All text has been taken from the sites incorporated into this post with minor amendment for the sake of fluency /

NASA’s Centennial Challenges: 3-D Printed Habitat Challenge – see Blogroll for a link

NASA and the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, known as America Makes, held a competition to design and build  a 3D printed habitat for deep space exploration, including the agency’s journey to Mars.

The winners were SEArch with Clouds Architecture Office with their Mars Ice House. With their 3D printed house made of ice, the winners sought to capture light yet enable a connection to the outdoors into the vocabulary of Martian architecture – ‘to create protected space in which the mind and body will not just survive but thrive’ /

SEArch / Clouds AO: with ties to Pratt Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, Princeton University, and Parsons School of Design, is comprised of 8 designers: Christina Ciardullo, Kelsey Lents, Jeffrey Montes, Michael Morris and Melodie Yashar of SEArch, and Ostap Rudakevych, Masayuki Sono, and Yuko Sono of Clouds AO /

http://www.marsicehouse.com/habitat/  and
Jeffrey Montes site:  http://www.jetportal.net/

Apostle Peter & St. Helen the Martyr Chapel, Pafos, 2015 – by members of HUB Design Platform /

‘The entire chapel is formed by extruding a section along a longitudinal axis which results in a legible, lightweight and welcoming form. The east and west sides of the extruded form are left open providing covered spaces filtering daylight and views. The interaction of the extrusion with the programmatic elements of the building creates complex moments and rich spaces.’

‘The material featured high capacity and durability combined with high flexibility in free-form adaptation. The disadvantage of labor intensive application was mitigated by the use of contemporary digital practices presenting precision and cost benefits. An exceptionally thin, yet rigid, Ferrocement shell combined with a steel structural frame and reinforced concrete walls was successfully constructed, forming the composite structural system of the chapel. The integrated properties of the composite system enabled a shell thickness of as low as 70 mm, including thermal insulation. The combination with modern construction materials allowed Ferrocement to be re-considered as a competitive alternative in current complex construction applications.’

About HUB Design Platform: ‘The project has been realized by a multidisciplinary design team of young self-employed professionals, hosted @ HUB design platform, Limassol, Cyprus.  50% private 50% EU funded, HUB has operated since 2013 as a non-profit organization aiming at providing physical and virtual services to designers, concentrating in the construction industry. As such, formal and informal collaborations emerge depending on the type, size and needs of every individual project. Among others, core philosophy of the prototypical work environment is the seamless sharing of knowledge which yields direct benefits to every collaborative project.’  http://www.hub.com.cy/