3D Printed Planter Bricks
April 6, 2013 by Robin Plaskoff Horton
Now you can print and plant a brick.
Planter Bricks are 3D printed concrete masonry units that double as vessels for growing plants and vegetation.
Created by Emerging Objects, a design and research subsidiary of Rael San Fratello Architects specializing in 3D printed objects for the built environment, the bricks are “printed” with a direct digital manufacturing and rapid 3D prototyping technology, a relatively new process that enables the production of pieces that would otherwise be impossible to create by hand or require expensive machinery to produce or reproduce.
The resulting 3D printed bricks vary in size and shape: some are angular, some curvaceous, many have different sized cavities. Assembled together they create a uniquely composed wall of plants.
During construction, the bricks can be assembled in a load bearing cavity wall, installed as a traditional masonry curtain wall on a steel or concrete frame, combined with traditional bricks in new walls, or retrofitted for existing walls.
Indentations in the bricks accept water much like weep holes, while a network of drip irrigation lines built into the cavity of the masonry wall irrigate the plants, the water pumped up from below or gravity fed from a cistern or water collection device on the roof.
Edible plants and fragrant herbs with shallow root systems such as rosemary can be harvested through openings in the wall.
As the manufacturing process requires no dies or molds, products can be mass-customized rather than mass-produced, taking advantage of the flexibility and speed computer-aided manufacturing affords and, since 3D printing minimizes waste, it is also an environmentally conscious manufacturing method.
In addition to looking great, Planter Bricks provide a number of benefits. The plants buffer sound, help filter surrounding air, and through evapotranspiration and pollution conversion, they also aid in mediating the building’s microclimate temperature which contributes a bit to countering the urban heat island effect.
Category: Creating, Green Walls, Hydroponics, Vertical Gardens
Tags: 3D printing, green bricks, green building, green building materials, green facades, planted bricks, sustainable bricks, sustainable building materials, sustainable design
Enjoyed this post? Subscribe to Urban Gardens!
share | 
e-mail a friend | comments (24)
INSPIRE-SE: arquitetura | arquiteto geek Pingback said:
[…] 05. Impressão 3D: tijolos com espaço para vegetação! […]
— April 7, 2013 @ 07:31
How does the integrity of the bricks hold up to roots? I would assume this would cause the bricks to fail much earlier than normal. Ivy roots on bricks can become a problem, why not this? Love the way it looks, just wonder about how well it will hold up.
— April 9, 2013 @ 17:13
[3D Printed Planter Bricks] | portas basculantes Pingback said:
[…] More info here: http://www.urbangardensweb.com/2013/04/06/3d-printed-planter-bricks/ […]
— April 11, 2013 @ 09:15
3D printing – sustainable manufacturing? | Socially Responsible Design Pingback said:
[…] References: http://www.urbangardensweb.com/2013/04/06/3d-printed-planter-bricks/ http://www.3d-printing-experts.com/amazing-3d-printed-prosthetics-by-bespoke/ […]
— July 19, 2013 @ 01:45
3D printing – sustainable manufacturing? | The Switch Report Pingback said:
[…] References: http://www.urbangardensweb.com/2013/04/06/3d-printed-planter-bricks/ http://www.3d-printing-experts.com/amazing-3d-printed-prosthetics-by-bespoke/ […]
— August 4, 2013 @ 15:02
3D-Printed Modular Mini Planter System is Drip Irrigation For Other Plants - Urban Gardens Pingback said:
[…] is a 3D-printed modular mini planter system that you can set up in numerous easy-to-assemble configurations a bit […]
— October 29, 2013 @ 16:56
Although I love the idea, the fact that these bricks will make climbing buildings rather easy I worry about the security implications that will arise when a criminal can access higher floors of buildings. I can also see drunks trying and falling off too. Might be worth having these set above a certain height so that this is not likely to happen
— November 21, 2013 @ 19:51
Edible Lamps Grown With Magic Oyster Mushrooms Produce Food Pingback said:
[…] you and I can now 3D print our own products, Danish designer Jonas Edvard grows his own 3D edible […]
