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Take a byte out of building Building Bytes uses an adapted desktop 3-D printer that prints ceramic instead of plastic to create custom bricks.
By LIISA ANDREASSEN Contributor 3-D printers will soon be found in more workshops, of- fices, and even homes. With them, you’ll be able to print items such as small pieces of furniture, prototypes, and replacement parts. Consequently, new production methods and business models are developing. Today, objects and com- plex forms that were impossible to achieve with traditional methods can be created using 3-D printing. “3-D printing eliminates the need for a mold in brick production, which offers the possibility of having each brick be unique and allows for much more complex and intricate designs to be produced at no extra cost.” Building Bytes is one such example. The project by architect and designer Brian Peters of DesignLabWorkshop (Kent, OH) recently won the Fast Company’s Innovation By Design 2015 award for 3-D Printing. The write-up for the award says: “These bricks combine 3-D printing and ceramics, and be- cause they don’t require amold, can easily be built into unique See BUILDING BYTES, page 4
TYPES OF BRICK. Honeycomb Brick: One brick, three orientations. Honeycomb Bricks are modular and stackable, creating different forms based on their configuration. Interlocking Brick: These bricks are an exploration into the use of interlocking bricks in large dome structures. The interior bracing provides stability, while the exterior can expose the structure (as in the prototype) or be clad in another texture (which is integral to the brick design). Ribbed Bricks: Designed for column applications, Ribbed Bricks have a distinct outer surface that is both structural and ornamental. The material stability while printing drives the unique outline, which can be designed any number of ways with no increase in fabrication complexity. Each brick in the column prototypes is unique. X-Brick: Designed to maximize visual opacity through walls, optimize printing time, limit material usage, and test non- modular constructions. The X-Brick prototype structure creates an undulating surface by using unique bricks per row.
Brian Peters, Architect/ Designer, DesignLab Workshop.
THE ZWEIG LETTER DECEMBER 7, 2015, ISSUE 1130
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