When 3D printers get a bug, they can stray off path or extrude too much or too little material. Jack Forman, a graduate student in MIT's Media Lab, has developed a technique for harnessing and transforming these defects into a series of delicate fabrics. Dubbed DefeXtiles, the process utilizes an inexpensive, run-of-the-mill 3D printer to produce a thin, woven-like material that results from underextrusion of a polymer filament. The underextrusion produces small gaps that result in a meshlike fabric. “Not only are these textiles thinner and faster to print than other approaches, but the complexity of demonstrated forms is also improved," Forman said in a MIT press release. "With this approach we can print 3D dimensional shell forms with a normal 3D printer and no special slicer software. This is exciting because there’s a lot of opportunities with 3D printing fabric, but it’s really hard for it to be easily disseminated, since a lot of it uses expensive machinery and special software or special commands that are generally specific to a printer.” [MIT]
Cambridge, Mass.–based tech startup World Home (WoHo) has raised $4.5 million in seed funding after an investment round led by The Engine, a venture firm launched out of MIT. Founded by Ensamble Studio's Débora Mesa and Antón Garcia-Abríl and former MIT executive vice president and treasurer Israel Ruizand, WoHo provides a standardized, scalable platform that integrates architecture, construction, and engineering in hopes of expediting the construction of high quality projects. The startup also announced a partnership with international building materials manufacturer LafargeHolcim. With this seed funding, WoHo plans to build a number of modular factories dedicated to producing WoHo components that clients could assemble into a structural grid. [WoHo]
German energy supplier Sinn Power has developed a floating ocean platform that can generate renewable energy through photovoltaic panels, wind, and tidal motion, waves, and currents. Dubbed the Ocean Hybrid Platform, the modular structure can withstand waves up to 6 meters high and provide coastal regions with an accessible renewable energy solution. “Modularity has been a key aspect since we started developing maritime technologies, which allows flexibility and a wide variety of applications," said CEO Philipp Sinn in a company press release. "The floating platform can supply renewable energy to island resorts in the Caribbean and contribute to the worldwide implementation of offshore wind farms." [Sinn Power]
Nash Hurley, principal of the San Francisco–based architecture studio Vital, and Josh Emig, vice president of projects and design at Digifabshop in New York, have launched Networked Communities, an investigation into "distributed, sustainable development," according to a Medium post by Emig. Through Networked Communities, the pair hopes to create a forum for discussing the "impact of our network economy on the built environment," centered on an argument that the industrial-era trend of hyperconsolidated urban populations is slowing, giving way to a redistribution of both population and economic opportunity. "We will use the creative and analytical tools of architectural, environmental, and urban design, as well as economics and network theory, to investigate the future of distributed, sustainable communities across multiple scales, from workplaces and organizations to small towns, cities, and regions," Emig writes. [Medium]
The National Organization of Minority Architects has announced its 2020 Phil Freelon Professional Design Awards winners. The five projects exhibit "outstanding architectural design work," according to NOMA's award website. This year, NOMA celebrated the winning projects—designed by Perkins and Will, Moody Nolan, Studio Figure, AECOM Detroit, and SmithGroup—in a virtual ceremony during the organization's annual conference, which concluded on Oct. 18. [ARCHITECT]
In 2007, an EF5 tornado decimated Greensburg, Kan. Its resilient residents not only rebuilt their town, but also transforming it into a model of energy efficiency. Today, Greensburg relies entirely on wind farms for electricity, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars. It saves thousands more through building details such as low-flow toilets and drought-resistant landscaping. With national leaders brainstorming recovery plans from the most recent spate of disasters—which include the COVID-19 pandemic, the West Coast wildfires, and hurricane season—The Washington Post analyzes what they could learn from "The Town that Built Back Green." [The Washington Post]
Earth is warming, but Bjarke Ingels, Hon. FAIA, has a plan. In a recent interview with Time, the Danish architect revealed a few details for Masterplanet, a master plan that divides the world's problems into 10 different sections and lays out a series of master-planning documents, including budgets, building phases, and system layouts. “We believe it could be a useful tool to accumulate initiatives in a practical, pragmatic way," Ingels explained to Time. [Time]
In ARCHITECT's latest podcast episode, Steven Holl, FAIA, discuss his firm’s recently completed project at Franklin & Marshall College, in Lancaster, Pa., and the impact COVID-19 will have on shaping public spaces in the future. [ARCHITECT]
The Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture has kicked off its virtual 2020 conference and launched its new conference platform, Distributed Proximities. ACADIA participants can explore the interactive platform, which uses machine learning to analyze and organize conference content into a network of 3D nodes, through Nov. 30. [ARCHITECT]
Autodesk has named its 2020 AEC Excellence Awards winners. The software developer will celebrate the honorees on Nov. 17 during its annual Autodesk University conference, which will be held virtually. [ARCHITECT]
