It can be difficult to keep up with the ever-evolving news at the intersection of architecture and architecture. technologyBut fear not.Ann Would you like to inform your practices and add to the “fun facts” cocktail hour conversation Rolodex with a mini roundup of new tech on biohomes, metaverse house tours, and AI tastemaking?
University of Maine Unveils First 3D Home Made from Fully Recyclable Bio-Based Materials
Like many other states and cities, Maine is facing an affordable housing crisis. 3D printing Housing, which often requires less time and effort to build on site, could provide a solution to the daunting housing shortage. In that spirit, late last year, researchers at the University of Maine’s Advanced Structural Composites Center (ASCC) celebrated the completion of his BioHome3D, the first 3D-printed home made from bio-based materials.
The 600-square-foot prototype 3D-printed roof is made of wood fibers and bioresin, and the insulation is 100% wood. 3D printed floors and walls. Built from locally sourced materials to reduce dependence on Global Supply his chain, which has survived many shocks and crises since 2020.
BioHome3D was printed off-site in four modules. On-site assembly took only half a day.
“Many technologies have been developed to 3D print homes, but unlike BioHome3D, most are printed using concrete. , only concrete walls.Traditional wooden frames or wooden trusses are used to complete the roof. Said in a press release. “Unlike existing technology, his entire BioHome3D was printed, including the floor, walls and roof. can be recycled into
Future versions of the home can be customized to meet the owner’s space and energy needs. Now, the ASCC monitors home performance during the bone-chilling Maine winter. These data are used to inform future iterations of BioHome3D.
Buildworld uses sentiment analysis tool to create list of world’s ugliest buildings
Team of building materials retailer uses sentiment analysis tool HuggingFace build world compiled the List of the ugliest buildings in the worldThe team first compiled a list of buildings in the UK and US that are often considered “ugly” and looked up the names of the buildings through HuggingFace. HuggingFace is a machine learning platform trained to detect positive and negative tones about topics and ideas. The platform uses Tweets to analyze what is being said about the building online. In this case, the ugliest praise is determined by the percentage of negative feelings towards the building.
The machine spoke and judged the worst eyesore: Scottish Parliament Building in EdinburghPictured above is a postmodern structure by architect Enric Miralles, whose design was critical of 42.07% of analyzed tweets. stateside, J. Edgar Hoover Bill AKA FBI Headquarters turned out to be the worst, with 37.84% of tweets criticizing its design. The Brutalist Boston City Hall building came in second for him.Chicago’s Thomson Center The Watergate Complex also made the US Top 10 list.
You can find more information about the experiment and a full list of ugly buildings here.
New discoveries about the durability of ancient Roman concrete
A team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and Italian and Swiss laboratories have uncovered some of the secrets of concrete, an age-old and proven building material and construction method. their discovery It was published in the journal scientific progress Earlier this month, we’ll provide evidence of the material’s durability and self-healing properties at heart.
The strength of ancient concrete is pozzolanic materials such as volcanic ash, but the discovery of “lime crust,” small white minerals found in samples, may be where the material gains its durability. It was dismissed as a leftover spot from the badness of the disease, but researchers are now considering that conclusion.
Further study of the limestones revealed that they were made from calcium carbonate. Spectroscopic examination of the spots led the researchers to speculate that they were mixed into the concrete at very high temperatures and it is this process and step that hardens the concrete’s durability.
The discovery raises the need for cement production that can repair or restore cracked ancient buildings and statues, extending the life of structures and potentially having a detrimental impact on the environment. can be reduced. It also opens up opportunities for new construction – 3D printed buildings. It continues to grow in popularity as an alternative building material and method.
Nationwide homebuilders take house tours in the Metaverse
KB Home invites prospective clients to dress up as avatars and explore model homes virtually. A homebuilder created a showroom on the Decentraland platform to allow buyers to tour contemporary, Spanish, farmhouse and craftsman style homes. Your virtual host will answer your questions about the home, construction process, and customization options.
“KB Home has a long history of groundbreaking innovation. Today, as we look to the future and create opportunities, the next generation of homebuyers will be able to experience the new KB Home community virtually. We can,” said Jeffrey Mezger, chairman, president and CEO of KB Home. Said in a news release. “We know consumers are becoming more and more immersed and spending more time in virtual spaces. We provide an engaging environment for homebuyers to explore what truly sets us apart: unique design, personalization and partnerships.”
The Los Angeles-based firm partnered with The Metaverse Group to design and build Nirvana for Decentraland KB Home.
United Nations turns ozone layer protection into online game
This week, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Ozone Secretariat said: newest version Learn about a simulator designed to help teens understand how we can protect our precious life-sustaining environments and ecosystems through global and local policy interventions.
of Apollo edition reset earth impact simulator game Students can choose from four possible policy directions that affect the ozone layer. Apollo, the brave blue-haired avatar pictured above, and her robotic companions lay out scenarios while educating their students. Montreal Protocola multilateral agreement to regulate ozone-depleting substances (ODS).
“By providing young people with innovative learning tools, we hope to inspire them to become future scientists and policy makers who advocate for the environment,” said Ozone Executive Director. Meg Seki said.
