I’ve always suspected that the future of architecture and design will be unimaginably different from today’s techniques. Figuring that it was only a matter of time before we 3D printed entire buildings or used breakthroughs in materials science to develop entirely new ways of constructing homes and businesses. And as time has gone on we’ve seen several examples of how this evolution in construction may play out. There’s been super wood, thirsty concrete, and even the implementation of living houses made of biological materials thanks to DARPA. But this latest innovation takes the cake.
As Futurism reports, “Forget scarves and mittens. Soon, we might be able to knit entire buildings. A team from the Swiss university ETH Zurich has developed a technique that allows them to knit textiles that can then form the scaffolds for large concrete structures. As a proof of concept, they created a 13-foot-tall architectural structure that’s now on display in Mexico City.”
As the technique improves and technology advances it will be interesting to see just how far we can take this architectural approach. Is there a limit to how tall the structures get? Could we use it produce buildings with complex designs ranging from flying buttresses to elegant domes? Or would it only work for mass producing cookie cutter structures of a limited size? Perhaps making it ideal for mass-producing low-income housing projects.
I’m not sure. But either way it may be time to stop making fun of those ugly sweaters that your grandmother knitted for you for Christmas. For the time may have finally come to give knitting its proper due. Crochet it isn’t so.
Is knitting buildings the Greatest Idea Ever?
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