CONTOUR CRAFTING

In 2006, Dr. Behrokh Khoshnevis, professor at the University of Southern California, introduced the world to Contour Crafting: the idea of applying Computer Aided Design and 3D Printing to homes and eventually larger buildings. As Dr. Khoshnevis explains in this TED Talk, Contour Crafting uses a giant 3D printer that hangs over a designated space and robotically builds up the walls of that building with layers of concrete. The robot can paint the walls and tile surfaces and even knows to construct plumbing and electrical wiring as it goes (Dvice). The idea is that by automating the construction process – one of the only processes humans still do largely by hand – homes will be cheaper and more quickly erected, with significantly lower labor costs. More importantly, Khoshnevis believes that Contour Crafting is essential to creating a more “dignified” architecture by eliminating slums in developing countries and aiding areas in the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster.

While Dr. Khoshnevis continues to develop Contour Craft, Dutch architect Janjaap Ruijssenaarshas already come up with the first house design that can be printed using this up-and-coming technology.

Contour Crafting technology has great potential for automating the construction of whole structures as well as sub-components. Using this process, a single house or a colony of houses, each with possibly a different design, may be automatically constructed in a single run, embedded in each house all the conduits for electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning.The potential applications of this technology are far reaching including but not limited to applications in emergency, low-income, and commercial housing.Contour Crafting will most probably be one of the very few feasible approaches for building structures on other planets, such as the Moon and Mars, which are being targeted for human colonization before the end of the new century.