3D Printed Concrete Columns. Image © Benjamin Hofer
At the beginning of 2019, we identified 3D printing as a trend that would influence architecture in 2019. This was not a difficult prediction to make. Aside from noting a 70% increase in reader interest in 3D printing throughout the previous year, we saw how the architectural community has had a long-running engagement with 3D printing, from using the technology to tackle homelessness, to creating affordable yet complex structural connections.
This does not mean that 2019 was a “boring” year in the 3D printing world. In fact, while the influence of the technology in the architecture of 2019 was predictable, the various ways in which this influence manifested was not. Throughout the year, 3D printing seemed to appear everywhere, from spanning a canal to replicating timber, and imagining neighborhoods for Texas and Mars.