The nurbs modell was converted to a mesh and exported as *.stl in order to send it to the fabrication laboratory.

Brick as nurbs beeing modelled in Rhino 4.0. Unifying the parts.

Nurbs transformed into mesh in order to submit to fabrication.

We rendered the modell with Blender 2.54 to see the final result. We assigned materials and lights in order to have a realistic look at the piece before fabricating.

Model checked and rendered in Blender 2.54 (view b).

Model checked and rendered in Blender 2.54 (view a).

We submited the file to the FabLab and where notified by the assistants that our model had no problems and could be fabricated in the first batch.

We went to the FabLab and recovered our fabricated modell with the colleagues that had their modell fabricated in the same bunch.

Cleaning the first powder layer. A batch of 4 bricks in the machine.

Cleaning the surface once removed from the machine.

Getting rid of the powder.

The most powder removed. One can see the general form.

Removing the powder from the inside with a paint brush.

Last operations before completion.

Cleaning the remaining powder from interstices with pressurised air.

The finished brick ready to be reinforced by projecting glue on it.

Finished modell where the fabrication layers can be seen.

The brick at Iaac. A rest of fabrication powder remained in the inner edges and has to bee cleaned.

A honeycomb in the 'fabrication' process. wikipedia / Makro Freak / 2007-06-04

Closed bottom of honeycomb cells. wikipedia / Waugsberg / 2007-08-31

Living wicker walls
The fabrication of baskets is based in a technique that waves natural fibres in a very robust hull where the skin is the structure: a very old additive fabrication method used by humans that implies a small amount of operations laid down in tradition.
Forming walls of woven living wicker is a ‘construction’ technique resulting in very stable structures which grow for themselves. Can this be considered additive fabrication? The plant grows by accumulating cells. The ‘architect’ just waves the branches when they are flexible and waits until they grow. This results, by all means, in a very slow fabrication process!

Wicker basket walls, detail. (cc)by-sa / R.Portell / 2010-10-18

Living wicker construction. (cc)by-sa / R.Portell / 2010-10-18

The Prada Epicenter was designed by the Swiss architecture firm Herzog + de Meuron Architects in the Aoyama district, Tokyo (Japan).  It was completed in 2003, and it is serves as a retail building for the Prada brand and its products.  The building located in a corner has a small entrance ‘plaza’, and it is conformed by display shelves, fitting rooms, elevators, and staircases.

The lattice structural system conformed by diamond- shaped steel and interesting concave and convex glass gives to the building a particular transparency.  The building itself, which is an eccentric 6-story glass crystal, is considered as a huge display cabinet where everything can be seen from the exterior.  During the day, it sometimes reflects the sky.

This particular international exhibition center was built to replace an old munitions factory in Saint Étienne, France, and it opened its doors to the public on October of last year (2009).  The building designed by Finn Geipel and Giulia Andi of LIN Architects (Berlin and Paris) is conformed by auditoriums, meeting rooms, indoor gardens, exhibition space, a media library, and an observation tower located alongside the long hall.

The building’s skin, which is a latticed structure, forms the walls and roof of the complex.  The steel space truss is reminiscent of the industrial architecture of factories, and spans the entire space -no columns are required.  The skin, through its multiple triangles, is composed in a mechanical way that helps to control light, temperature, and airflow according to the different climatic conditions during the year.  Actually, some of these triangles are photovoltaic cells that generate green power to the building and others, and also it open and closes depending of indoor comfort.