Week 1 Reading Response

This assignment goes over the 3 assigned reading excerpts given for week 1 in MAT 111PF.

3 pdf reading excerpts.

The goal of this project is to promote a form of 3d printing. It utilizes concrete, a soil mixture, and low-rooted plants. This form of 3d printing uses the plants that are seeded within a mold of concrete with the design filled with a compact soil mixture. The plants grow within the soil and give literal life to the print. The digital fabrication allows them to use software to get a machine to create the design that will be molded in concrete. The project hints at the fact that 3d printing mainly uses forms of plastic that aren't entirely sustainable and provides a "green" alternative. I like this idea a lot. I think this would go greatly within architectural design. Preferably, I would love to see this implemented in eco-brutalism. It makes concrete more insulative and better for the environment.

The goal of this project is to bring forth their product. Which is a set of 80 two way adapters that connect pieces from 10 popular children's tinkering toys. It promotes the idea of creating new things from what is already known. Allowing children to get started on a more creative and frontier train of thought. It utilizes software where they require the 80 adapters to be downloaded and 3d printed for personal use. This allows anyone with a 3d printer or access to one to create these adapters. It can the consumer to adjust the adapters as needed if they don't fit well enough as well. This made me realize that 3d printing can be used not just as a way to create something entirely new, but also a way to perhaps combine things that have already been produced separately in our lives.

The author notes about the rise of personal 3d printing and the use of plastic within it. They note on how the plastic and machines are imperfect and don't work as perfectly or detailed. They go on about how one can fabricate the idea online or see it in person and try to replicate it via a conventional 3d printer and have it come out missing details and void of "life". They criticize the imperfection of the printing and creation of plastics as it's manufactured and distributed.