3D printing is proving itself in real-world, large-scale projects -- such as cars, buildings, and an upcoming estate -- and the implications are out of this world (sometimes literally, with space proving a fertile area for 3D printing to take hold). Closer to home, concerns have been present for some time about potential over-population of the Earth itself, and several entities have brainstormed to come up with creative solutions for sustaining life. Tops Nicol is the research founder of the Alphaseed project, and he reached out to 3DPrint.com with some insight on this unique take on sustainability. The Alphaseed project seeks to use the ocean as habitable space, complete with 3D printed structures -- like the Alphaseed geodesic dome. Ideas are still emerging, and it could be decades before any come to fruition, but materials like Vectran liquid crystal polymer and graphene might add real potential to the plan. Nicol also told us about using sci-fi literature to get the Alphaseed idea across. Find out more about this conceptual brave new world in the full article: http://3dprint.com/47778/alphaseed-3d-printed-cities/


Below is a look at the Alphaseed concept: