From mythological imagery to digital construction: architecture undergraduates explore 3D concrete printing

At the Department of Architecture of Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University's Design School, Year 4 undergraduate students designed and constructed OUROBORUS, a geometric structure inspired by the mythological image of the serpent devouring its own tail.

The project translates this symbolic reference into a structure that echoes the abstract form of the Chinese dragon. Through its flowing and transformative morphology,it explores ideas of circularity, continuity, regeneration, and structural logic.

Developed within the fourth-year undergraduate Architectural Technology module (ARC301), the project was completed in November 2025 and showcased how technology-driven pedagogy can expand architectural expression through material, structure, and computation.

Over an intensive 10-week studio, undergraduate students explored how complex architectural narratives can be materialised through structural innovation and 3D concrete printing, moving beyond conventional representation toward full-scale fabrication and construction-led thinking.

The project was led by Dr Iasef Md Rian, Associate Professor in the Department, together with his PhD student Yuhan Li, who jointly guided the pedagogical framework, computational workflow, and fabrication strategy.

“Students engaged deeply with parametric modeling, fractal-curved geometries, and continuous toolpath strategies, translating abstract concepts into buildable architectural systems shaped by digitally fabricated concrete,” says Dr Rian.

The Design School’s well-equipped Design Fab Lab played a crucial role in this learning-by-making process, supporting small-scale fabrication studies, concrete mixture calibration, and initial 3D-concrete printing trials. “These hands-on experiments enabled students to directly confront material behavior, fabrication constraints, and structural performance through experiential learning,” he adds.

To bridge academia and professional practice, the final production of the 3D concrete-printed panels was completed in collaboration with Zhi Can Architectural Technology (Shandong) Co., Ltd., a specialist industrial 3D concrete printing company based in Zaozhuang, Shandong, exposing students to commercial-grade fabrication workflows and quality control standards.

The pedagogical innovation of the OUROBORUS project has recently been accepted as a brief at the 5th RILEM International Conference on Concrete and Digital Fabrication (DC2026), to be held in Nanjing in October 2026.

The project was also exhibited at the Design School’s first Theme-Based Workshop in November 2025, where it attracted strong interest from local authorities. The Gusu Housing and Urban & Rural Development Committee (Suzhou) was impressed by this project and found its strong alignment with their agenda in “new materials, new technology, and demonstrable solutions,” and has expressed interest in considering the project for future initiatives, presenting opportunities for potential funding and wider dissemination.

“OUROBORUS stands as a compelling demonstration of XJTLU Architecture’s excellence in architectural technology education, demonstrating how undergraduate students can operate confidently at the forefront of digital design, material experimentation, and advanced fabrication,” Dr Rian says.

Images and story provided by Dr Iasef Md Rian

Edited by Yi Qian