April 21 2015

GLASS
Mediated Matter Group, MIT Media Lab
Glass Lab, MIT

Ancient yet modern, enclosing yet invisible, glass was first created in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt 4,500 years ago. Precise recipes for its production - the chemistry and techniques - often remain guarded secrets. Glass can be molded, formed, blown, plated or sintered; its formal qualities are closely tied to techniques used for its formation. This show unveils an additive manufacturing process that is the first of its kind, and is designed to print optically transparent glass. The platform builds on existing manufacturing traditions and introduces new dimensions of novelty across scales. The project synthesizes modern technologies with age-old established glass tools and technologies producing novel structures with numerous potential applications in product, and architectural design. This work was created as a cross-disciplinary collaboration between the Mediated Matter group at the MIT Media Lab and the MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering’s Glass Laboratory. Researchers include John Klein, Markus Kayser, Chikara Inamura, Giorgia Franchin, Michael Stern, Shreya Dave, Peter Houk and Prof. Neri Oxman. We wish to acknowledge CBA, ACT, MIT MechE, The Glass Art Society, Corning Incorporated, Skutt Kilns, Smart Ceramics, Joule Unlimited and University of Padova, DII for their support.