— December 11, 2013 @ 20:52
10 Cool 3D Printable Home and Garden Designs Made With 3D Printer Pingback said:
[…] been seriously wowed lately by many of the inventive 3D printed objects I have found, like concrete planter bricks, a mini planter system with drip irrigation, and a modular vertical garden perfect for an urban […]
— December 11, 2013 @ 20:54
3D-Printed Modular Mini Planter System is Drip Irrigation For Other Plants | Økoko Pingback said:
[…] is a 3D-printed modular mini planter system that you can set up in numerous easy-to-assemble configurations a […]
— December 29, 2013 @ 13:18
Green Living Walls Made From Recycled Milk Crates Pingback said:
[…] the installation as a synthesis of form, structure, light, and life. Employing the principles of evapotranspiration, the suspended shade-tolerant plants on the pavilion’s surface moderated temperatures to provide […]
— March 10, 2014 @ 16:05
Green Living Walls Line Pavilion Made From Recycled Milk Crates Pingback said:
[…] the installation as a synthesis of form, structure, light, and life. Employing the principles of evapotranspiration, the suspended shade-tolerant plants on the pavilion’s surface moderated temperatures to provide […]
— March 22, 2014 @ 15:07
3d Printed Planter Bricks | Pingback said:
[…] http://www.urbangardensweb.com/2013/04/06/3d-printed-planter-bricks/ […]
— April 28, 2014 @ 08:54
Living Art Blends Ceramics and Horticulture | PicturesDotNews -the LifeStyle Magazine Pingback said:
[…] Inspired by his own landscape designs and a trip to his native Japan, Brooklyn-based artist and landscape designer Mineo Mizuno integrates ceramics and horticulture in Coexistence, an installation of living art forms. […]
— May 23, 2014 @ 15:24
Travel: Private "Vegitecture" Tour of Jardí Tarradellas, Barcelona's Tallest Residential Vertical Garden - Urban Gardens Pingback said:
[…] design the Jardí Tarradellas (The Tarradellas Garden or the Green Side-Wall), a massive modular vertical garden which transformed a party wall into a living wall, a free-standing green facade covering one side […]
— August 21, 2017 @ 02:52
Artificial 3D Printed Flowers Designed to Feed Urban Insects - Urban Gardens Pingback said:
[…] a different insect species. A 3D printed stem supports the flower, whose center contains a small 3D printed container adjusted to the length of the intended insects’ mouths. The screen-printed polyester flower […]
— December 4, 2018 @ 16:25
3D Printed Cabin Has Living Succulent Wall Made of Planter Tiles - Urban Gardens Pingback said:
[…] same innovative minds that brought us the 3D printed concrete planter bricks I gushed about a while back have now applied their technical and design expertise on a larger scale […]
— August 15, 2019 @ 22:27
3D Printed Cabin Has Living Succulent Wall Made of Planter Tiles – Business World Pingback said:
[…] same innovative minds that brought us the 3D printed concrete planter bricks I gushed about a while back have now applied their technical and design expertise on a larger scale […]
— August 16, 2019 @ 02:51
Let's Ring In a New Green Decade - Urban Gardens Pingback said:
[…] 7. 3D Printed Planter Bricks […]
— January 1, 2020 @ 22:27
3D Printed Cabin Has Living Succulent Wall Made of Planter Tiles – Insider Gardening Pingback said:
[…] same innovative minds that brought us the 3D printed concrete planter bricks I gushed about a while back have now applied their technical and design expertise on a larger scale […]
— April 24, 2020 @ 09:32
3D Printed Cabin Has Living Succulent Wall Made of Planter Tiles - Insider Gardening Pingback said:
[…] same innovative minds that brought us the 3D printed concrete planter bricks I gushed about a while back have now applied their technical and design expertise on a larger scale […]
— May 11, 2020 @ 05:29
Let’s Ring In a New Green Decade - Insider Gardening Pingback said:
[…] 7. 3D Printed Planter Bricks […]
— June 22, 2020 @ 15:17
Let's Ring In a New Green Decade - Hood GardensHood Gardens Pingback said:
[…] 7. 3D Printed Planter Bricks […]
— July 11, 2020 @ 16:44
3D Printed Cabin Has Living Succulent Wall Made of Planter Tiles - Bintbiz Pingback said:
[…] same innovative minds that brought us the 3D printed concrete planter bricks I gushed about a while back have now applied their technical and design expertise on a larger scale […]
— July 21, 2021 @ 14:16