Advanced digital fabrication and computational design are profoundly changing the nature of architecture and the construction industry. Their impact on the industry is heightened when used in combination with sustainable and low-carbon materials, such as clay, mud or earth-based systems. The core of this studio is anchored around additive manufacturing for sustainable architecture. 

This master studio focuses on the design and the production of a large scale parametric structure based on 3D clay printing. 1:1 prototyping is an essential component of this studio, allowing students to experience all parts of the fabrication and assembly process. Students will participate in the computational design of a full-scale 3D clay printed protostructure to be built on the campus of the TU Eindhoven. The structure will showcase advanced material patterning and performance-based design. The digital tectonic design of the installation makes systematic use of geometry, structural principles and material behaviour. Constraints of the material (or material systems) and of the physical realities of making and assembly are embedded within the computational process of design. Attention is given to the curation of joints and of the assembly sequence.

The studio follows a holistic approach: from design to fabrication. Students follow the steps from computational design, technical detailing, project management and logistics, the fabrication of the elements and the assembly of the full large-scale structure on the campus.

Architecture exists within a given context which should inform design decision making. Too often advanced computational design is employed without showcasing an in-depth sensitivity to its context. The studio brief is anchored around three sites:

1. The Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine (Basilica di Massenzio), Rome, Lazio

2. The Church of Anima Sante (Chiesa di Santa Maria del Suffragio detta delle Anime Sante), L’Aquila, Abruzzo

3. Baths of Caracalla (Terme di Caracalla), Rome, Lazio

Students: Fatima Alwan, Hanne Biesen, Max Uijlenhoet, Birgit Roos, Jakub Janas, Mohammad Zarei, Ofir Cohen, Omer Ercan, Selen Ersoy, Tudor Fărcaş, Asia Ibrahim, Jacky Wong, Sean Hendley

Computational Tutors: Cristina Nan & Mattia Zucco

Master Project 2024/25, Eindhoven University of Technology