Yingchuang (also named Winsun; I’m not sure the differentiation) is a Shanghai-based construction materials company that is showing some impressive advances in R+D with CNC production, including 3D-printed concrete construction.

Yingchuang produces a range of products, including glass reinforced gypsum, special reinforced concrete, synthetic “stone” panels, etc.  But they are notable for their advanced application of large-scale CNC technologies, both for fabricating casting molds and for directly 3D printing concrete shapes.

For example, the image above is a 3D printed concrete wall.  The image sequence below shows the printing process (using a special quick-set “concrete ink”); assembly of the printed wall blocks; setting of rebar and casting concrete in the blocks to create the necessary structural strength (which is very similar to a classic concrete block masonry construction); and the extra step of cladding the rough construction (as desired).

Between their interior gypsum-based products and exterior concrete-based products, Yingchuang includes some most impressive projects on their website, such as the two images I include below.

The opportunities to integrate novel forms of lighting systems into these advanced construction systems are quite profound.  Discrete lighting fixtures are painfully difficult to integrate into such construction systems.  How can light progress to become an integrated “material” that can maximize such CNC-produced construction?