3D printing – also known as additive manufacturing – turns digital 3D models into solid objects by building them up in layers. The technology was first invented in the 1980s, and has since found its way into our everyday life – and in architecture and interior design. Architecture firm DUS has a vast expertise in architectural 3D printing, and is now applying its expertise to interiors and retail spaces.

“3D printing is an ideal technique to tailor-produce to a space or a brand,” says Inara Nevskaya, head designer at DUS. “We can link a furniture’s functionality with unique form features to create statement pieces, special focal points that frame new experiences for the consumer in the retail landscape.”

The interior design of the new Loft Flagship store in Ginza, Tokyo marks DUS’ entrance to designing 3D printed solutions for private, public and commercial interior spaces. 3D printing allows for unparalleled design explorations: “We had the liberty to design without conventional restraints. For this design, we found great inspiration in Japanese folding and drawing techniques, which resulted in cyclic printed patterns with delicate harmonious changes.”

Because of the digital design and production, the design process was quick and flexible. The one of a kind products where digitally shared and aligned with the client, and then 3D printed in their final form. A great advantage is the high level of sustainable production, as the prints are made with a bio plastic and there is hardly any waste in the process.

Architect Jo Nagasaka of Schemata was responsible for the 3,306 sqm overall interior design of the Loft Flagship store. He asked DUS to come up with ‘novel 3D printed furniture’. Clients Loft acknowledged the importance as a household name warehouse to always find new ways to distinguish themselves and show their products.

DUS responded by developing 6 new furniture typologies that bring out the highlights from each product category. DUS combined 3D prints with new and known materials influenced by traditional techniques, resulting in entirely new functions and tactile features:

All the elements and materials were developed and produced in close collaboration with Aectual, a company specialised in 3D printed interior and building products, which will launch its first line of products during Dutch Design Week 2017.

Location:

Loft Flagship store in Ginza, Tokyo, Japan

Project Data:

• Architect/Designer: DUS architects
• Design Team: Inara Nevskaya, Hans Vermeulen, Ivo Toplak, Alessandro Giacomelli, Onur Can Tepe, Jay Chenault
• Client: Loft
• Store Size: 3,306 sqm (35,585 SF)

The post 3D Printing is Making Its Way into Interior Design appeared first on Archipreneur.

The idea of automating or productizing architectural design services is a contentious one and it trickles down to the very definition of architecture. But when it comes to the business aspect of the profession, it becomes clear that many among today’s most renowned architects owe their success to the idea of productizing their services.

Instead of reinventing their work with every new client and repeating the same time-consuming processes, these architects have reoriented their businesses towards creating products. Customer-driven business strategies and the necessity of staying competitive are pushing AEC professionals to become faster, more efficient and convey their work to clients in the most succinct and clear way possible. The latter is particularly relevant to architects, since the nature of the profession has long suffered from the inability to translate services into tangible values that clients can recognize. For too long architectural services have been seen as a cost, rather than value.

Thanks to the huge technological advancements of the late 20th century, the scope of ‘problems’ architects can address has become wider. This freedom allows them to not only expand their field of professional interests, but also choose new, more efficient business models. Designing and selling plan sets, creating apps, generating libraries of BIM components, designing software and project management tools, optimizing manufacturing processes, self-publishing and creating online courses are among the most common methods for architects going into product development.

Albrecht von Alvensleben, founder of Bullenberg

Albrecht von Alvensleben is an architect and founder of Bullenberg, a furniture label based in Berlin. Bullenberg manufactures handcrafted wooden tables using wood sourced from von Alvensleben’s family estate in Saxony, near Berlin. The idea of creating a business had a humble beginnings – a friend was looking for a solid oak tabletop.

Being a trained architect enabled Albrecht to do a lot of the work himself, including designing the website and taking photos of the finished products. Bullenberg is currently planning to move from direct sales to retail and expand the brand’s work to include other types of products. If you want to learn more about Bullenberg, check out the interview with Archipreneur.

Seth Grizzle and Jonathan Junker, founders of Graypants

Architects Seth Grizzle and Jonathan Junker founded Graypants as a company dedicated to making pendant lights made entirely of repurposed corrugated cardboard. Their flagship line Scraplights embodies the team’s interest in repurposing and environmentally responsible design. In 2012, they set up their European office in Amsterdam, from where they started distribution to over forty countries, while the Seattle studio still provides local production for North America and functions as a prototyping shop.

Their portfolio includes public artworks, architectural installations and several lines of lighting, furniture, packaging designs sold throughout the world. Their debut architecture project Garage won the coveted AIA Seattle’s Award of Honor in 2013.

Michael Kohn, founder of Stickyworld

U.K. based architect Michael Kohn has recognized the need for a closer and more interactive collaboration between all the stakeholders in the process of building. He left the practice he worked in and created Stickyworld, a web- and mobile-based tool that enables sharing of projects and multimedia with the possibility of commenting and posting virtual sticky notes directly on images. The software allows more voices to be heard during the design and construction process.

Before creating his business, Kohn collected insights from customers and managed to pinpoint the problems they needed solving. Organizers are offered a suite of tools to prepare and publish interactive content websites called ‘rooms’, supporting different formats of engagement such as ideas forums, consultations or design reviews. Organizers can set the time frame for opening participation, automatically publish invites and also close participation at a set time. It allows interactive content including images, maps, 360 panoramas, videos, PDFs, and Powerpoints.

Edwin Heathcote, founder of Izé

Architect Edwin Heathcote set up Izé in 2001 as a manufacturer of a wide range door handles and fittings in collaboration with different designers and architecture firms. Heathcote has been the architecture and design critic of The Financial Times and author of several books on architecture and design.

Izé has licensed Lina Bo Bardi’s famous horn-shaped door handle design from the Lina Bo Bardi Foundation and received rights to produce them commercially 62 years after they were designed. “It turned out that the door handle was, proportionate to its size, the most influential piece of the building that I could think of that I could get into manufacture,” Heathcote told Dezeen.

Igor Siddiqui, founder of ISSSStudio

Igor Siddiqui, another architect-turned-product designer, worked as a practicing architect before setting up his own office ISSSStudio in 2006. The firm designs and manufactures everything from product prototypes to single-family houses using digital techniques and fabrication technologies. The team explores materials properties, flexibility, mobility and performance-driven design.

Their Tessellated Floorscape is a prototypical mass-customized rug originally produced for Aronson’s Floor Covering. It is based on a digital animation from which a different key-frame is extracted each time a new piece is commissioned or sold. The material is cut in a way that maximizes the intricacy of the contoured shape of each tile, while minimizing waste throughout the fabrication.

Protoplastic is made from biodegradable plastic and the acrylic formwork, while Ceramic Tesssseltile tiles are manufactured through conventional methods of mass-production as a single tile shape that produces the greatest degree of variation when multiplied across the larger field.

***

While these five examples showcase design collectives or architects that have dedicated their work entirely to creating products, those who want to keep offering mainstream architectural services can also start by adding products to their existing offering. Turning ideas into products is fun, creative and can be a fantastic, scalable business model.

The post Turning Ideas into Products: 5 Architects who Successfully Sell their Designs appeared first on Archipreneur.