Dutch design: 3D printed PLA egg is hatched by a digital community

Michiel van der Kley further to find material options for outdoor settings

wImageUp until now Dutch designer Michiel van der Kley was mainly known for his furniture designs. Now, his fascination with the possibilities of 3D printing has inspired the development of “Project EGG” – an organically shaped, airy object suffused with light that is perhaps best described as a pavilion.

It’s a space in which floor, walls and ceiling seamlessly flow together to form an egg-shaped building measuring 5 x 4 x 3 meters made of recyclable, biodegradable PLA links, or “stones”.

To date, Project EGG is the largest desktop 3d-printed co-creation art project undertakenProject EGG anywhere. Project EGG is composed of 4670 stones, each with its own, unique shape, produced by a worldwide 3D printing community participating in the project.

During his research into the potential of the 3D-printer, Van der Kley came into contact with bloggers and digital communities all over the world, whom he invited to be part of Project EGG by printing a stone. Since each stone had to be printed individually, slight variations could be made in each design. Participants received the digital version for their unique stone, including their name. Enthusiasts who did not own a printer could support the project by adopting a stone. Hundreds of contributions were received from co-creators and adopters, from the US to Australia, from Portugal to Croatia.

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Project Egg

Project EGG was completed on time to be shown at the Dutch Design week last month; Studio Michiel van der Kley is now planning a global tour, to take place in the next two years, to show the structure to a broader international audience.

In addition, the designer is researching other options, such as the best material that would enable Project EGG to be produced for an outdoor setting.

Source

Bioplastics MAGAZINE, 2014-11-11.

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Michiel van der Kley - Project Egg

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