Ovenbird Workshop at Advances in Architectural Geometry Conference (2025)
Instructors
Students
Ali Alhussain, Niclas Brandt, Oswaldo Chinchilla, Amirhossein Fakhrghasemibeiki, Prapawit Intun, Eddie Lam, Alale Mohseni, Gabrielle Nadeau, Aisa Shams, Abhishek Shinde, Nusrat Tabassum, Alireza Zamani Samani, Daniela Castano, Weston Porter
Brief
The two-day workshop took place on Sunday and Monday, November 16–17, 2025, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as part of the Advances in Architectural Geometry (AAG) conference. After two crash courses on PolyFrame 2 and Ovenbird, 14 participants teamed up to formulate 11 designs, mostly form-found using Polyhedral Graphic Statics. Participants applied optimization methods in the toolpath design process to reduce overhang, enhance continuous printing, and improve surface quality. The designs were successfully printed as Scaled Fabrication Models using off-the-shelf printers with nozzle replacements.
Description
3D-printed concrete structural components for construction assemblies are known for reduced material use, enhanced construction efficiency, and design freedom. Given the limitations in material properties and extrusion systems, an integrated approach to designing the geometry and toolpath while maximizing the advantages of 3D concrete printing would require tailored software and expertise in computing and processing geometries.
We have developed Ovenbird, a comprehensive tool that automates the task of toolpath design and optimization. (1) It assesses a component’s local and global overhang, predicts failure, and optimizes its buildability as a mesh surface globally. (2) It provides toolpath optimization methods to enhance dimensional accuracy and surface quality. (3) It creates as-continuous-as-possible toolpaths with minimal stop-starts to reduce seam defects. (4) It allows the inverse reconstruction of toolpath meshes compatible with finite element analysis.
Ovenbird applies to extrusion-based 3D printing across scales and materials (clay, thermoplastic, etc.). It has powered several construction projects and benefited the 3D printing community.
The workshop will introduce participants to the theoretical and practical framework of Ovenbird. They will learn how to design printable geometries, generate optimal toolpaths, and print them as scaled fabrication models (SFM).
To help participants explore the design-research landscape of 3D-printed structures, the workshop will also introduce the form-finding method of Polyhedral Graphic Statics. Participants will study the process using Polyframe 2, another software developed at the Polyhedral Structures Laboratory. They can opt to apply Polyhedral Graphic Statics or other form-finding and design methods to prepare the scaled fabrication models to print.
