The quest to design a livable and build-able 3D-printed dwelling continues. Earlier this week, Chattanooga, Tenn.–based design startup Branch Technology named the winner of its Freeform Home Design Challenge. The competition deemed “freeform” to mean that the structure didn’t espouse the typical linear, box-style construction, but instead used the company’s proprietary Cellular Fabrication process, which affords a more organic form through a 3D-printed wall core. Entries were required to be between 600 and 800 square feet, and include a kitchen, bathroom, living room, and bedroom; they were judged for their approach to fenestration, the building envelope, M/E/P, and lighting elements, in addition to the incorporation of passive design strategies. The winning proposal, from global design firm Wimberly, Allison, Tong and Goo (WATG) and dubbed "Curve Appeal," pairs an interior, structural core with two exterior walls and a roof, together comprising 28 panels that will be 3D-printed off-site. The firm won $8,000 in addition to having its design built by Branch Technology. The home will be located in Chattanooga and 3D printing process will begin next year. [Gizmag + Branch Technology]
How Ove Arup, founder of global engineering firm Arup, used an intense focus on detail to elevate the design of even the most run-of-the-mill construction projects. [Curbed]
Rivers that once flowed through Mexico City—45 in all—now flow beneath its streets, having been paved over in the last century to make way for automobile traffic. A new proposal calls for their uncovering. [CityLab]
The foundations of homes across nearly 20 towns in northeastern Connecticut are cracking due to a problem with the stone aggregate used in their concrete. [The New York Times]
What is a Wikkelhouse (shown in the video above), and what does it mean for the future of cardboard architecture? [Fast Company’s Co. Design]
A team of British alchemists is exploring a new method of disposing of carbon dioxide: burying it in rock. [The Economist]
The 24-ton, limestone Armadillo Vault—an installation at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale by researchers at ETH Zurich, in Germany—is held together via compression as it bends and curves through a 13th century building. [Wired]
