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UC Berkeley's 3D-printed 'Cabin of Curiosities'

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(via Berkeleyside)

UC Berkeley associate professor of architecture Ronald Rael’s “Cabin of Curiosities” is a livable, water-tight structure in Oakland that was unveiled in May of 2018. With succulents growing off the exterior walls and a translucent interior, the cabin catches the eye and inspires wonder. What makes the structure truly unique, however, is not its beauty, but the fact that nearly every element of the cabin was constructed out of 3D-printed materials.

Built with the help of his partner Virginia San Fratello of San Jose State University, several students and alumni from Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design, and supported by Berkeley’s Bakar Fellowship, the cabin makes use of “upcycled” materials in its construction by repurposing discarded items like grape skins, salt, cement and sawdust and turning them into building materials to create a functional, sustainable living space.

This March, Rael’s cabin was named the winner of the 2018 3D Pioneers Challenge, an international additive manufacturing technologies competition.

Berkeley News caught up with Rael to talk about constructing the cabin, the benefits of upcycled materials and the future of 3D-printed buildings.

Read the full interview here.

Learn more about the University of California Berkeley on their StudyArchitecture profile page.

UC Berkeley's Summer [In]stitute Steps Up Its Digital Fabrication Game

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[IN]ARCH ADV SUMMER PROGRAM STEPS UP ITS DIGITAL FABRICATION GAME
What could earthwork art, Native American architecture, Italian Futurism and Orson Welles possibly have to say to a Zund? [IN]ARCH ADV Academic Lead Keith Plymale has designed a curriculum that introduces those seemingly disparate elements and lets them talk to each other. The resulting conversation is riveting:
[IN]ARCH ADV 2017 will see an increased focus on the potentialities of digital fabrication as it advances the intentions of analog ideas. Students and participants will engage methods of architectural theory and production through a total immersion in design studio culture (making), lectures (listening), readings (thinking) and site visits (looking).
Participants in this summer’s [IN]ARCH ADV cohort in UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design will have access to one of the few Zunds currently in operation on a US college campus, in addition to the CED Digital Fabrication Lab’s other equipment, including souped-up 3D printers, multiple makes of laser cutters and CNC routers, and full run of the fabrication shop.
[IN]ARCH ADV is a curriculum stream within CED’s Summer [IN]STITUTE, an immersive summer experience whose structure mirrors the organization of the College itself, offering instruction in Landscape Architecture, Architecture and Sustainable City Planning.

Project by Ming Gao

Students in their final years of an undergraduate degree or recent graduates of undergraduate architecture programs who are looking to sharpen their media and fabrication chops are encouraged to apply.
Submit an application online here, and learn more about the program here.
Find us on Facebook (@CEDSummerInstitute), Instagram (#cedsummertime) and Linkedin.
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