https://www.itsnicethat.com/news/tecla-house-mario-cucinella-wasp-architecture-270421 HomeChampioning Creativity Since 2007 [ ]Search for something Submit Menu Your account Extra Search Tool Search Categories Disciplines * Advertising * Animation * Architecture * Art * Creative Industry * Digital * Event * Fashion * Film * Graphic Design * Illustration * Photography * Product Design * Publication Popular Tags * 3D * Book * Branding * Collage * Comic * Exhibition * Font * Food & Drink * Identity * Logo * Magazine * Music * Politics * Portrait * Poster * Sport * Sustainability * Technology * Typography * Web Design * Zine Content Work News Features Opinion Series Nicer Tuesdays Ones to Watch Review of the Year The Graduates Double Click Diary In Conversation It's Nice That Podcast It's Nice That About Contact Advertising Opportunities Newsletters Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Editorial Team Matt Alagiah Lucy Bourton Ruby Boddington Jenny Brewer Jyni Ong Extra Nice About Extra Nice Login to your account Become a supporter Extra nice Extra Search Account Social [tecla_hous] This is the first house to be 3D printed from raw earth Multiple printers constructed the building in 200 hours using local soil, meaning it's zero-waste and needed no materials to be transported to the site. Words Jenny Brewer -- Date 27 April 2021 Reading Time 2 minute read + News + Architecture + Technology + Sustainability Mario Cucinella Architects and Wasp, Italy's leading 3D printing company, have completed the first house to be 3D-printed from raw earth. The process coined Tecla (standing for technology and clay) is eco-sustainable and environmentally friendly due to the production being zero waste and needing no materials to be transported to the site as it uses local soil. It took just 200 hours for multiple printers to construct the 60-square-metre prototype in Ravenna, Italy. The design of the house is an organic, cave-like form that seems ancient and carved out of nature, visually contradicting the innovative technology behind it. It is typical of Cucinella's practice which is focused on "humane" architecture, a crossover of low and high tech worlds. "The aesthetics of this house are the result of a technical and material effort," Cucinella says in a statement, "it was not an aesthetic approach only. It is an honest form, a sincere form." [tecla_hous] Above Tecla house (Copyright (c) Mario Cucinella Architects and WASP, 2021). Photo by Iago Corazza. The project began out of research by Cucinella and Wasp founder Massimo Moretti with the School of Sustainability, who were looking into the need for sustainable homes at Km0 - ie. using materials found on site, negating the environmental impacts of transporting materials to building sites. The result is Tecla, which is an almost zero-emission and low carbon process. "Tecla shows that a beautiful, healthy, and sustainable home can be built by a machine," adds Moretti. The architect studied how a building's shape could impact its efficiency, in relation to its climate and latitude; and how the material composition of the building could help with insulation and ventilation. The shape and the external ridges also enable the structural balance of the house. Inside is a living area, kitchen and bedroom, with some furnishings integrated into the structure, and other freestanding objects designed to be recycled or reused. The building is made from 350 12mm layers, and 60 cubic metres of natural materials for an average consumption of less than 6kW. GalleryTecla house (Copyright (c) Mario Cucinella Architects and WASP, 2021). Photos by Iago Corazza. [tecla_hous] [tecla_hous] [tecla_hous] [tecla_hous] [tecla_hous] [tecla_hous] [tecla_hous] [tecla_hous] The Latest View more from * Architecture * Room Journal is a new architectural publication with each issue focused on a different room * Pink seesaws across the US-Mexico border win Design of the Year 2020, on Trump's last day * Five experimental designers reimagine spaces of the future for our new reality * Kengo Kuma designs Eiko Kadono museum, with recreation of the town in Studio Ghibli's Kiki's Delivery Service * Concrete Citizens documents the residents of Soviet brutalist buildings in Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova Hero Header Tecla house (Copyright (c) Mario Cucinella Architects and WASP, 2021). Photos by Iago Corazza. Share Article Further Info www.mcarchitects.it www.3dwasp.com About the Author Jenny Brewer -- Jenny joined the editorial team as It's Nice That's first news editor in April 2016. Having studied 3D Design, she has spent over a decade working in design journalism. Contact her with news stories relating to the creative industries on jb@itsnicethat.com. View more from Technology [spacehey_a] Privacy friendly, customisable and no algorithms: An 18-year-old recreates a new functioning version of MySpace 11 hours ago * Work * Digital * ... [zeugl_inig] Zeugl made an animated music video entirely from emojis 6 days ago * News * Animation * ... [PolaroidGO] Polaroid releases smallest analogue instant camera, Polaroid Go 7 days ago * News * Photography * ... [adameveDDB] NoseID can scan your dog's unique nose print to help find them if they get lost 8 days ago * News * Digital * ... It's Nice That Newsletters Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world. 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