How might 4D printing overcome the obstacles that are hampering the rolling out and scaling up of 3D printing? Skylar Tibbits, Director of the Self‐Assembly Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), describes how the Lab has partnered up with Stratasys Ltd, an industry leader in the development of 4D Printing, and is making the development of self‐assembly programmable materials and adaptive technologies for industrial application in building design and construction its focus.

We propose a new design of complex self-evolving structures that vary over time due to environmental interaction. In conventional 3D printing systems, materials are meant to be stable rather than active and fabricated models are designed and printed as static objects. Here, we introduce a novel approach for simulating and fabricating self-evolving structures that transform into a predetermined shape, changing property and function after fabrication. The new locally coordinated bending primitives combine into a single system, allowing for a global deformation which can stretch, fold and bend given environmental stimulus.

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The increasing power of design software, the widespread availability of digital fabrication and growing complexity of our built environment are in stark contrast to the inefficient techniques that currently plague the construction industry. Today's processes of assembly can be fundamentally re‐imagined by looking at biological systems that are building structures with far more complexity, information capacity and assembly instructions than even the most advanced structures possible with current technologies. Skylar Tibbits explains that the key ingredient embedded within these natural systems is self‐assembly. He outlines four principles for designing systems that build themselves, and shows a number of projects that demonstrate first steps towards this new mode of architectural production. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This paper takes a first step in characterizing a novel field of research-Jammed Architectural Structures-where load-bearing architectural structures are automatically aggregated from bulk material. Initiated by the group of Gramazio Kohler Research at ETH Zürich and the Self-Assembly Lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, this digital fabrication approach fosters a combination of cutting-edge robotic fabrication technology and low-grade building material, shifting the focus from precise assembly of known parts towards controlled aggregation of granular material such as gravel or rocks. Since the structures in this process are produced without additional formwork, are fully reversible, and are produced from local or recycled materials, this pursuit offers a radical new approach to sustainable, economical and structurally sound building construction. The resulting morphologies allow for a convergence of novel aesthetic and structural capabilities, enabling a locally differentiated aggregation of material under digital guidance, and featuring high geometrical flexibility and minimal material waste. This paper considers 1) fundamental research parameters such as design computation and fabrication methods, 2) first results of physical experimentation, and 3) the architectural implications of this research for a unified, material-driven digital design and fabrication process. Full-scale experimentation demonstrates that it is possible to erect building-sized structures that are larger than the work-envelope of the digital fabrication setup.

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explain a current implementation of a programmable and computational material, Logic Matter, and to describe potential applications for computational materials and self-guided assembly. Design/methodology/approach -Following an introduction, the paper describes the types of information currently found in architectural construction, then introduces Logic Matter, a building block embodying physical digital logic. Examples of structural optimization and construction scenarios are given, to demonstrate the benefits of programmable and computational physical materials for assembly. Findings -Logic Matter demonstrates a prototype with embedded digital logic and programmability, offering new applications for automated assembly, online material analysis and physical computing. Originality/value -The paper describes the existing types of architectural construction information and proposes a novel application of programmable and computational material for automated assembly.