ICON and BIG complete their first 3D-printed model home in Georgetown, Texas

3D printing company ICON opened its first model home for the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)–designed single family development as part of Wolf Ranch in Georgetown, Texas this past weekend. Located north of Austin, the development, built by Lennar, has a layout familiar to suburbanites across the U.S. The catch is that all 100 homes are 3D-printed

single story structure in grassy field printed by icon

ICON completes largest 3D-printed structure in North America for the Texas Military Department

In the last few years, 3D printing has become an increasingly plausible construction technique for the building industry thanks to the innovations of companies like ICON, a Texas-based robotics and advanced materials startup. This year alone, ICON has developed a house with Lake|Flato Architects, a mass-market development with real estate developer 3Strands, and collaborated with

An undulating green pavilion in a public square at a university, designed by Marc Fornes / THEVERYMANY

MARC FORNES / THEVERYMANY uses computational design to realize a breezy Texas pavilion

At Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, the New York-based MARC FORNES / THEVERYMANY has constructed the Zephyr Pavilion, a flowing structure of cantilevered, aluminum forms designed through complex computational means. By modeling geometries computationally, Fornes and his studio were able to devise a method of building the pavilion that optimized material thickness and strength

Randall Daniel

As a Senior Design Principal based in SmithGroup’s Dallas office, Randall leads teams in the design and delivery of responsive and engaging solutions. His two decades of project experience includes award-winning work across multiple building typologies, including cultural, higher education, science & technology, and civic. His work has been recognized by a wide array of

Cameron Wahl

Cameron Wahl is currently an Assistant Process Manager for Balfour Beatty here in Dallas Texas. Cameron is a graduate of Ball State University and has been in the construction industry for 10 + years. Cameron got his start in construction technology while in the field as an assistant superintendent while looking for ways to improve

Asma Mehan, Ph.D.

Dr. Asma Mehan is a researcher, educator, and architect working at the intersection of architectural humanities and critical urban studies. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Texas Tech University College of Architecture. She is the author of the books “Tehran: from Sacred to Radical” (London: Routledge, 2022) and “Kuala Lumpur: Community, Infrastructure, and Urban

Sina Mostafavi, Ph.D.

Dr. Sina Mostafavi is a practicing architect, researcher, and educator with computational design and architectural robotics expertise. He is an Associate Professor at Texas Tech University College of Architecture. Mostafavi’s research focuses on innovative applications of emerging materials and technologies, empowered by hybrid human-machine intelligence, for integrated design, inclusive automation, and circular production. He holds

Jason Wheeler

Jason is a passionate Computational Designer within the AEC industry, but also an overall Technology enthusiast. He has 12+ years of experience in the industry working in the US and China with a focus on workflow optimization and data-driven design. He has experience working with offices locally and globally to create, educate, and explore data-driven

Dan Stine

AIA, IES, CSI, CDT, Well AP Dan is the Director of Design Technology and leads the internal research program, Investigations, at the top-ranked architecture firm Lake|Flato, in San Antonio, Texas. He is a registered architect (WI), educator, author, blogger, and international speaker. In addition to teaching graduate architecture students at NDSU, he has written 19

Unpacking what it means to design safe shade

AGENCY Architecture is located in El Paso, Texas, and our work has focused largely on ideas that shape our border-adjacent desert context, with a particular sensitivity to social issues, ecological instability, and resource depletion. Current work is looking at the Chihuahuan Desert—a unique and uniquely challenged binational territory that crosses the U.S.-Mexico border. Here, climate

ClientPay

ClientPay is a simple, secure solution that allows building and design professionals to accept credit, debit, and eCheck payments anytime, from anywhere—in the office, online, or even at a project site. Get paid faster by expanding your available payment options and creating a convenient, professional payment experience that makes it easy for your clients to

NASA awards ICON contract to continue research on lunar habitation

Just weeks after ICON, the 3D printing technology company, broke ground on what is slated to be the largest 3D printed neighborhood, the Texas-based company is using its expertise and construction systems on an even larger project: lunar habitation. Yesterday, NASA, through its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program dolled out a nearly $60 million

ICON and BIG break ground on the world’s largest 3D-printed community

Texas-based 3D technology company ICON,  has broken ground on what will become the world’s largest 3D-printed community. The neighborhood located North of Austin in Georgetown, Texas will consist of 100 3D-printed homes codesigned by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and implemented by Lennar, a large construction company based out of Florida, was first announced in 2021.

