Softkill Design‘s ProtoHouse project investigates the architectural potential of the latest Selective laser sintering technologies, testing the boundaries of large scale 3D printing by designing with computer algorithms that micro-organize the printed material itself.

With the support of Materialise, Softkill Design produced a high-resolution prototype of a 3D printed house at 1:33 scale. The model consists of 30 detailed fibrous pieces that can be assembled into one continuous cantilevering structure, without need for any adhesive material.

The arrangement of 0.7mm radius fibers displays a range of flexible textures and the ability to produce in-built architectural elements, such as structure, furniture, stairs, and façade, all in one instance. The Softkill house moves away from heavy, compression-based 3d printing of on-site buildings, instead proposing lightweight, high-resolution, optimized structures that, at life scale, are manageable truck-sized pieces that can be printed off-site and later assembled on-site.

This research was produced at the Architectural Association School of Architecture’s Design Research Lab in the studio of Robert Stuart-Smith. Research prototypes were generously supported by Materialise, with additional support from VoxelJet, and Sirris.