How Nagami Turns Plastic Waste into High-Tech 3D Printed Architecture!

10 Jan 2025 · 42 min
Conscious Design Podcast™

10 Jan 2025 · 42 min

0:00

In this episode of the Conscious Design Podcast, host Ian Peterman interviews Manuel Garcia, co‑founder and CEO of Nagami, to explore how the company transforms recycled plastic waste into large‑scale, robot‑driven 3D‑printed architecture and furniture. Garcia recounts Nagami’s origin as an academic research project at the Bartlett School of Architecture, where early experiments with small 3D‑printed chairs (the Boxer Chair) evolved into a full‑scale startup. The team built their own extrusion system from a wood drill bit, iterating through seven generations of hardware to create a 7‑axis robotic arm capable of printing up to 3.5 m tall objects in a single run. They deliberately work with 100 % recycled plastics, blending PETG with cork, coffee grounds, algae, pine, and other waste streams, adjusting material mixes based on structural requirements. Nagami now operates 22 robots across a manufacturing facility in Ávila and a showroom in Madrid, producing custom chairs, interior pieces, facades, and temporary brand installations for luxury clients such as Dior, Jimmy Choo, and W Hotels. Their business model includes a take‑back program: used items are shredded, re‑extruded, and printed again, achieving true circularity. Looking ahead, Nagami aims to scale to architectural applications, developing a 9‑meter‑diameter pavilion fully printed from recycled plastic, with the broader mission of diverting the planet’s massive plastic waste into the built environment. The conversation highlights the challenges of material quality, design for additive manufacturing, and the paradigm shift from mass‑production molds to on‑demand, sustainable 3D printing.

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