In 2013, a significant milestone in digital fabrication was achieved. Architects Michael Hansmeyer and Benjamin Dillenburger created “Digital Grotesque I,” the world’s first fully enclosed, human-scale room constructed entirely using 3D-printed sandstone. We’ve revisited the article published then to tell you the story again.

Image credits: Hansmeye and Dillenburger.

In 2013, 3D printing was an up-and-coming technology, and plenty of people were keen to explore its potential. Architects were also exploring the potential of building large-scale structures (like entire buildings) using 3D printing. The idea was that you could use a variety of materials and create sturdy, cost-effective structures. Practicality was the goal.

But architects Michael Hansmeyer and Benjamin Dillenburger had something completely different in mind. They unleashed a series of algorithms and gave birth to “Digital Grotesque I.” It was the world’s first fully 3D-printed, immersive, enclosed room. And it was absolutely wild.

Image credits: Hansmeye and Dillenburger.

The 16-square-meter structure was not designed by hand. It was generated by a computer algorithm, demonstrating a new synthesis of computational design and large-scale additive manufacturing. Displayed at the FRAC Centre-Val de Loire in France, the 3.2-meter-high room presented a form of architecture defined by computational logic rather than traditional construction constraints.

Stepping inside was less like entering a room and more like crawling into a block of coral designed by a religious mathematician. Displayed at the FRAC Centre-Val de Loire in France, the structure was a grotto of impossible complexity. Every surface, from floor to ceiling, erupted in a riot of detail. It was a dense, fractal forest of sandstone, with millions of facets, nooks, and crannies folding in on themselves.

The two architects didn’t want to show the world that you could build practically. They wanted to show that you could build creatively.

For centuries, architectural ornaments had been expensive. Every carving, scroll, and gargoyle required a master artisan, countless hours, and a mountain of cash. You wanted a complex cathedral dome? You paid for it in time and blood. In modern architecture, needless ornaments have all but disappeared.

But 3D printing could bring it back.

They used a massive binder-jet 3D printer, which worked by spraying a liquid binder onto a bed of sand, layer by microscopic layer. The printer didn’t care if a shape was simple or complex. As Hansmeyer and Dillenburger proved, printing a primitive cube can cost the same as printing an impossibly intricate column.

Suddenly, complexity was free.

“Digital Grotesque” was a landmark. It was a way to show that technology isn’t just about creating rigid, soulless, boring structures. We could have buildings that aren’t just functional boxes but are also rich, detailed, and perceptually overwhelming, without the prohibitive cost. In total, the room has 260 million surfaces.

Image credits: Hansmeye and Dillenburger.

The legacy of the project

In truth, we don’t see too many new baroque-style buildings around us; at least, not yet. But “Digital Grotesque I” was a catalyst. While other researchers were experimenting with printing small components, Hansmeyer and Dillenburger’s project was arguably the first to realize a complete, immersive architectural space through additive manufacturing. Its primary legacy was demonstrating that the technology was viable for creating 1:1, human-scale environments, not just models.

It showed how complex and intricate these objects can be. In the years that followed, 3D-printing techniques became even more complex. 3D-printed buildings are often cheaper and more sustainable to build, and they can use a mixture of bio-based elements as well as cement.

While “Digital Grotesque I” was an art-world object created in a lab, its descendants are now full-scale, code-compliant houses and apartment buildings. The project’s algorithmic-driven complexity has found a new purpose, not just in aesthetics, but in creating structurally optimized, resource-efficient, and rapidly deployable architecture.

Ultimately, maybe 3D printing will bring La Belle Époque as well. 3D printing may end up revolutionizing architecture in more than one way.

This article was originally published in October 1, 2013, and has been edited to include more information.