Maynooth University Students’ Union Building - Scott Tallon Walker Architects

It might be safe to say that architectural models are less of a mainstay of architects’ offices than they formerly were. These days, you’re more likely to trip over an electric scooter than a design model. 

That might come across as a strange thing to say coming from a model-making business, but when CGIs, animations, immersive experiences are now both possible inhouse (albeit to varying standards) and comparatively more affordable then it was almost inevitable that this would happen in a world that often focuses on efficiency over process. 

It’s also likely safe to say that 3D printing of architectural models has been an area dabbled in by many and for many of those; never dabbled in again. Deterred by poor experiences, poor results and high costs; 3D printing has also been relegated in some departments to  ‘’not quite good enough/not quite there yet”.

Fixie has slowly been working to debunk this myth and the former truth. The end product that navigates these criticisms is a hybrid model: one that is enabled by 3D printing and finished where required or desired, by hand and traditional methods. When combined with the improved working methods, 3D/BIM-3Dprint workflows these models offer consistency, detail, affordable complexity and hopefully a degree of surprise. 

Early concept render of Maynooth University’s Student Union Complex by Scott Tallon Walker Architects.

Of course, you’d probably be more likely to believe us if you saw an example of this for yourself. The following case study focuses on Maynooth’s Student Union Building (MSU) a project by one of Ireland’s largest and most well-established design practices: Scott Tallon Walker Architects. The brief for the model will not seem that unusual to most - an affordable model that demonstrated some of the key finer details of the facade and the shared covered space. 

Imported 3D information, cleaned up and prepared for printing.

An A3 model @1:100 was chosen as a scale and size that was both affordable and could reflect the necessary detail, whilst also being handy to carry to meetings and set in the centre of the board room table. A clean, monochrome white finish was also determined as the best route to ensure that the model focused on space and detail rather than attempting to represent materiality (which could have also added to time and cost). 

The digital model for MSU was supplied initially from Revit (in an FBX format, so the first step is to remove additional detail that wasn’t necessary for 3D printing. Each 3D printing project is started by breaking down the model into manageable elements, working back from the finish desired. It’s important to know what 3D printing is capable of and to push the boundaries to ensure the most efficient use of resources for your client/end-user. 

The focus of the model was the glazed pergola structure that connects the two buildings with a covered external space. 

We knew that the perforated panels would not achieve anywhere close to the desired effect if 3D Printed at this scale (the holes being 0.1mm in diameter). It was therefore decided to have this detail brass etched. 

The pergola, although delicate, was achievable through 3D printing. However, for the glazed canopy, we reverted to traditional methods again - laser cutting and etching clear acrylic to be placed onto the structure of the 3D printed part. By breaking down the model into its constituent parts it allowed all of these elements to be brought together after being 3D printed, post-processed and spray finished.

The result is an affordable model that achieves a high level of detail through the best combination of available methods and most importantly clearly communicates key design intentions.

Model Cost: £1,850 + VAT

Turn Around: 10 working days (including model assessment, file preparation, 3D printing, brass etching, spray finishing). 

To see a version of this model being created in real-time watch our Fixie overview created for the AJ100 awards 2020. 

3D Printed Modular Construction Units for - Corstorphine Wright O'Brien Architects

When architecture and 3D printing are mentioned in the same sentence, the tendency is to be drawn to the widely shared examples of stand-alone, 3D printed houses. In this context, 3D Printing is frequently listed as a potential solution to worldwide housing shortages: its advantages allowing for quick and affordable alternatives to traditional construction methods. No doubt this work is necessary and will eventually assist in combating major housing crises. However, for developed, high-density urban centres 3D printing at this scale is still a long way off being feasible with any real, wide-scale impact.

3D Printing a House

Modular and prefabricated construction is already a viable solution to many of our housing needs and it’s actively being implemented by architects and construction companies. We were therefore excited to be able to use what 3D printing currently does best (prototyping for those who were asking, or ‘model making’ in architect’s language) to help communicate the benefits of modular construction by preparing and printing a selection of Corstorphine Wright + O’Brien’s Modular Apartment Units.

Corstorphine Wright O’Brien is leading by example in the design and implementation of modular building in Ireland. CWO had four different modular units that they wanted to be completed with removable roofs in order to show the internal layouts.  The models would be used in varying combinations during presentations. As material finishes of the units weren’t settled we suggested a simple white sprayed finish on robust, resin printed models. A few challenges emerged from pursuing this option, but the end result led to clean, smooth and detailed parts. 

C+W O’Brien’s scaled 3D Printed Modular Units being used in a presentation. Source

Our resin printing process produces semi-transparent parts. To spray all of these parts and get an even finish requires uninhibited access to all of the model. The furniture in these modular units would have blocked the ability to spray evenly, so unlike other printing processes where you might print everything at once, resin printing often requires some ‘model design’ - thinking on how to split up the model, so that it can be post-processed (support removed) and spray finished before being reassembled. 