Lake|Flato announced launches modular home company HiFAB

Lake|Flato Architects, a Lone Star State firm lauded for its enthusiastic embrace of sustainable design practices and emerging building technologies, is going full-on modular in partnership with a just-announced prefab homebuilding venture named HiFAB. Launched by Dallas-based real estate development and investment firm Oaxaca Interests, HiFAB recently debuted its studio and manufacturing… Read More… The

Jack Murphy

Jack Murphy is Managing Editor of The Architect’s Newspaper. Previously, he was Editor of Cite: The Architecture and Design Review of Houston and Adjunct Professor at the Gerald D. Hines University of Houston College of Architecture and Design. He earned an undergraduate degree in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a graduate degree

Aaron Seward

Aaron Seward is Editor-in-Chief of The Architect’s Newspaper. Seward is an award-winning editor whose career has centered on interpreting architecture for the profession and the general public. He was editor of Texas Architect magazine for six years and prior to that held several positions at AN, including executive editor. In addition to those publications, Seward’s

ICON’s U.S. Army barracks among the largest 3D-printed structures yet

This past August, Texas-based robotics and advanced materials startup ICON garnered headlines when it revealed what was then the largest completed project to date employing the company’s patented 3D-printed construction technology: a single-story barracks on the grounds of the Camp Swift Training Center in Bastrop, Texas. Created for the Texas Military Department, that structure, measuring

ICON and Lake|Flato put a 3D-printed spin on the mid-century rambler

Robotics and advanced materials construction startup ICON has revealed its first completed home in its Exploration Series, which per the Texas-based company, sets out to “develop new design languages and architectural vernaculars” with collaborating architects “based on the opportunities created by construction-scale 3D printing.” First announced last May, the roughly 2,000-square-foot East Austin abode melds

Diana Darling

Darling is CEO and cofounder of The Architect’s Newspaper, celebrating its 12th year. The A|N media company consists of print and digital publications covering architecture and design news, as well as the Facades+ conferences. As A|N’s publisher, Darling won the AIA National Collaboration Award, Grassroots Preservation Award, and ASLA NY’s President’s Award. She began her

Dionne Darling

Dionne Darling has been with The A|N Media Group for over five years. As A|N’s Associate Publisher, she manages A|N’s Texas headquarters and handles accounts in the West, Southwest and Chicago territories. Dionne has over 25 years of direct B2B sales and business development experience. Dionne holds an Associate Degree from El Centro Junior College

rendering of a ranch-style 3d-printed home

ICON teams with Lake|Flato Architects for a 3D-printed, ADU-equipped Austin home

ICON, the Texas-based robotics and advanced materials construction company with lunar ambitions, has announced a new series of (earthbound) 3D-printed homes designed in collaboration with a slew of top architects. San Antonio- and Austin-based Lake|Flato Architects is the first to be tapped for the so-called Exploration Series, which according to ICON, will “develop new design languages and architectural vernaculars” with collaborating architects

rendering of two modern homes with large lawns

ICON goes “mainstream” with production of 3D-printed single-family homes for new Austin development

Just a year after Austin, Texas–based construction technology startup ICON first unveiled a half-dozen 3D-printed homes at a 51-acre community established to provide affordable, permanent housing for formerly homeless residents of the city, the fast-growing (and Bjarke Ingels Group–backed) company has announced, in partnership with Kansas City, Missouri–based real estate developer 3Strands, the arrival of a new development in East Austin populated by two-to-four-bedroom homes that

a covered bridge in a park

Exhibit Columbus announces virtual 2021 Design Presentations lineupv

The organizers of Exhibit Columbus 2020-2021, the third cycle of the nonprofit Landmark Columbus Foundation’s keystone program, have announced the second major public event for the annual celebration of art, design, and community centered around the famously modernist architecture-rich Indiana city. Scheduled for March 19 and 26, the four-session Design Presentations event will give the public the opportunity to preview and

Image of a dog within the Fetch House

This 3D-printed doghouse can hold up to 1,000 tennis balls

The doghouse, that ubiquitous shelter found in backyards across the globe, has seen little in the way of innovation—that is until now. The Fetch House, developed by CallisonRTKL’s Dallas team, is a 3D-printed abode for our canine companions that simultaneously functions as a storage device for at least 1,000 tennis balls. The prototype was awarded

A top-down photo of a snowy landscape with four two-story structures in different colors.

Alaska’s Cold Climate Housing Research Center is rethinking how the Circumpolar North builds

The Cold Climate Housing Research Center (CCHRC) describes itself as “an industry-based, nonprofit corporation created to facilitate the development, use, and testing of energy-efficient, durable, healthy, and cost-effective building technologies for people living in circumpolar regions around the globe.” Aaron Cooke, the architect who leads the Sustainable Northern Communities Program at the CCHRC in Fairbanks, Alaska, is

A top down view of colorful metal bands forming columns and circular open roofs, designed by SOFTlab

SOFTlab used complex computation to realize a colorful Philly installation

In West Philadelphia, SOFTlab has realized a six-pillar installation called Spectral Grove. The fanning canopy was realized with the help of three custom computational solutions. Made of powder-coated aluminum, the interlocking metal fins direct light and shadow throughout the day for an animated visual effect. Getting the angles of the canopy just right proved particularly

A cellar-like room is filled with printed piles of soil.

ACADIA 2019 showcased the state of digital design

The presentations and activities at this year’s ACADIA (Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture) conference gave attendees a glimpse of potentially disruptive technologies and workflows for computational architectural production. The conference was held this year in Austin from October 12 through 14 and was organized by The University of Texas School of Architecture faculty members Kory Bieg, Danelle Briscoe, and