296: 3d Printing of Surrealist Dreams: Constraints, Failures, and Craftsmanship In 1:1 Digital Fabrication

This paper documents the design and lateral 3D printing of a large-scale concrete sculpture inspired by Roberto Matta’s “Mathematics of the Sensible.” The project explores the fusion of digital modeling, robotic fabrication, and analog decision-making within a meta-responsive workflow. Through an iterative toolpath strategy and custom-designed print bed, the team achieved a continuous extrusion of variable-width mortar beads without support structures. The piece—featuring a seat, a window, and a step—was fabricated in a single 8-hour run and installed in a public plaza. Beyond technical execution, the paper foregrounds the role of failure and craftsmanship in digital construction, highlighting how real-time adjustments, material anomalies, and embodied judgement informed the outcome. Lessons learned are framed as design intelligence and translated into educational insights. The project demonstrates how 3D concrete printing can serve not only as a means of fabrication, but as a pedagogical and poetic tool within contemporary architectural practice.