A completed build of clear resin printed architectural model parts. The support structure that will be removed can also be seen. The build volume of this machine is 800mm x 800mm x 600mm (RPS NEO 800)

The digital models supplied were of a very high quality (of course!), however, our job at Fixie is to make sure elements survive 3D printing and post-processing, a perfect architectural model (and we’ve seen our fair share of less than perfect files!) is very different to a 3D printable model. This process involves thickening certain features e.g. door and window frames. These kinds of details add to the finished model so there is an element of creative licence to accentuate these beyond their actual size. Model making is after all a representative medium, no matter how much 3D printing allows you to get as close as possible to the real thing. 

Furthermore, we have to make each unit one single shell for 3D printing. Often the model, no matter how well thought through will contain many separate meshes for walls, cupboards, doors etc. It’s our job to merge these seamlessly using our file fixing software. Understanding the client’s design objectives is always a guiding consideration in this process.

The furniture was separated from the rest of the model and ‘booleaned’ from it. This process allows for small location points to be present on the model to accommodate glueing during reassembly.

Windows were removed to be clear voids to allow more aspects into the interior of the model (these could also be glazed in clear acrylic).

The fixed digital models (each part is a single shell)

The most technical issue was how to drain uncured resin from the 3D printed parts - all 3D printed parts are hollowed where possible to reduce the material usage. However, this can mean that uncured material is trapped within the model. A simple way to allow this to drain away is to create small holes which can then be plugged or filled before being sprayed to conceal this manual effort. Normally we would hollow parts/buildings from the underside so that you wouldn’t see it at all in the final model, due to the fact that the pieces would be fixed to a base. Or alternatively, the parts are printed solid because they are of a delicate form or size. 

Roof parts and furniture pieces after printing

With these issues addressed, we 3D printed (Overnight), let the uncured resin drain away, removed any supports, washed the parts in isopropanol to remove any surface coatings of resin, cured in our UV oven to make the pieces stronger, bead blasted the parts to give them a perfect finish for spraying (the next morning), filled the resin drain holes, spray finished the parts and then glued furniture back in place (that afternoon). 

Unit cost for production in this manner (File preparation, 3D printing, spray finishing and assembly):  c.£325/€375 each (+VAT and Delivery). 

These models could also be produced in full colour directly in the printing process using our colour jet printing (gypsum powder) and multijet fusion (nylon powder) technologies. Please get in touch to understand more about these options.

How 3D printing can influence

the architectural design process

Issue 309, February 2020, P. 102-103

Architecture Ireland Article - link

Many architects will have a complicated relationship with making models. Fond memories of simpler times quickly give way to what were actually coffee-fuelled, red-eyed, all-night marathons where fingers could be both glued together and covered in scalpel cuts in equal measure.

However, the relationship between the act of physically making and the design process formed a key part of our education in helping us to understand space and scale. Dr Simona Valeriani, who is leading an international research network on ‘Architectural Models in context: creativity, skill and spectacle’, highlights the critical relevance of models to the design process as ‘tools for thought and communication’. She says that they help us ‘to make invisible design processes visible’ and to document ‘moments of communication that are otherwise ephemeral’. According to Dr Valeriani, unlike any other media, models ‘directly convey the embodied 3D qualities of a building and have, since the Renaissance, been seen as the most comprehensible form of architectural representation’.

However, this pivotal role in the design process hasn’t prevented many of us laying down our scalpels and repurposing our cutting mats as mouse pads in recent years. This has been less a defiant downing of tools but rather a laying down of arms – a surrender representative of the wider shift from physical, hands-on skills to digital competencies. Emerging graduates and young architects are no longer tasked with making concept and competition models. Their literacy in quick and accurate computer modelling, along with creating effective visuals, allows for the leapfrogging of a traditional pillar of the architectural design process.

“What we lose from this digital allegiance are the venerated ‘happy mistakes’ that might arise in exploring a design through model making.”

This shift in skillsets is only one of a range of contributing factors that explains an increasing emphasis on visuals rather than physical models. The comparative ease of delivering CGIs and animations, along with the fact that visual images can be more justifiably charged to clients (both because of their efficiency and defined value) creates a case for residing within a digital bubble. Furthermore, visuals require little explanation. Whereas models allow viewers to read between the lines, visuals immediately speak the client’s language. It’s clear the choice comes down to ease and simplicity; presenting visuals to communicate design is more in tune with current workflows. What we lose from this digital allegiance are the venerated ‘happy mistakes’ that might arise in exploring a design through model making.

