It’s always great to see what happens when design fields from different ends of the spectrum, say fashion and architecture, mix. Typically, architecture is used as a backdrop to showcase a deisgner’s selected fashions, with the building forms complementing (or contrasting) the clothes and models on display. Still, there is always an exception to the rule— case in point, Joshua DeMonte’s line of wearable accessories that scale down pieces of architecture for the body. The collection incorporates elements of classical architecture such as porticoes, aqueducts, staircases, and arcades into over-the-top collars and  twisted, brick-laden bangles. Read more.

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We’ve covered our fair share of stories about 3D printing, including co-working spaces, installations, and even chocolate bars, but surprisingly, we have yet to write about anything as ambitious as a 3D-printed house. Designed by Dutch architect Janjaap Ruijssenaars, the Landscape House is notable for its coiled, acrobatic form—with double-curved walls and twisting floorplates—which would prove an impossibility using conventional concrete construction methods. That’s why Ruijssenaars resolved to build (or theoretically build) his zany home using a 3D printer. Read more.

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Protocell Mesh, details. Images courtesy of Philip Beesley

While printing your own house may soon become possible, the “Prototyping Architecture” exhibition at The Building Centre in London shows that, when it comes to innovation, the prototype remains a vital part of design development. Blurring the boundaries between engineering and art, the event showcases the importance of prototypes in the study of beauty, utility, and stability —  the eternal concerns of architecture as defined by Vitruvius millennia ago. The exhibition, which runs from January 11 to March 20,  includes both highly conceptual models and full-scale sample productions from around the world. Find out more!

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Architizer is hosting the world’s definitive architectural awards program, with 50+ categories and 200+ jurors. As part of an ongoing series, we’re spotlighting projects that fit into “Plus” categories, including “Fabrication,” that tap into topical and culturally relevant themes. To see a full list of categories and learn more about the awards, visit architizerawards.com.

Don’t let the flashy renderings fool you. The future of architecture lay not so much in novel forms as in new methods of digital fabrication. In an age of rapidly diminishing resources, architects must develop, together with research laboratories, tech leaders, and software designers, efficient construction models that make more with less. This will require new types of mechanical and robotic armatures, which prove more nimble, accurate, and thus, efficient at building both complex and simple structures, to put those new model into practice. The goal is to put all of these ingenious ideas to the test, and develop the best for widespread application at every scale.

Fabrication innovations have thoroughly and irrevocable changed the making of architecture, and architects should welcome that change. That just doesn’t mean corporate designers like Foster + Associates that have now have robotic and digital fabrication wings, but also smaller firms that are responsible for the majority of building. These techniques and machines should be made available and affordable to every kind of architect, and not exclusively licensed to the larger firms. Here’s to hoping for an office robot arm!

Click on through for self-building architecture, giant 3D printers, blood bricks, and of course, robots, robots, robots.

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Rapid prototyping is all the rage; heck, we’ve been touting this fabrication technique for months! The rise in popularity is no doubt attributed to these technologies becoming more widely accessible, but let’s be honest, not all of us are lucky enough to have access to a 3D printer at the drop of a hat. Fortunately, the good folks at 3dprintuk have developed London’s first 3D-printing co-working office space, creating a home for 3D design enthusiasts. Read more!

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Have you ever wanted an action figure modeled after you? Come on, you don’t have to be Narcissus (or maybe Hulk Hogan) to understand just how awesome that would be. Now, thanks to the Omote 3D photo booth, any average joe can enjoy such an opportunity that is typically reserved for movie stars and superheroes. The technology is set to debut on November 24 as part of the Eye of Gyre exhibition in Tokyo. Read more!

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Image: US Army

The US Government has begun to invest heavily in 3D printing technologies recently, with several major programs ongoing to investigate the possibilities of making 3D printing capabilities cheaper, faster, and more widely available. Many in the design community are hoping that any resulting innovations filter down to the general public, democratizing the ability to prototype. Read more!

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Brian Peters, co-founder of Amsterdam-based Design Lab Workshop, has been researching new methods of fabrication as it pertains to architecture. His latest endeavor, Building Bytes, entails making inexpensive bricks for large-scale construction using desktop 3D printers (sounds like the ideal candidate for an Architecture+Materials award). His work was recently on view during Dutch Design Week. Read more!

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The Principals, a New York-based studio that specializes in interactive environments and industrial design, has created one of its neatest projects yet. A technicolored, kinetic arch, “Wave Dilfert,” located in the entrance of Manhattan’s Essex Street Market, responds to changes in light and shadow, pulsating and contracting every time a visitor walks through it. Read more!

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We’ve made no secret of our love of rapid-prototyping–we did just wrap up the GE Garages “Making Things” Competition, after all. So it’s safe to say that when we first discovered David Graas’ 3D-printed light shade it was love at first sight. Graas’ creation, dubbed the Huddle pendant, was inspired by the present cultures’ dual fascination with the ‘mega city’ and the future of mass customization. Read more.

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