Home 3D-Printed from Local Clay in Italy

April 1, 2020

Italian Architect Mario Cuncinella began printing the first prototype of a two-room house in Massa Lombarda, east of Bologna, Italy. The home, named TECLA, was engineered by Italian company WASP to become the very first to be entirely printed from a locally-sourced clay that is both biodegradable and recyclable. The material is extruded through a pipe and set in place using a Crane Wasp, a modular 3D printing system that can print objects as large as 21-feet in diameter, and as tall as nine feet. 

TECLA was developed through a set of research programs within the School of Sustainability, a program in Bologna founded by Cucinella to “train the design leaders of the post-carbon era.” The time-efficient and resourceful project was established to address the ballooning of the global population, and the environmental impact associated with the building industry.

Source: Arch Paper