Boston based Elkus Manfredi Architects look at the world around us differently - they have a " focus is on creating dynamic, connected, sustainable environments that foster a sense of community", said David Manfredi, CEO and Founding Principle. With access to professional grade 3D printing technology, the architects and designers at Elkus Manfredi also look at their design process differently.
As a top-rated architectural firm, they have the opportunity to collaborate on many high-profile and high-stakes projects for clients. In the past, they had outsourced models to model making shops. A common practice in the industry, resulting in a lot of back-and-forth between the designer and model maker. Any changes or iterations to the designs often required a complete re-do. Add that together with tight timelines and the design teams just couldn't explore as many paths as they wanted to without compromise of another important aspect; quality of the final output.
As with any challenge, they saw an opportunity. Deciding to turn to technology, they began exploring the world of 3D printing. Reliability, quality, repeatability, speed, cost, and user experience all had to be taken into consideration when adopting a new practice. Who checked all the boxes? Stratasys.
With this new technology tool, the design teams are energized and collaborating with clients better and faster. Using 3D printing to bring their clients vision to life, they’ve realized it’s a powerful tool that can be used to convey design intent, all while maintaining quality and control of the output during the entire design iteration process. They can quickly transition from 3D printing simple forms to building complex geometries, details, and more. Ultimately, it's closed the gap between design intent, approvals, and final fabrication.
"We think we might be addicted to 3D printing." said Thomas Carrier, Director of Fabrication. We think we might be too.
