Here at 3D Rapid Print, one of the fastest growing 3D Printing companies in the Thames Valley, we like to keep abreast of the latest innovations in 3D printing.
In April 2021, news broke of specialist 3D printing manufacturer World’s Advanced Saving Project (WASP) of Massa Lombarda and Mario Cucinella Architects of Bologna finishing building a prototype of a 3D printed house made from locally sourced reusable and recyclable materials, including clay and fibres from rice husks. (Massa Lombarda and Bologna are both in Italy.) Named TECLA WASP proclaims it as “the first and unique fully 3D printed construction based on natural materials and made with multiple 3D printers operating at the same time.”
TECLA’s name is derived from both writer Italo Calvino’s fictional city of Thekla in his 1972 novel Le Città Invisibili (Invisible Cities) and an amalgamation of “Technology and Clay.” It was 3D printed via WASP’s Crane WASP, which WASP describes as “a modular collaborative 3D printing system,” boasting that each individual Crane WASP can 3D print over an area of 50 square metres.
The prototype house measures 4.2 metres tall and 60 square metres in area, comprising 2 interconnected dome-shaped spaces, each of which sports a skylight. It also features an open-plan living area with a kitchen, as well as a bedroom zone that includes a bathroom and wardrobe storage. In addition, many of its interior furnishings are partly 3D printed with locally sourced earthen materials. WASP proclaims that a TECLA module can be built with 200 hours of 3D printing and 60 cubic metres of natural materials. As of mid-April 2021, structural and thermal performance testing on the prototype is ongoing.
Previous WASP projects include a 3D printed earthen wall with an embedded staircase, as well as a 30-square-metre 3D printed house made from an experimental mix of clay, silt, sand, straw-chopped rice, rice husk and hydraulic lime. Named Gaia, WASP claims that it will biodegrade if its structure is not properly maintained.
3D printing is an amazing tool. It can grow your small business or start a mini revolution in an industry. Explore what it can do for you when you contact us today.
Disclaimer: Featured image of “Netherlands. (Workmen working on the framing of a building.) – NARA – 541708” is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person’s official duties under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.
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