3D Printing and Material Extrusion in Architecture

3D printing is said to ­revolutionise archi­tecture: Thanks to new technologies, plastic, concrete, or metal can be extruded in a liquid state and then hardened into its final form. With this­ ­Construction and Design Manual, architects and researchers ­Kostas Grigoriadis and Guan Lee present a comprehensive, up-to-date overview of the topic. The book consists of detailed case studies of 3D printed ­buildings, the materials that can be used in large-scale ­additive manufacturing, and a breakdown of the ­corresponding design guidelines, limitations, and achievable build dimensions. In ­addition to these, the focus is on the environmental­ ­aspects of the method, the lifecycle of 3D printable­ ­materials, and the embodied energy of 3D printing compared to conventional building construction.