3D PRINTED ARCHITECTURAL COMPONENTS TO ENHANCE INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

The improvement of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) represents nowadays a crucial factor for the occupant’s health and comfort. For this reason, the development of passive strategies to control indoor humidity and noise levels is of particular interest for research purposes. The presented study aims to develop an indoor cladding 3D printed panel deployable for the improvement of the IEQ. Moreover, a workflow integrating computational design and optimization processes assisted in the definition of the panel’s geometry and manufacturing parameters. The panel was primarily developed to exploit moisture buffering. Nevertheless, considering its geometrical complexity and internal void tortuosity, its capability to absorb sound was also assessed. The research methodology was based on an experimental approach defined to design, develop, and manufacture a component with complex geometry by following a parametric approach, using Grasshopper for Rhinoceros. Furthermore, some of its geometrical features have been optimized using the multi-objective evolutionary engine Wallacei. At the fabrication stage, several samples with geometrical variations have been manufactured with a Liquid Deposition Modelling (LDM) 3D printer. After being manufactured, the component’s moisture buffering and sound absorption performances were assessed. First, the sample Practical Moisture Buffer Value was calculated according to the NORDTEST protocol. Successively, the sound absorption properties were tested using the reverberation chamber method. Finally, the analysis of the results showed further insights into how an optimized geometrical structure with a maximized exposed surface and reduced use of material, could potentially affect moisture buffering and sound absorption.