Sammie Kim – Looking Outwards 03

“Digital Grotesque” is a huge architectural piece led by Michael Hansmeyer that delves into the application of 3D fabrication technology.  Immediately, I was astonished by was the bold, massive scale of this artwork, as 3D technology has only been used for small-scale models in the past. Yet, the method of “sand-printing through additive manufacturing technology” overcomes such limitations, which allows for the fabrication of large-scale elements, along with high resolution and accuracy. Not only does the Digital Grotesque present a vast human-scale structure, it encompasses extremely complex geometry (260 million individual facets), along with ornate details that are impossible to draw by hand. What I find admirable about this project is the surprise element, how the base algorithms produce results that are not entirely predictable, though not random. The Also, what shocked me was how cost of the sand-printing technique, which was similar to printing a basic cube—there was barely any cost for customization. This showed how enormous the potentials of additive manufacturing in architecture can be, as even more complex forms could now be executed through the computer.