Maysa Musbah

While studying architecture at the University of Khartoum in Khartoum, Sudan, I developed a keen interest in African vernacular architecture. I was fascinated by the different materials and techniques, especially mud building. What fascinated me about mud, beyond its abundance and suitability for the hot climate, is how its fragility and temporariness fit perfectly with the constantly changing lifestyle of Africans. In my PhD research, which I completed in early 2020 at the University of Tokyo, in Tokyo, Japan, I developed a soil mixture and used it in a 3D printing process to build temporary architectural forms. My goal was to expand the limits of one of the oldest building materials known to man by utilizing the innovativeness of 3D printing and the world of digital fabrication.