Former Lebanese bakery serves up innovation

Let’s head to theBAKERY, a cozy design lab in Beirut’s Mar Mikhael neighborhood that draws its unorthodox name and a few of its other characteristics from the bake shop it once was.

Baked goods are no longer produced here. What is created instead is far more innovative.

This design lab houses RapidManufactory, the Middle East’s first 3D printing and rapid manufacturing shop. It was launched in April 2013 by Guillaume Crédoz, a French multidisciplinary architect.

3D printing is also known as “additive manufacturing”, whereby a solid object is built based on a digital model. 3D printers add successive layers of specific materials such as natural polyamide and brass until an entire object is crafted. The technology dates back to 1984 when Chuck Hull, cofounder of 3D Systems, created the first ever 3D printer. But it wasn’t until 2010 that the technology began to scale.

“There is not really one market [for it], it’s a very versatile tool, so it can be used in many domains,” Crédoz said.

Original article by Christina Fakhry

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Former Lebanese bakery serves up innovation