Singapore’s ‘Gardens By The Bay’ houses one of the most recent developments in the use of stainless steel. The new angular pavilion is made entirely of a newly created three dimensional stainless steel mesh.
The state of the art mesh is created by cutting edge 3D printing techniques, and is the brain child of the Architectural Intelligence Research Lab (AIRLAB) which is based out of the Singapore University of Technology and Design.
The new material, which has been labelled AIRMESH, is the result of 5 years of intensive research at the Singapore University, and derives the inspiration for its structural design from three dimensional complex neural networks.
The new pavilion was constructed using 200 interconnecting stainless steel rods to link the 3D printed AIRMESH ‘nodes’, and although it only weighs in at a spritely 700Kg, its tetrahedral design means it can withstand 16 times that load resulting in an exceptional strength to mass ratio.
The Gardens By The Bay pavilion is an experimental design, but the University research group is hopeful that the techniques used in its construction could also be used in other larger projects such as large roof spans, transportation hubs like airports and rail stations, and even in high rise skyscrapers.
Architecturally beauty combined with form and functionality - also a perfect description for what we design and construct at DSM… Just like our Stainless Steel Drinking Fountains.
Images: dezeen and AIRLAB