echoviren pavilion: the world’s first 3D printed architecture

mimicking and abstracting the structural skin of sequoia trees, a california duo has printed architecture and left it to create an ecosystem in the redwoods.

cat garcia menocal August 26, 2013 2 min

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echoviren pavilion: the world’s first 3D printed architecture
image © smith | allen studio

smith | allen, a collabortive duo working out of oakland, california, USA has created the first entirely 3D printed architectural structure. situated in the light-dappled bucolic redwood forest, the modular pavilion is site-responsive, mimicking and abstracting the xylem and phloem of the lush life that surrounds the built piece. the work, commissioned as part of project 387, itself a experimental multidisciplinary program of artists, designers and makers, consists of 585 interlocking components printed over the course of 10,800 hours. the 10x10x8 foot structure took four days to assembly in the pristine site and sets in motion the beginning of a symbiotic relationship with the forest– the pavilion is a composition of plant-based bio plastics which allow the form to decompose and create myriad micro-habitats as the lace-like walls integrate into the ecosystem.

the video details the fabrication and assembly process
video © TERRA TOXIS

echoviren pavilion: the world's first 3D printed architecture - 1
echoviren pavilion reportedly the world’s first 3D printed architecture
image © smith | allen studio

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echoviren pavilion reportedly the world’s first 3D printed architecture
image © smith | allen studio

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echoviren pavilion reportedly the world’s first 3D printed architecture
image © smith | allen studio

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echoviren pavilion reportedly the world’s first 3D printed architecture
image © smith | allen studio

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echoviren pavilion reportedly the world’s first 3D printed architecture
image © smith | allen studio

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echoviren pavilion reportedly the world’s first 3D printed architecture
image © smith | allen studio

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echoviren pavilion reportedly the world’s first 3D printed architecture
image © smith | allen studio

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echoviren pavilion reportedly the world’s first 3D printed architecture
image © smith | allen studio

echoviren pavilion: the world's first 3D printed architecture - 9
echoviren pavilion reportedly the world’s first 3D printed architecture
image © smith | allen studio

echoviren pavilion: the world's first 3D printed architecture - 10
echoviren pavilion reportedly the world’s first 3D printed architecture
image © smith | allen studio