12,000 square feet of habitable Mobius strip.

Mobius House
Mobius House Universe Architecture

The architects at Amsterdam-based Universe Architecture have proposed some M.C. Escher-like buildings before. (See: this plan for a building that's "both small and big.") But architect Janjaap Ruijssenaars wants to go one step farther with a building that twists in on itself, never beginning or ending at all. To make that happen, he's enlisting the world's biggest 3-D printer.

Instead of creating a flat strip of material and bending it into a shape like a Mobius strip, the gigantic D-Shape printer will make pieces of the 12,000-square-foot building, spitting out 6-by-9-meter section that will eventually be assembled into the full building. (The printer's inventors want to use it to print houses on the moon eventually, so this is a nice warmup.) A mixture of sand and a binding agent will make the frames of the structure, and each frame will be filled with fiberglass and concrete. Steel and glass will make up the facade.

The Building's Steps
The Building's Steps:  Universe Architecture

The project could take about 18 months to complete, with the printer working for up to half a year. As for who's buying it: Ruijssenaars told AFP that a Brazilian national park has shown interest in the building, which would cost $5.3 million to build. But it could still be used as a museum, or even as a home for some very lucky, math-minded millionaire.

[Inhabitat, AFP]

9 Comments

(The printer's inventors want to use it to print houses on the moon eventually, so this is a nice warmup.)

I LIKE THE SOUND OF THAT!

This is very cool, but can you imagine trying to find furniture for it?? It's an interior decorator's nightmare!

The idea of printing houses for the moon is really cool, too. You could get some of those super grippy gecko boots (which they BETTER have when we're living on the moon)and you can walk up the window-walls and dance on the ceiling! (Oh what a feeling!)

No beginning no end? May be continuous but not knowing where one starts begs the question. Guess it's all 'relative'. Printing houses is not a new idea. Neat regardless!

Best exercise ever. "Honey, I'm going to get something from my room, which is on the other side of the strip." This house is about twice as large as an exercise track.
Also, where's the front door?

If you want a structure with no beginning or no end that you can actually walk in, just build a circle. No need to get fancy. I don't see anything here that breaks any ground in construction, design, or function.

Wheres the front door? Heck, wheres the bedrooms, kitchen, and bathroom? This is a house, you know.

Great for the Moon or anywhere space saving is not an issue.
marcoreid might be right about just building in a circle though.

tgh123,
I like your comment the BEST! ;)

I guess, but it would be really impressive if they could do a Klein Bottle :)


140 years of Popular Science at your fingertips.



Popular Science+ For iPad

Each issue has been completely reimagined for your iPad. See our amazing new vision for magazines that goes far beyond the printed page



Download Our App

Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone or Android phone with full articles, images and offline viewing



Follow Us On Twitter

Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed


April 2013: How It Works

For our annual How It Works issue, we break down everything from the massive Falcon Heavy rocket to a tiny DNA sequencer that connects to a USB port. We also take a look at an ambitious plan for faster-than-light travel and dive into the billion-dollar science of dog food.

Plus the latest Legos, Cadillac's plug-in hybrid, a tractor built for the apocalypse, and more.


Online Content Director: Suzanne LaBarre | Email
Senior Editor: Paul Adams | Email
Associate Editor: Dan Nosowitz | Email
Assistant Editor: Colin Lecher | Email
Assistant Editor:Rose Pastore | Email

Contributing Writers:
Rebecca Boyle | Email
Kelsey D. Atherton | Email
Francie Diep | Email
Shaunacy Ferro | Email

circ-top-header.gif
circ-cover.gif