Fabricating Futures
Fabricating Futures is a Design Fiction project that visualizes a world shaped by the evolution of additive manufacturing over the next 50 years. By prototyping speculative artifacts and presenting them as if they exist within their future contexts, the project explores how 3D printing could transform consumer products, environmental reconstruction, bioprinting, and even space travel.
Using worldbuilding methods and inspiration from the forefront of current 3D printing, the artifacts are presented diegetically through mediums such as 3D printed dioramas and digital media. The aim is not only to imagine possible futures, but to provoke discussion about their implications and inspire positive societal change.
Reefabricator - Reef Restoration Drones
The Reefabricator is a design for a swarm of AI-controlled underwater drones that use 3D printing to rebuild coral reefs. Instead of constructing artificial reefs on land and transporting them, these autonomous submersibles print directly onto dead reef structures with calcium carbonate seeded with genetically modified coral spores. This process stimulates faster, climate-resilient coral growth while drastically reducing the labour and cost of reef restoration. Presented as a 3D printed diorama set in 2039, the project visualized a believable, emotionally impactful system of reef repair — showing how additive manufacturing could be harnessed for large-scale environmental recovery.
Ultracell - Custom printed running shoes
UltraCell is a speculative design for a fully 3D printed sneaker, imagined as part of a subscription service where users could customize their shoes and have them printed locally and delivered within 24 hours. Designed to disrupt the global supply chain, UltraCell reduces environmental impact by using less raw material, avoiding overseas shipping, and enabling recycling — worn pairs can be returned to print shops and reprocessed into new ones. The concept combines sustainability with personalization, rethinking how we design, produce, and own everyday fashion items
Constructor Platform - Urban Pop-up 3D large format 3D printer.
The Constructor Platform is a speculative design for a portable, large-scale FDM printer imagined for artists and activists of the 2030s. Compact enough to fold into a briefcase, it can be deployed in urban or remote locations to 3D print human-scale objects in under eight hours. Using ceramic and plastic filaments with UV curing, the printer enables rapid construction of sculptures, furniture, and installations on-site. Visualized through 3D renders, the project explored how accessible, hyper-fast printing could transform activism and art in public spaces
The Mound - Ant Hill inspired 3D printed building
The Mound is a 3D printed community centre, imagined as part of post-bushfire housing in the Northern Territory. Constructed in under a week using 90% local clay and earth, it combines low-cost building with bio-designed climate control inspired by Australia’s magnetic termite mounds. Acting as both a landmark and gathering space, The Mound demonstrates how additive manufacturing can create sustainable, adaptable architecture that responds directly to environmental and community needs
