UC students’ creation on world stage

UC students' creation on world stage

Hands-on class leads to international showcase at the Venice Biennale

At the Venice Biennale - one of the world's most influential exhibitions for art and architecture - a three-meter-tall wood installation by University of Cincinnati professor Christoph Klemmt and his students is drawing international attention.

The piece, titled "INOSCULAE", was printed in segments and shipped overseas this spring. The installation reflects nearly a decade of Klemmt's research into how robots can transform a humble material into the architecture of the future.

The Biennale, held every two years in Venice, Italy, is often described as the Olympics of the art and architecture world. For architects, it is the ultimate stage to test and showcase new ideas. "This project is really about pushing the boundaries of what wood can do," says Klemmt, an architect and faculty member in UC's School of Architecture and Interior Design. "Our hope is eventually to 3D print entire buildings - or at least building components - using this method."

Dharma Patel DAAP graduate student

Patel and her classmates were responsible for the painstaking process of producing the pieces. "We'd spend about four hours to print a single segment," she says. "One person controlled the robot's speed while others fed the material into the extruder. Once the segments dried, we printed again to 'glue' them together."

When the final pieces were shipped to Italy in March, Patel thought her role was complete, until Klemmt invited students to the opening of the Biennale.

With help from her family, Patel made the trip as a graduation gift to herself. "Being in the Venice Biennale is like a dream of so many people in design," she said. "Even though I had a small role in the project, seeing it up in the exhibition felt surreal. I've never been part of something like that before, and now it's in my portfolio and on my resume. Almost everyone in the industry knows what the Biennale is, so it feels like a real milestone."

Detailed view of the installation made with a 3-D robotic printer. Photos/Klemmt.

Fourth-year architecture student Matt Briede shared a similar sense of surprise at where the class led him. "Most of us joined the class just for a professional elective credit, not really knowing what we were getting into," he says. "On the first day, Christoph told us we'd be learning how to operate this robot and print the sculpture for the Biennale. None of us expected that."

Though Briede didn't make the trip to Italy, the experience left a lasting impression. "We learn a lot of traditional construction techniques in school, but using 3D printing at that scale opened our eyes to new possibilities," he says. "The technology was still a little experimental, so seeing how [Klemmt] guided us through the process was really valuable. It showed us what innovation in architecture can look like - and it's something I can talk about with future employers."

For professor Klemmt, that mix of research, teaching and international recognition is exactly what he hoped the project would achieve. For students Patel and Briede, it was an early glimpse into how design ideas can leap from the classroom to the world stage.

The architecture exhibits in the Venice Biennale are on display through Nov. 23.

Featured image at top of "INOSCULAE" on display at the Venice Bienalle. Photo/Klemmt.

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