fabrication and localavailability position these technologies at the forefront of expansion for 3Dprinting. Despite the extensive benefits inherent to clays, their irregularities andthe largely unpredictable deviations that occur when printing from a digitalmodel, currently limit design and architectural-scale applications. However,these deformations could conversely be harnessed as design generators, openingup avenues for both aesthetic and functional exploration. The paper presents aninvestigation into the inherent material instabilities of the clay 3D printingprocess for the development of an architectural masonry facade system. Throughan iterative process based in craft, a new capacity for material expression andauthenticity beyond previous manufacturing capabilities can become actualized.