The Tokyo Pod Vending Machine resembles a giant game of Tetris in the sky

A speculative skyscraper designed for Tokyo takes the concept of wabi-sabi (finding beauty in the imperfect or incomplete) to heart. The Pod Vending Machine is designed to be continuously under construction, growing and evolving to meet Tokyo’s housing demand.

The tower acts as a home dispenser that 3D prints modular dwellings from a pod printer installed above the building. These ready-to-use pods can be purchased instantly and customized with sub-pods to include or eliminate whichever amenities a customer requires. For example, a kitchen can be eliminated if it is not needed or, as a family grows, additional rooms can be added.

After construction, the building’s automated system calculates the positioning of the pod and transports it via cranes. Once it is moved into position, the pod is plugged onto the megastructure. This placement isn’t permanent, however. Modules within the complex can be moved and regrouped by mobile cranes and mechanical arms.

Rendering courtesy of Haseef Rafiei.

As more pods are built and the building grows taller, the printer rises as well. A hydraulic system on the sides of the building pumps the construction materials up to the printer. Any abandoned pods will be dismantled after a set time and kept in storage or brought back to the printer to create a closed loop.

In addition to the rental pods, the megastructure will also be home to small offices for start-up businesses and commercial centers that will grow within the structure. The project, designed by architect Haseef Rafiei, was an honorable mention in eVolo’s 2017 Skyscraper Competition.

Rendering courtesy of Haseef Rafiei.

Two notable 3D-printed projects mark milestones in the new construction technique of “printing” structures with specialized concrete. In Athens, Tennessee, Walmart hired Alquist 3D to build a 20-foot-high store expansion, one of the largest freestanding 3D-printed commercial concrete structures in the U.S. In Marfa, Texas, the world’s first 3D-printed hotel is under construction at an existing hotel and campground site.

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Aerial view of world's largest 3D-printed building, a luxury horse barn in Florida

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World's largest 3D-printed building completed in Florida

Printed Farms, known for completing Florida’s first permitted 3D-printed house in Tallahassee, announces the completion of the world’s largest 3D-printed building: a luxury horse barn.

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3D-printed medical center from COBOD in Saraburi, Thailand

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University of Michigan’s DART Laboratory unveils Shell Wall 3D-printed concrete wall technology

3D Printing | Apr 11, 2023

University of Michigan’s DART Laboratory unveils Shell Wall—a concrete wall that’s lightweight and freeform 3D printed

The University of Michigan’s DART Laboratory has unveiled a new product called Shell Wall—which the organization describes as the first lightweight, freeform 3D printed and structurally reinforced concrete wall. The innovative product leverages DART Laboratory’s research and development on the use of 3D-printing technology to build structures that require less concrete.

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Using 3D-printed molds to create unitized window forms

COOKFOX designer Pam Campbell and Gate Precast's Mo Wright discuss the use of 3D-printed molds from Oak Ridge National Lab to create unitized window panels for One South First, a residential-commercial high-rise in Brooklyn, N.Y.