When the kids at NOTLabs first got their hands on a MakerBot
Replicator, the ingenious 3D printer that can make just about
anything you want, they quickly got down to business – making
LEGO and Kinex connectors, that is. As inconsequential as their
decision may seem, it got us thinking: today, building blocks,
but tomorrow? Buildings themselves. The future isn’t as far as
you may think. In the next two articles, I’ll introduce you to
three visionaries who are already applying 3D printing
technology to revolutionary effect: an engineer hoping to
improve the human condition, a robotics expert with the goal of
completing the Sagrada Familia (or at least putting a structure
on the moon), and an architect at MIT using nature-inspired
materials to turn the design world on its head. If these three
examples are anything to go by, 3D Printing will revolutionize
the world as we know it. But it begs the question: at what
price? Will it offer architects the freedom to design without
the pesky limitations of built reality