As part of the 19th Architecture Biennale in Venice, the Natural Materials Lab at Columbia University, in cooperation with the Italian 3D printing company WASP, is showing an installation that combines digital manufacturing technology with traditional earthen construction methods. Under the title Earthen Rituals, a complex structure was created from local earth material, supplemented with fibers and organic additives. The entire production was carried out using large-format LDM (Liquid Deposition Modeling) printing systems at WASP’s headquarters in Massa Lombarda.
For the project, the research team used the WASP 40100 Production and the 3MT LDM system, supported by a continuous material feeding system. Hundreds of individually generated clay slabs were produced within a short space of time. The earth mixtures used combine excavated building materials with agricultural residues. The aim was to combine traditional building methods from different cultural areas with current digital techniques. The design is based on historical practices such as rammed earth, basket weaving techniques and figurative craftsmanship.
The focus is not only on materiality, but also on the question of cultural significance and sustainable construction. The textures translated into code are based on centuries-old surface patterns and enable a hybrid approach in which the boundary between manual craftsmanship and algorithmic production is deliberately kept blurred.
“Earthen Rituals” sees itself as a creative response to ecological, social and political issues. The installation reflects on the extraction of raw materials, colonial material histories and dealing with climate crises. Smells, light effects and haptic elements create a multi-sensory spatial experience that addresses the life cycle of materials as well as their aesthetic and functional transformation in the digital age. The installation can be seen in the Arsenale of the Biennale until November 23.
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