Additive Manufacturing in Architecture: 3D Printing Solutions for Vaulted Spaces

Additive manufacturing (AM) will change architecture. Nowadays a trained digital designer can control both digital and physical tools for the development of a project. The starting point of this research is Najaat, a project for an entire 3D printed village in Syria inspired by other case studies like GAIA. The project is part of a larger study about self-made architecture and materials such as raw earth, straw, rice husk and hydraulic lime which make it reusable, recyclable and affordable. The shapes chosen for Najaat are organic and easily adaptable to any environment, highlighting the total freedom that the 3D printing system allows. At the same time these geometries are also aimed at challenging the limits of 3D printing by working on the maximum projection. This paper focuses on the possibility to print closed domed spaces using only common printing machines instead of robotic arms, in order to keep the process both economic and ecological. The printing process refers to the theory of Nubian vaults, which are structures built without supports exploiting the inclination of bricks layers. A scaled prototype of a dome has been printed through a hybrid system of layers, that helped the structure non to collapse on the top. The result still shows some imperfections due to some limitations of the machine, but it is useful to demonstrate that some typical problems of excessive overhang can be overcome through a deep study of the material itself, of the geometry and also of the printing path.