From Waste to Resource * 

BCL  * Recycled Plastic Robotic 3D Printing

DCS °Lenticular Column, Closed Loop, & Teeter Dock

DATE2025

TYPEExhibition

LOCATIONVenice, Italy

PRIMARY INVESTIGATOR
 David Costanza

COLLABORATORS Luisel Zayas
Fabiola Guzmán

OVERVIEW From Waste to Resource: Robotic 3D-Printing for Recycling Plastics investigates the structural potential of recycled plastics and bioplastics in architecture. The project challenges the perception of plastics as disposable, recasting them as durable, affordable, and sustainable materials through advanced recycling and robotic fabrication. The research is presented through process images and diagrams documenting material collection, sorting, grinding, and robotic 3D printing. Three case studies illustrate the application of the findings accompanying the research.

The Lenticular Column rises 10 feet tall and consists of two post-tensioned components joined by threaded rods. Its geometry follows structural logic, and a non-planar robotic printing workflow enables the 5-axis robot to create spatial curves. This technique transitions seamlessly from the planar base and capital to the saddle joint at the center.

2023—Lenticular Column
Project Lead: David Costanza
Team: Zekai Lin & Jonathan Wilmers
Funding: Cornell Mui Ho Center for Cities

The Closed Loop bench consists of six self-similar components, which were robotically printed and assembled on-site using an integrated post-tension ring. The triangular cross-section forms a plane for the seating components, which then rotate into an inverted triangle, lifting off the ground and designating the seating zones. The robotic printing technique utilized 5-axis printing on an oblique print bed with variable layer thickness, producing the radial geometry without a support structure.

2022—Closed Loop Bench
Project Lead: David Costanza
Team: Zekai Lin & Jonathan Wilmers
Funding: Cornell Council for the Arts (CCA)

Lastly, the speculative proposal Leaning into Balance: Ocean Plastics at Play, envisions a 32-square-meter interactive floating platform, Teeter Dock for the Gaggiandre, crafted from recycled ocean plastics. Robotically 3D-printed, post-tensioned buoys dynamically respond to user movement, fostering an interactive balance between material, environment, and human behavior.

2024—Teeter Dock (Leaning into Balance: Ocean Plastics at Play)
Project Lead: David Costanza (David Costanza & Building Construction Lab), Luisel Zayas (Formateria), & Fabiola Guzmán (Florarural)
Team: Gustavo Padua, Zekai Lin, & Danilo Velazquez

 

DCS