The City of Towers installation at the Design Museum is a bit AEC for our tastes, but the video showing its fabrication using nylon Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is a doozy for highlighting the prototype and iteration process.
The installation outlines the evolution of architectural research at structural superstars Zaha Hadid Architects and showcases the many possibilities and iterations for a tower, mapping its adaptations and development process.
Conceived in collaboration with Soho China for a proposed new business district and urban environment in central Beijing, the design breaks from the typical tower-with-podium typology by redefining the ground surface as a continuous landscape that seamlessly weaves between one tower and the next; creating a new civic centre for Beijing that embodies values of innovation, functionality and coherence.
These 3D printed studies were built by London 3D printing studio Digits2Widgets and are sculptural in their quality while remaining precise enough for design verification.
It’s also nice to see the team showcase the level of skill involved in cramming as much into a build space, stacking it up, and getting it all off in perfect condition for finishing.
