3D-printed ceramics in the museum: additive manufacturing in the historical context of the NHM London

The Natural History Museum in London is combining restoration in keeping with historical monuments with contemporary production technology in its new permanent exhibition Fixing Our Broken Planet. As part of the preparations for the museum’s 150th anniversary, one section was completely modernized. This involved the use of robot-assisted 3D printing processes for ceramic exhibition elements – a solution that meets technical, aesthetic and conservation requirements in equal measure.

The particular challenge was to integrate modern building elements into a listed building from the 19th century without altering or encumbering the original architecture. The exhibition elements had to be self-sufficient, could not generate point loads in excess of 400 kilograms and could not have any direct wall connections. A modular system architecture consisting of 1,686 individual ceramic elements was developed specifically for this purpose. The components were manufactured using a 3D printing process with clay, whereby CAD data and measured values for material shrinkage during the drying process were fed back into the design. This made it possible to achieve a production tolerance of less than five millimetres.

LAMÁQUINA, a design studio specializing in digital production, worked with the museum to develop a concept that combines ecological and structural aspects. Clay with a recycled content of 40 percent was used, produced without material loss and partly fired with renewable energy. The construction can be completely dismantled and reused by dry assembly with biopolymer connectors.

The project shows how additive manufacturing can also be used in the conservative cultural heritage sector.

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