Today we’re looking at a new 3D printing project that could make walls for buildings out of soil.
The project is called To Grow A Building, and in some ways it’s just what it sounds like.
As Fast Company reported recently, they can essentially 3D print structures out of dirt, with the help of a custom 3D printing robot.
And these aren’t just fancier-looking mud huts, either: they’re meant to be living walls, with plants growing from the materials.
Note the radishes coming from the test building in the demo video.
The designers are trying to make a statement along with making buildings.
They say the most standard building materials, things like concrete and steel, make up a large percentage of global emissions.
Using all natural materials, even for a few buildings, would reduce that footprint.
The challenge the designers are facing now is one that a lot of new ideas run into: they’re trying to scale up.
In their case, it’s literal: they’re trying to make the 3D soil structures strong enough for actual buildings.
The highest they got at a recent design showcase was a little under five feet.
But they say an idea that has as much potential as this one does deserves some room to grow.
If you want to take a unique spin through geography, try the website Notable People.
It’s got a 3D globe, and as you visit different places, the site will show the most notable person to come from that spot according to wikidata.
These 3D-printed dirt walls grow a garden when you water them (Fast Company)
All of our Patreon backers are highly notable
Screenshot from the To Grow A Building demo video
