Air Mesh : Metal 3D Printed Space

Singapore

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Air Mesh : Metal 3D Printed Space

Singapore

Firm

AIRLAB SUTD (architectural intelligence research lab)

Type

Cultural › Pavilion

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2020

RADICAL NOTHINGNESS. Airmesh is the world's first fully-functional space frame structure made of 3D-Printed components in stainless-steel, advancing a new era of highly resource-efficient designs and unprecedented lightweight architecture. This entire digitally designed and fabrication process minimises wastage in construction, increases structural efficiency and creates a positive impact in sustainability, leading to a radical aesthetic of nothingness.

Nested in the Gardens by the Bay, the pavilion demonstrates the technological advancement that has been achieved in developing a seamless and highly functional digital chain that opens up new potentials for architectural practice, and also demonstrates the efficient use of material that can be seen as signum of a sustainable design of the future.

The steel industry alone generates between 7% and 9% of direct emissions from the global use of fossil fuel. By exploring the limits of 3D-Printing technologies we reduce the embodied energy by enabling energy-efficient geometries that use much less material than traditional manufacturing processes. This lowers energy use, resource demands and related CO2 emissions over the entire product life cycle, induces changes in labour structures and generates shifts towards more digital supply chains. AIRMESH system allows to spread the load into more efficient standard components, which are also dramatically reduced in size, minimizing the utiilisation of steel. Assembly took only 2 days, and transportation of much lighter products incurs a much lower carbon cost by improving the fuel economy.

In addition to advancing technology in construction, we wanted to test the delivery of a plug and play “IKEA-like assembly system, setting the precedence for future 3D-printed structures, which has the potential to replace traditional construction methods.
Guided by our principles of preserving nature, enhancing the human experience and blending technology into nature, we created an ethereal space. Visible when you arrive, but invisibly blended into nature from afar.

Credits:
- AIRLAB - Co-Founder - Felix Raspall
- AIRLAB - Co-Founder - Carlos Banon