3D 打印建筑的新趋势 | 专访设计师 Arthur Mamou-Mani

Architect and lecturer Arthur Mamou-Mani uses contemporary fabrication techniques to create intricate and unique forms. Managing director of design firm Mamou-Mani, the French creative has developed a strong portfolio of work that highlights the potential of 3D printing. Producing organic and imaginative architecture, his practice prides itself on its experimental, sustainable, and forward-thinking use of digital technologies. Having founded a fabrication laboratory named FabPub, Mani also provides opportunities for the public to experiment with additive manufacturing in London.

Most of your work is 3D printed. What are your thoughts on this process?

ARTHUR MAMOU-MANI: 3D printing has been around for quite a while now but still has a buzz. The idea that an intangible form can materialise into something tactile continues to capture people's imagination. Additive manufacturing has the power to bridge physical and digital realms, two worlds that often feel separate. With 3D printing, you can directly send files to the factory which can be located right next to your home. In the future people will be able to view schemes in the metaverse before printing them. At Mamou-Mani and FabPub we experiment with different materials like bioplastics and aim to push the boundaries of what this new technology can do.

For Salone del Mobile 2019, clothing brand COS partnered with Mamou-Mani and his practice to create Conifera, a large-scale, 3D-printed installation.

What are your thoughts on 3D printing buildings?

There is no reason additive manufacturing won't continue to grow in scale. When I started my practice the first thing, I did was assemble a small 3D printer. This helped me understand how they work and begin to get my head around this new form of design. Today at our fabrication company FabPub we have three-m-high printers and can print objects that are 1 cubic metre. In the future, I believe that 3D prints will be used for cladding, facades, and components for buildings. We will see printed elements come together to form structures as opposed to entire homes being printed all at once. I don't quite believe in a huge giant printer that simply spits out entire houses.

Why did you want to get into 3D printing?

3D printing is very empowering. When you buy a product, you are usually not involved in its making. However, additive manufacturing completely changes this. The process gives power back to people. In society today, whoever has the means of production has power. So, if we can alter the means of production, we can positively change society.

Mamou-Mani's The Sandwaves installation is the largest sand-printed structure. It was part of event Diryah Season in Riyadh.

What do you think are the benefits 3D printing can bring to the housing industry?

With 3D printing, you can create bespoke designs that can be easily adapted to each site. Prints can be incredibly precise, minimizing time, cost, and waste. In addition, additive manufacturing makes designers strategically think about the sequence of assembly and disassembly. How will the components come together? How can they be broken down and reused? This process will also help the construction industry move away from identical mass-produced housing to more bespoke and innovative dwellings.

What would you say are some of the disadvantages of 3D-printed architecture?

People think that they can 3D print everything. Some designers are so obsessed with additive manufacturing, that they don't realize that it doesn't answer everything. It is a good tool for certain things but not all. For example, flat elements typically do not need to be printed; they could simply be cut.

Do you think 3D printing houses is something we will see more in the future?

Yes, 100 per cent. We will increasingly see risk-takers print homes. However, the challenge will be certifying the materials and parts that are used to construct these buildings. The elements used will need to meet strict standards and regulations if the architecture industry wants to see more 3D-printed homes. We will need to rethink how we certify and test printed components. For example, if we print beams, we will need to be able to make sure they are structurally sound.

A residence on London's Evering Road designed by Mamou-Mani and his team.

Do you think 3D-printing technology will affect how we design in the future?

In the future, architects will have to learn various forms of code and material science. Designers will have a much closer relationship with machines and will become like contractors. 3D printing will blur the lines between designing and making. The architects of tomorrow will have to stop seeing designing and contracting as separate entities and we will see a new generation of design-makers. Architects will have to put their egos to the side and become digital craftsmen.