Ramus, a Latin term meaning “branch”, advances design and fabrication of ecological benign wood biomass composites with precise material distribution, programmed hierarchical behavior, efficient material use, minimum waste, and non-toxic processing during synthesis and at end-of-life.
Harnessing DumoLab’s biogenic and biodegradable blend development and ambient conditions additive manufacturing platform, a lightweight modular tent structure is made of cellulosic biomass fibers and seafood waste hydrogel binders developed to stand in a global active-bent configuration, and display multiple local mechanical behaviors of robust stemming structures or flexible latticed inserts within panels. Designed to accommodate a catalogue of bending conditions, panels take tree-branch like loads and bypass the use of petrochemical-infused wood materials to achieve strength and flexibility within the same material system. Inspired by both ancient vaulting and growth processes in leaf venations, agent-based iterative algorithms generate tool paths for 6-axis robotic printing of load-and growth-aware interwoven patterns. Then panels are robotically manufactured at room temperature, in aqueous conditions, and rely on the dynamics of evaporation for curing. The Ramus Tent assembles a 3-leg structure with capacity to mediate light, ease transportation and assembly, and decay nourishing molecules into forest soils to grow new ecologies.
Team: Bowen Qin (PhD Arch), Alexia Luo (MArch), Behzad Modanloo (PhD Arch), Cocona Liu (MSD-AAD), Ilyas Mousannif (MSD-EBD), and Dr Laia Mogas-Soldevila.
Venue: Commissioned by Meantime, on display during Spring and Summer 2026, 3616 Lancaster Ave, 19104 Philadelphia PA, USA.
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