Innovative Trends in Architecture – Creating Full-Scape Buildings with the 3D Print Technology

Abstract

Contemporary innovative 3D technologies and machinery to apply them in the 21st century have been dynamically developing and cover increasingly more aspects in the area of architecture when making buildings and structures for various purposes. In the recent years, in various parts of the world much focus has been made on the kind of 3D technologies such as printing real-life architectural structures on printers using the method of phased production by the digital three-dimensional model designed in advance for the architectural project. The paper considers various technologies and technical means, their advantages and flaws, and analyzes key areas of applying 3D printers in the process of implementing various architectural structures. The prospects are identified for the development of the highly efficient technology to construct buildings and structures. The functioning principles of 3D printers are described. We covered the developments of construction and architectural organizations in making structures with the help of 3D print. Key challenges have been identified in the practical application of 3D print when building the architectural structures; the ways to improve the technology in the future are presented. The authors analyzed the available technological solutions for 3D print in the process of constructing real architectural structures; presented the relevant data on technical parameters of the contemporary three-dimensional printers; the problems for the development of the technology have been conceptualized, as well as the choice of optimal materials and engineering structures with regard for peculiarities of selected methods of layer-wise extrusion or making buildings parts with their further assembling into the final structure. The paper presents a summary of basic notions in the 3D print area, it mentions key software programs that could help implement all stages of the architectural structures making process when constructing them. The authors suggested a list of traditional construction materials to create architectural projects such as mineral heavy weight concrete with the polymer disperse fiber and chemical additives to regulate the terms for hardening astringency, and the promising other materials to produce buildings such as structural glass, various kinds of plastics, ceramic alloys (produced through selective laser sintering), and salt as a basic material to make complex restoration works in the reconstruction process. The outcome of the undertaken theoretical and applied research is presented by the authors in the findings concluding about key benefits from using 3D printers in creating real architectural facilities for various functions, and the choice of an optimal 3D print method on the specific brand of manufacturing machinery with the most efficient software. The authors identified the application areas of the most optimal, economically and structurally justified construction materials fitting the selected technology to build an architectural structure on a 3D printer. The approach can help create relatively inexpensive, aesthetically and functionally interesting architectural facilities for various purposes. In the process of their construction, they entail minimum costs in terms of labor and material resources. It offers broad perspectives to apply 3D printers in the world’s architectural practices.