Such a move from manual/2D workflows to digital/3D methods does not mean that we need to sacrifice architectural models entirely though. 3D printing technologies allow us to take advantage of these new workflows in producing quick, affordable, and highly detailed representations of our digital designs. Critically, we can now make 3D models directly from 3D design data, as opposed to traditional model-making methods which require a return to 2D drawings to then produce a 3D model.

Prototyping through 3D printed models for Corstorphine + Wright Architects

3D printing is probably better known in its role as a prototyping tool, rather than as an approach to architectural model making. However, model making is undeniably a prototyping exercise, we’re just used to softer terminology for it. If we can begin to alter our perception of 3D printing in the architectural domain to begin to actively experiment with this new medium, both as a presentation method but more importantly, as an iterative design tool, it could present new ways to think about structure, form, and the construction process. We can begin to expose new ‘happy mistakes’.

In direct comparison with traditional model making methods, 3D printing technologies offer a range of new materials with varying qualities: transparent v. opaque, flexible v. rigid, smooth v. coarse and layered, full colour v. monochrome. Much like traditional model making, the choice of one or a combination of many helps to reflect the desired design; with the aid of technology though, many more options and varieties can be tried and tested prior to making a final design decision.

3D Printed Organic Forms in various finishes.

3D printing has the advantage of creating organic shapes and delicate structures with ease. However, it also has its own constraints, which are individual to each technology. Each constraint will influence your model design choices and consequently the overall design, whether that be the size of the printing bed, the strength of the material, detail achievable, appearance, or the post-processing methodologies.

On a practical level, for example, only being able to 3D print a facade element at an oversized thickness might affect your resulting detail, while the monolithic aesthetic of some materials and processes might lead you down the path of more massive structures. On the more theoretical side, the ability to easily create elaborate, complex, organic physical forms has the potential to test and experiment with solutions that would previously have been difficult to make or even imagine.                

To illustrate the influence of 3D printing on how architects might think and make, some examples which actively utilise these processes are discussed below. Critically, cases involve both the prototype scale and 1:1 built forms.

Make is a different kind of architecture practice. The employee-owned firm aims to "design the best buildings, places, and spaces in the world". Make's Ultim...

Make Architects, headquartered in London are – somewhat evidently from their name – focused on design through making. While they are encouraged to work with their hands, they have also invested in a bank of twelve Ultimaker ‘desktop’ 3D printers which allow for continuous 24/7 design development. It’s an approach that saw them shortlisted in the Best Use of Technology category in the AJ100 Awards (You may recognise the 2019 version of these awards)

We set up Fixie, the architectural 3D printing specialist with a similar aim to help build up a greater knowledge base of 3D printing within the architectural ecosystem. By making ourselves available as the ‘architect's 3D printing assistant', we hope to inform architects of the benefits and constraints of this technology. We know that architects are thinly spread and 3D printing can be a daunting additional task to approach; our aim is to make complex digital designs 3D printable. This involves a process called ‘file fixing’, where model files are edited to ensure that they print in the specified technology, with the desired detail, and that they survive any post-processing and finishing tasks. Architect's files need this special treatment as they're predominantly works-in-progress, not the finished articles that 3D printers normally encounter.

Until now, this article has discussed 3D printing solely with respect to the production of replicas and scaled working models. However, there are already numerous organisations who are thinking bigger; thinking about how 3D printing can offer an alternative to current methods of construction – allowing for decentralised, disaggregated, and more sustainable production methods.

Find out more about Ai Build's large scale 3D-printing technology at www.ai-build.com

AI Build emerged out of Zaha Hadid Architects. They have developed large-format robotic 3D printers that can create intricate parametrically modelled forms (akin to Zaha Hadid’s designs). These printers can create usable furniture and sculptures modelled in such a way that the structure is self supporting. Because of this integral strength, multiple parts can also be pieced together to create elaborate, expansive forms – 3D printing being a potential catalyst for more organic and efficient structures.

3D printed facade elements designed by DUS Studio for the Dutch Embassy Building.

DUS Architects, based in the Netherlands, have also created their own 3D printer – XL 3D Printer – in collaboration with Ultimaker. They’re using this 3D printer to create 1:1 building elements, including facade details, benches, and even a micro-home. Using 3D-printed elements, in combination with traditional building materials, they’re creating practical design solutions.

Aectual has emerged from DUS to pursue this avenue of thinking; they’ve turned the approach on its head by, among other things, using 3D printing to create formwork for more experimental concrete structures. Here, 3D printing is offering a way to reinvent existing materials.

XL 3D Printer used by Aectual to 3D print the floor of Schipol airport

However, you don’t have to be changing an entire industry with your explorations into 3D printing; architects can benefit through quietly and quickly exploring facade detail options or massing proposals without the fear of scalpel blades. Although it is an engineered response to a traditional task, 3D printing is open to exploration, to pushing rules and boundaries, and to leading you on an unexpected journey.