Mother Earth in 3D Printing

The experimental building known as Tecla, which is situated on the Adriatic coast of Italy, is based on a combination of high tech and local natural resources. Two 3D printers mounted on robotic arms have created the dome constructions from a mixture of earth, water, chalk and chopped straw. The initiators of the project are Mario Cucinella Architects and the printer manufacturer WASP.

© Mario Cucinella Architects

It took around 200 working hours, or rather printing hours, before they were standing: the two domes of the Tecla experimental building may well be the world’s first structures to be created using a 3D printing process and locally excavated materials. The unusual construction by Mario Cucinella Architects stands in a technology park in Massa Lombarda, which is located on the Adriatic coast of Italy, next to the headquarters of WASP, the 3D printer specialists behind the technology for creating the building’s shell.

Tecla − a portmanteau of the English words technology and clay − was conceived as a prototype for sustainable housing which, according to the architects, could be built anywhere in the world. Certainly, it requires a 3D printer, someone to operate the equipment and someone to carry out soil analyses, but the architects point out that most of the work could be done by local labour.

© Iago Corazza

The mixture of materials for the domes comprises earth, chopped straw, rice husks, chalk as a binding agent, and water. Some of the hollow spaces inside the wall are also filled with rice husks to provide better insulation. To build the domes, two printers mounted on craneways worked concurrently. This represented an additional challenge for the programmers, as the machines should not cross each other’s paths.

© Iago Corazza

© Iago Corazza

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The dome shape results from the fact that the earth mixture can be subjected to compression, but not to bending. Furthermore, each dome should be as monolithic as possible − from the floor to the central oculus − without any wooden subconstruction. The interior work of the experimental building is slated to begin, and the project partners hope to have completed it in spring. After that, Tecla will be used as a sort of showroom for the low-tech 3D printing process used here.

Video of Tecla Experimental Building

Architecture/Interior: Mario Cucinella Architects
Location: Via Castelletto 104/06, Massa Lombarda (IT)

Sustainability Research: SOS – School of Sustainability
Printing technology, construction company, construction management: WASP