FF – Distance Edition: Rael San Fratello
Gather round the hearth in Rael San Fratello's Casa Covida, a house made from 3D-printed mud.
November 11, 2020
Recorded on November 5, 2020.
The League’s monthly First Friday events are informal social gatherings that allow members to visit the offices of leading design practices and see work in progress.
This fall and winter, the First Friday series is shifting to a new online format and day of the week: Thursday. Expanding our reach beyond New York City, each event explores design practices that operate in multiple roles—coupling architecture with initiatives including design advocacy, fabrication research, and community engagement.
On November 5, the League paid a visit to rural Colorado to learn about Rael San Fratello’s Casa Covida, a 3D-printed house made of mud taken from the site. Partners Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello gave a tour of the project and discussed its relation to their wider body of work, including their long exploration of earthen architecture. They also guided viewers through their workshop, explaining how experiments with small-scale 3D-printed pottery contributed to the house’s development.
The presentation is followed by a Q+A moderated by Christina De León, associate curator of Latino Design at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
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