In UCLA's 'Fit for the Future' research studio, Julia Koerner and AUD students navigate the intersection of 3D printing, architecture, and climate change

This post is brought to you by UCLA Architecture and Urban Design, an Archinect Partner School Our infrastructure is aging, and as it does, we face dilemmas around what to do with it. Renovate? Replace? Eliminate? Today, these age-old questions are complicated by the climate crisis: threats like rising, warming seas, and–evidenced vividly this summer–wildfires and extreme heat call for innovation in how we treat our aging buildings and cities. While architects mull these questions, they are also considering their field's contributions to the climate crisis–emissions and carbon footprints, material waste, and environmental displacement. Dilemmas abound, but Julia Koerner sees immense opportunity around 3D printing at the scale of buildings and houses. It’s an area she has been investigating for years as a professor, architect, researcher, and designer. Koerner teaches at UCLA AUD as an Associate Adjunct Professor and directs AUD's Summer Programs; through her personal practice, JK De...