3D Printing with Salt

An American company, named “Emerging Objects” where the first to perform 3D printing using salt as a printing material. The product of this process is a pavilion inspired by the igloos of the Inuit. Being the first to perform this method, the whole process is like one big science experiment, with the goal of producing a large-scale structure, while remaining relatively lightweight.

Courtesy of © Emerging Objects

Being located in San Francisco Bay, works to their advantage, as the salt can be locally sourced from the bay. It’s obtained from the 109 year-old salt crystallization ponds within Redwood City. The crystals within these ponds are 8-12 inches in length, which makes for good harvesting.

Courtesy of © Emerging Objects

The benefit in using salt compared to commercial materials, for one it’s renewable and secondly it’s inexpensive.

Courtesy of © Emerging Objects

The structure uses a total number of 336 unique translucent panels, which allows for subtle lighting of the internal space. The translucency is a product of the fabrication process, with the added property of salt being naturally translucent.