DX toronto presents 3DXL - a large-scale 3D printing experience

DX toronto presents 3DXL – a large-scale 3D printing experience
photo by victoria fard

3DXL – a large-scale 3D printing experience
DX | design exchange, toronto
may 14 – august 16, 2015

the DX | design exchange in toronto brings forth some of the world’s most innovative and challenging 3D printing projects realized across a range of fields — from design to science to architectural construction — in an exhibition entitled ‘3DXL’. curated by sara nickleson, DX curator and director of collections, ‘3DXL’ elaborates on the history and technical robotics of the now prevalent technology. while still a bit of a mystery for some, the show seeks to break down the components of 3D printing and demonstrate its relevance and importance in the world of design and architecture, as well as in medicine.

arabesque wall, 2015 (detail)
benjamin dillenburger and michael hansmeyer
3D printed sandstone
109 cm x 140 cm x 305 cm
developed in collaboration with design exchange
photo by peter andrew

positioned in the downtown core of toronto at the corner of king st. and peter st. within a 3500 square foot glass box — an off-site location from the DX’s main museum space at 234 bay st. — ‘3DXL’ brings 3D printing to the streets. it offers an opportunity for the general public to experience this rapidly growing technology, engage in it, play with it, and learn from it to better understand the way in which our world is being constructed around us.
detail of the ‘arabesque wall’
photo by peter andrew

in particular, the show focuses on the application of 3D printing in the field of architecture, and how it is at a moment of dispelling the myth of bricks and mortar. the work of benjamin dillenburger and michael hansmeyer is an example of this. the duo expand on their previous 3D printed room concept ‘digital grotesque‘ (see designboom’s coverage of the work here) with ‘arabesque wall’ — the first entirely 3D printed architectural component with details in the resolution of micrometers and complex geometries.

‘arabesque wall’ has been realized through a custom-designed software by dillenburger and hansmeyer
photo by peter andrew

realized through 3D sand-printing, ‘arabesque wall’ highlights the full potential of digital fabrication that cannot be rendered using traditional design methods — like pencil and paper, or CAD — so dillenburger and hansmeyer have developed their own custom software to bring their scheme to fruition. the program is an algorithm, or step-by-step computerized process which directs a single plane to fold over and over again, until millions of individual surfaces emerge. shifting production techniques to this abstract level results in a dramatic impact, creating a complexity and richness of detail, that would otherwise be impossible for a designer to specify or even imagine.

the architectural component highlights the full potential of digital fabrication
photo by eugen sakhnenko

the ‘arabesque wall’ has been designed and created by dillenburger and michael hansmeyer in collaboration with the design exchange for ‘3DXL’. it stands as a highly differentiated and spatially complex piece of architecture, whereby ornament and formal expression cease to be a luxury, focusing on a more unique, one-of-a-kind architecture. pushing the boundaries of of human perception, ‘arabesque wall’ offers up the tallest, entirely 3D-printed building component in stone realized to date.

installation view of the ‘arabesque wall’ at the ‘3DXL’ exhibition
photo by eugen sakhnenko

among the other projects on show are: ‘saltygloo’ (2013), created by founders of 3D printing startup emerging objects; the ‘3D print canal house’ (2014), created by DUS architects; GAD RC4 (2013-14), by gilles retsin and his students at the bartlett school of architecture in london; ‘mangrove structure’ (2015), by denegri bessai studio and more.

front view of the towering ‘arabesque wall’ — the largest 3D printed architectural component to date.
photo by eugen sakhnenko

‘3DXL’ presented by great gulf, the printing house and sponsored by nespresso, among the other projects on show are: ‘salty gloo’ (2013), created by founders of 3D printing startup emerging objects; the ‘3D print canal house’ (2014), created by DUS architects; GAD RC4 (2013-14), by gilles retsin, manuel jimenez garcia, vicente soler and their students from the bartlett school of architecture and research cluster AD-RC4, hyunchul kwon, amreen kaleel and xiaolin li; ‘mangrove structure’ (2015), by denegri bessai studio and more.

‘3DXL’ is presented by great gulf, the printing house and sponsored by nespresso.

‘wiremass’ by gilles retsin, manuel jimenez-garcia, vicente soler and their students from the bartlett school of architecture and research cluster 4 (hyunchul kwon, amreen kaleel and xiaolin li)
photo by eugen sakhnenko