Stampa 3D per l’Africa. Architetture High-Low Tech per la cooperazione | 3D Printing for Africa. High-Low Tech Architecture for Cooperation

In Africa, the progressive abandonment of rural areas, more precipitous in the Sub-Saharan region, occurs at a rate of 65 million people annually; by 2050 some 75% of the population will live in urbanised areas. Conditions of economic difficulty and the high cost of purchasing land and construction have led to the uncontrolled expansion of cities in spontaneous neighbourhoods, characterised by limited hygienic-sanitary conditions. Furthermore, if it is true that the current use of industrialised building products offers a somewhat economic solution, it is important to note that this strategy presents limits relative to the ability to adapt homes to both their inhabitants and context. The recent development of digital tools for architecture suggests alternative possibilities to the logic of prefabrication adopted thus far. Large-scale 3D printing technology looks to be an innovative tool that allows for the personalisation-cost effectiveness of components, which also be produced on site, automation-possibility to remotely control the process, reduced waste of material. Through a comparative analysis of case studies of recent experiments with the application of 3D printing for architecture in Africa, this text investigates if and under what conditions this tool represents a valid alternative, albeit digital, for the in situ construction of a sustainable model of cooperation and development in Africa.