3D Printed Majlis

A Modular 3D Printed Majlis For The Contemporary Emirati Home
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The 3D Printed Majlis proposes a modular majlis, the reception space of the Emirati home, designed for concrete 3D printing and for the way families live today.
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The ‘Majlis’ is found in many Gulf homes. Often built as an annex to the house, it is a space of social gathering used to receive guests, set apart from the family’s private quarters.

With the advent of concrete 3D printing, new modular strategies can be envisioned that aim to speed up construction, free the form of the space and lower its cost and environmental impact.

MEAN* proposes three options for the space, for households to choose from:
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Option 1: Capsule Pod
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This option would be built from concrete parts 3D printed flat on the ground on site, then lifted into place to form the cylindrical volume of the space. Gaps between the concrete ‘rings’ let natural light in from three sides. The rings are the structure, so the interior is designed to be free of columns.
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Option 2: Fluid Space
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This option uses the freedom of form that concrete 3D printing allows. The enclosure is curved and continuous, with a recessed seating area and a roof skylight. The space is 3D printed in two parts: one for the enclosing walls, which serve as a shell structure containing all the programmatic functions needed by the majlis annex, and the other to construct the roof.
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Option 3: Folded Walls
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The third option explores the idea of walls folding into each other to compose the space. Each wall is 3D printed in concrete on site in a trapezoidal shape, which gives the folded exterior. Some walls are printed with a smooth finish and others with undulations that show the printed layers. The walls meet at gaps that are glazed to allow natural light into the space and to provide space for the doors.

Each annex is fitted with a foyer, a washroom, a kitchenette, and living areas. With each option, the possibility of having the annex attached or detached from the house has also been examined. Each option is designed to sit with the local architecture of the UAE.

As a design exercise, the team at MEAN* explored what 3D printing in concrete can offer the typology of the majlis.