3D printed cabin - a solution to housing shortages?

Succulents and tiny plants growing from the front facade of a 3D printed cabin add a charming aesthetic to this experimental design.

The Cabin of 3D Printed Curiosities was designed by Californian design practice Emerging Objects in answer to housing shortages.

The practice was founded by Virginia San Fratello and Ronald Rael - the couple behind the US border wall seesaw which we featured on LAA last year.

The Cabin of 3D Printed Curiosities. Photo: Matthew Millman Photography

The studio describes the front facade of the cabin as “a box of exquisite chocolates - comprised of Planter Tile shapes and materials to create a living wall of succulents, naturally thriving in the northern California climate

Tile ingredients include cement, sawdust and chardonnay pomace - the solid material left after wine grapes are pressed for juice.

The concept came about after the Oakland City Council eased restrictions on the construction of secondary housing units, or backyard cottages because of a housing emergency.

Detail of ceramic Seed Stitch tile and hexagonal Planter Tiles. Photo: Matthew Millman

“This opened the door for Emerging Objects to use the relaxed codes to experiment towards addressing housing problems at a micro scale,” the studio said.

The building encompasses 11 square metres, using around 4,500 ceramic tiles.

Planter Tiles in Chardonnay pomace, sawdust, cement, and recycled coffee grounds. Photo: Matthew Millman

Tiles come in six different patterns, four of which have little openings for growing plants. G-code - a computer numerical control programming language - is used to control each line of clay. All tiles are printed from the same file but each one is different.

3D Printed ceramic Seed Stitch tiles. Photo: Matthew Millman

The roof and adjoining facades are clad in a 3D printed ceramic rain screen of “seed stitch” tiles - so called because the surface of the tile visually emulates a knitting technique called the seed stitch.

The interior is clad with Chroma Curl Wall, which consist of back-lit translucent tiles made of bioplastic derived from corn. The room is furnished with objects that are all 3D printed using bioplastic.

Chroma Curl Panels clad the interior. 3D printed curiosities fill the shelves. Photo: Matthew Millman

At night LEDs set behind the walls illuminate the space, converting the cabin into a “beacon of light, in ways that are abstract and artificial”, the studio says.

Night time in the Cabin of 3D Printed Curiosities illuminated by back lit Chroma Curl translucent PLA panels. Photo: Matthew Millman

“The Cabin of 3D Printed Curiosities demonstrates that 3D printing can be beautiful, meaningful and well crafted - not crude, fast and cheap.

Much like the garage makerspace movement, the backyard building space might become a platform where new ways of living are tested, new technologies can be invented and tested, and new materials can be discovered.”

During this time of COVID-19 the studio has been using the cabin for zoom meetings.