3D PRINTING THE FUTURE:

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

ARCHITECTURE ASSOCIATION VISITING SCHOOL DUBAI 4.0

MIDDLE EAST ARCHITECTURE LAB (MEAL)

“25% of Dubai Buildings will be 3D printed by 2030” is a headline that captured the attention of the public post the inauguration of government-initiated 3D printed ‘Office of the Future’. The building resembles a beacon of hope in solving the problems associated with the rapid growth in construction to provide more sustainable, safer and more efficient development. AAVSDXB 4.0 looked into additive manufacturing as a solution for the many challenges faced on the construction site to build eco-friendly, freeform structures.

As a research-driven initiative, AAVSDXB 4.0 took the responsibility of critically evaluating the use of the technology and explored the formal and pragmatic potentials associated with it within the context of Dubai.

Director:

Riyad Joucka

Coordinator

Aya Riad

Tutors:

Alessandro Zomparelli
Roberto Naboni

Software:

Blender 3D Modelling

Grasshopper Scripting

Fabrication:

FDM 3D Printing

SLA 3D Printing

FDM 3D PRINTING

SLA 3D PRINTING

Natura Minima is a concept for creating customized 3D printing bus stops in Dubai. The project is based on a system that encompasses several sheltering forms, populated by minimal surfaces which confer geometrical complexity while minimizing the built area.

Each bus stop is designed through an optimization algorithm for strategic material allocation in order to minimize the material usage through a performative perforation.
The emergent aesthetic resembles the morphologic intricacy and elegance of natural forms such as the coral typically found in the UAE.

Participants: Takwa Elgammal - Rahma Tokatli -
Evgenia Krassakopoulou - Ahmed Eltoutngi - Eithar Algebail

SHELL CASTING PROCESS

Cellular Wrap is an exhibition pavilion based on the use of 3D printing for casting complex architectural forms. Currently, Additive Manufacturing techniques in use are lacking in providing material performances suitable for building applications, especially for the context of Dubai where extreme climatic conditions are very demanding.
To overcome the existing limitations, the project is conceived from the use of cellular solids to create lightweight and resistant structures, where porosity becomes an intelligent way of distributing and minimizing material usage, while contributing to novel spatial features.

Participants: Ran Ma - Raudha Al Ghurair - Najib Hazman

Abdulwarith Zhni

Inspired by the geometrical nature of water molecules, the Crystal Cells water taxi finds itself generated by modules derived from truncated octahedrons. Programmatically, as these modules, or molecules, emerge from water to land, they crystalize into a constellation providing shelter for the users of the water taxi.

Experientially, the structure aims to further mimic the affect of these natural occurrences, by providing an underwater experience, achieved through degrees of transparencies generated by perforations.

Furthermore, the pavilion takes an organic form based on the crystallization and the rotational manipulation of a single 3D module.

Participants: Ali Fayyad Alya Alfahim - Mohamed Alhmdani - Prathyush Pradeep - Yara Manla

The rise of the Electric Car is inevitable. Tesla Re-Charge Pods help you stay connected wherever you are. While this proposal is specific to the pods in the sidewalks of Dubai Design District, it is flexible and applicable to all those intended in the city.
This pavilion celebrates the possibilities of emergent technologies like additive manufacturing to present future solutions for improving the implementation of charging stations in Dubai. It follows a precise partitioning strategy for 1:1 construction of a cladding system separately by a robotic arm and assembled together to form the overall mass.

Participants: Nourhanne Rabah - George Merheb -

Mia Dibe - Sara Aljamal

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