The Pylos Research project, developed by IAAC Fabrication Researcher Sofoklis Giannakopoulos, supervised by Areti Markopoulou, with the Robotic Supervision of Alexandre Dubor, is currently being exhibited in the Onassis Cultural Centre in Athens as part of the 3D Printing Exhibition ”An exhibition from the future… now”.

3-D printing, of everything from houses to hearts and pretty much all you can imagine in-between, is the coming revolution. And not only for industry, but culture and creativity too.

In the first major exhibition in Greece dedicated entirely to this amazing technology, more than 100 pieces by luminaries of Art, Architecture, Fashion, Science, and Product design combine to hint at the transformed commercial, public and private spheres of tomorrow.

In the first stages of the Pylos research project a new protocol has been set up towards the investigation of the material chosen, soil, and the relative science, both physical and chemical, connected to this material.

Earth, or Soil, as a construction material, has been used since Neolithic times. The advantages of an earth – soil structure are primarily related to both environment and economy, being both secure and environmentally friendly. These constructions also offer the benefits of natural insulation, fire protection, air circulation and more, with regards to their comparison to conventional building techniques and typologies.

The project focused on the behavior of the soil when mixed with other ingredients, towards a better understanding of the material and potential composites. Each sample developed showed different behaviors, all of which have been recorded, also through the testing of their tensile strengths, to then compare these results towards the development of a prime material. So as to fulfill this phase of the research, a crash machine was developed and built. Graphs were then implemented showing the results of the relative material testing, generating a comprehensive analysis of the materials and results.

The interest to develop additive manufacturing, specifically 3d printing, as a construction method, moreover when printing with natural materials, particularly in this time of economic and environmental crisis, is undeniable. The material results obtained through the development of the first phase of this research project are extremely promising, and consequently push the interest towards the further development of the machine itself.

The professors and tutors leading the 4 groups of students, both from CITA and IaaC, are: Prof. Christoph Gengnagel (UDK), Julien Nembrini (UDK), Mette Ramsgard Thomsen (CITA), Paul Nicholas (CITA), Martin Tamke (CITA), Anders Deleuran (CITA) , Areti Markopoulou (IaaC), Alexandre Dubor (IaaC) and Moritz Begle (IaaC).

The workshop is developed to investigate a further an understanding of material systems as being based on discreet energetic systems that negotiate flows of energy. The forces and emerging behaviour of the system are understood and simulated as well as used in a designerly way.

The investigation is centred on how materials and their properties can be modeled, chosen and programmed to influence a material system in a target oriented way.

The overarching concepts and computational techniques are exemplified and investigated in a structural system that negotiates the forces from programmed bending active elements and a tensile surface with variable geometry.

The IaaC students and tutors arrived in Copenhagen on Saturday, and started off their stay with a bicycle tour visiting the VM Houses, 8 taller, VM Mountain, Hotel by 3XN, as well as Christiania.

They then went to CITA where an introduction to the workshop, including the design task and diverse materials to be investigated. The students were then divided into their working groups, and started developing their specific tasks towards the creation of their first models.

This week, for the final review of the Material Systems seminar MAA students presented their projects to the Seminar instructors and IAAC staff and external jury (Eduard Cabay, Cloud 9). The Material Systems seminar investigated the relationship between material, materiality and material systems in the realm of architecture, the seminar was discussed further in a post last month.

Above: Casting two materials with similar propertise, – the above group experimented with ice and wax, arranging differendly each time the relationship between ovoid and solid with forms that were able to be achived by the use of materials that both transform to liquid ones in different temperatures.

Below: Translucent Material-  Made out of melted caramel and fiber optics.  Once the caramel solidified the result was a block which allows light to pass.

MAA Student Martin Firera Allessandri (Italy) is working on his project for the Material Systems Seminar final which will be next week. Led by Claudia Pasquero and Marco Poleto (EcoLogicStudio), the Material Systems seminar is investigating the relationship between material, materiality and material systems in the realm of architecture. To learn more about the Material Systems seminar you can read our earlier blog post previewing the Phase III seminar.