‘to grow a building’ uses 3D printing to create organic architecture made of seeds and soil

to grow a building at jerusalem design week 2022

For Jerusalem Design Week 2022, the 11^th edition of Israel’s foremost annual design event, a group of designers took to Hansen House to present ‘To Grow a Building’, an outdoor performative lab that imagined the possibility of a world in which buildings are 3D printed from organic materials. Designers Or Naim, Elisheva Gillis, Gitit Linker, Danny Freedman, Noa Zermati, Adi Segal, Rebeca Partook and Nof Nathansohn produced a custom-made robotic arm linked to a computer, that methodically built small, green structures out of a natural, raw mix of soil and seeds. Upon completion, the sustainable structures then adapt a life of their own – the seeds sprout and transform the soil walls into a green facade, while the roots take hold within the walls and form a durable building material.

‘To Grow a Building’ for Jerusalem Design Week 2022

all images by Dor Kedmi

IMAGINING AN organic, living architecture

Between 23 and 30 June 2022, Jerusalem Design Week welcomed over 40,000 design enthusiasts to the Hansen House Center for Design, Media and Technology, for the showcase of an eclectic mix of exhibitions, installations and projects from over 150 Israeli and international designers. Work by invited designers centered around this year’s theme ‘For Now’, exploring both the ephemerality of design and the design of ephemerality, and examining ways in which time can be harnessed to bring about a positive effect in periods of uncertainty.

Among the participating exhibits was the ‘To Grow a Building’ project, which examines possibilities of an organic architecture in the face of a global ecological crisis. With the use of industrial and non-local resources only increasing, ‘To Grow a Building’ proposes architecture that uses raw, natural materials such as local soil and roots as structural elements to replace unsustainable buildings made of concrete and steel. The project presents a new approach of integrating flora into the architectural design process, by developing a novel material for 3D printing through which seeding is an inseparable part of the fabrication process.

seeding is an inseparable part of the fabrication process

a custom-made robotic arm linked to a computer builds small structures out of a raw mix of soil and seeds

the robot builds the structures in a methodical, almost mesmerising manner

the structures adapt a life of their own and seeds sprout to transform the walls into a green facade

the roots take hold within the walls and form a durable building material

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project info:

name: To Grow a Building
designer: Elisheva Gillis, Gitit Linker, Danny Freedman, Noa Zermati, Adi Segal, Rebeca Partook, Or Naim, and Nof Nathansohn

supported by: Rogovin

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions’ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: ravail khan | designboom