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Architects Design World's First Houses With '3D-Printed Steel Exoskeleton'
The houses are created to let wind pass through as this is a very windy area of Italy and are also created to be "self-sustainable." The homes can provide renewable energy resources for their own use and to give back to the grid.
Culture & Entertainment
MASK Architects have built the world's first steel 3D printed modular houses and they are quite a sight to see. The new homes are located in Orani, in the city of Sardinia.
Architects Öznur Pınar Çer and Danilo Petta have been inspired by the work of artist Costantino Nivola, particularly one of his sculptures called the “La Madre”. The end result is homes that look sort of like butterflies.
"The site that we have situated our development on is a sloppy mountainside that will be transformed into staggered sections that will provide different levels for the modules to be situated in. Surrounded by natural scenery, we want our development to be self-sustainable working in harmony with nature," write the architects on the project's webpage.
The houses are created to let wind pass through as this is a very windy area of Italy and are also created to be "self-sustainable." The homes can provide renewable energy resources for their own use and to give back to the grid.
At the center of each building is an energy tower that harvests energy from solar and wind. The tower is covered in solar panels and is made to twirl 360 degrees to power wind turbines.
There are also voids in the modules that allow wind to be directed to the wind turbines. The homes are also equipped with smart cameras and fire detectors to provide security against natural disasters.
No stairs?
One interesting aspect of these developments is that the architects have not included stairs for the buildings. Instead, they encourage residents to use the "natural inclination of the terrain and environment."
The project is called "Madre Natura," or "Mother Nature" in English. As such, the buildings are made to be incorporated with nature, not to fight the natural environment, but rather to give into it and work with it.