In Inorganic Growth, the Chinese studio BENTU Design takes concrete, brick and mortar from demolished urban villages and turns them into a printable mix with up to 85% recycled solid waste. The first pieces are a chair and a stool for public spaces, printed layer by layer with two print heads.
The studio reports a 65–80% cut in carbon emissions compared with conventional precast concrete, and a material utilisation rate of 92%, since printing only places material where the form needs it.
Why it matters to us: printing without moulds already avoids the waste of formwork. Projects like this show where the next step is, in the mix itself, and it is a direction we follow closely for our own pieces.