B1: Group B: Cathlene Farnelli

The first article I read (for the BIM tag) was “The Plan to Build a Skyscraper That Doesn’t Cast a Shadow,” accessible here. In this article, a pair of buildings designed to be constructed in Greenwich, England were described. These buildings were modeled in Rhinoceros in order to make it possible for there to be no complete shadow between them at any time. The curved inward surfaces of their facades mirror the light downward to the space between them, diffusing the light as well. What struck me most about this design was the complexity of ensuring that the glass panels will be in the correct orientation to mirror the light. Also the article mentioned that the computer program was able to form this shape (after quite a few structurally impractical designs) based on the parameters required by the architects.

The second article I read (for the 3D Printing tag) was titled “MIT's newest 3D printer spouts 10 materials at a time.” This article discusses the shortcomings of current 3D printer technology, which currently can print at most three materials (and these models are very costly). MIT’s MultiFab is able to print ten materials by mixing different polymer components inside the machine before printing them, rather than through simple extrusion. The printer also has an impressive 3D scanner which allows the user to print around objects to be embedded in the new material. For example, in the video we can see that the printer is able to scan an LED light and print a lens over it. While this technology might not have any direct impacts on intelligent building, being able to print multiple building materials, such as both concrete and steel, would be a very big breakthrough. However, this particular printer would not get us any closer, though the idea could possibly be used to try to form different mix designs of concrete during printing.

My third article (for the structure tag) was “Gravity-defying 3D printer to print bridge over water in Amsterdam.” In this article discusses a 3D printer which is able to print steel by “welding” on layers. Those running the project believe that two printers running from either side of a canal in order to form a cantilevered arch bridge after meeting in the middle. The printers could operate autonomously and build the bridge without human interaction. This application of 3D printing to form a structure is obviously more applicable for our purposes. It goes quite a bit further than the rope bridges which we saw in class (though this is a small-scale pedestrian bridge, not one intended for traffic use). The final bridge design has not been determined, though a video after the article shows the sculpture they were able to create and images show some possible ideas.

My final article (for the future tag) was titled “What Jobs Will the Robots Take?” Here Derek Thompson discusses the recent statistic that about half of the jobs in America today could be automated in 20 years or less. The article lists the most “at-risk” jobs, such as telemarketers and tax preparers, as well as the least replaceable, such as surgeons and fire fighters. However, these “safe” tasks, which require more complex algorithms and interaction with others, could very well be automated in the future. Engineers are on the safer side of the spectrum, as they need to be able to diagnose problems, which would be difficult to automate. This reminded me of the first article, as the computer program was able to form a shape that didn’t cast a shadow but was not necessarily able to tell that the design was illogical.

**Edit: comments posted on Alex Palma and Dianna Vogel's posts.