Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have accomplished a stunning architectural feat using silkworms. To construct this "Silk Pavillion," 6,500 live silkworms were guided via computer, creating a 3D print of the domed structure.

The vast majority of 3D printing is done with plastic (although liquid metal may not be too far away), but MIT's Silk Pavillion project is the first 3D-printed structure made out of 100% natural materials.

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According to Wired, Neri Oxman, the creator of the project, calls the hybrid fabrication method CNSilk. It constitutes part of her interest in "biomimicry," a new science that uses designs and processes found in nature and applies them to human problems.

Students at MIT studied the worms' spinning patterns and tested whether they could control them by altering the worms' environment. When they found out they could, Oxman's team created an aluminum scaffold, while a CNC robot created a lattice of silk starter threads across it to provide a base for the worms to operate.

Oxman created a CAD program and used heat and light to control the worm’s output. The structure was then placed in an atrium at MIT, and thousands of silk worms were released on it.

Today’s 3D printers would have trouble printing anything larger than a few inches. Oxman tells Wired that the silkworm "embodies everything an additive fabrication system currently lacks."

The entire process is also environmentally friendly, since the worms' creations biodegrade over time, and the worms will leave approximately 1.5 million eggs behind, with the potential of constructing up to 250 additional pavilions.

Homepage image courtesy of Flickr, Ed Schipul