Digital crafting of architectural biomaterials: Computational geometric design and robotic 3D printing of yeast-cellulose hydrogels

Paper in proceeding, 2026

Sustainable materials from microbial and plant biomass sourced from industrial side streams offer a promising solution for resource-efficient architectural design. Prior research has demonstrated how computational design can tailor the visual and mechanical properties of such materials. However, each new material blend requires a material-specific design and fabrication approach. Adopting an architectural research-by-design method, this study investigated how geometric design parameters in robotic 3D printing can help tune the physical and aesthetic properties of architectural tiles made from a new yeast-cellulose hydrogel. Three material blends with distinct viscosity and shrinkage profiles were evaluated post-print to define a proof-of-concept framework for yeast-cellulose material crafting via 3D printing. The framework specifies key parameters influencing design features of 3D printed biobased architectural tiles, namely, path geometry, spacing, symmetry, connection angles, intersection types, material blend combinations, deposition methods, and layer sequences. By offering a framework linking geometric design to material transitions from wet to dry state, this work contributes an early understanding of how computational design strategies can respond to dynamic material behaviour, providing an essential knowledge foundation for continued architectural research and applications.