Printerior, a US based developer of large scale additive manufacturing technologies and materials, has launched Circdal, a new company focused on applying 3D printing to architectural systems for use in the built environment. The move positions large format additive manufacturing for use beyond its typical role in prototyping and limited production within aerospace, automotive, and industrial manufacturing.
Adoption of large format 3D printing in architecture has remained limited in the United States compared with industrial sectors, despite advances in hardware, materials, and digital fabrication workflows. Circdal is built on Printerior’s existing additive manufacturing platforms and applies robotic printing, digital fabrication, and material development to produce architectural components intended for use in interior and architectural environments rather than demonstration or testing.
“Additive manufacturing has largely stopped at prototypes or niche applications for years,” said Trent Esser, co founder and CEO of Printerior and Circdal. “But Circdal moves the needle. It shows 3D printing can operate at a high end, mass scale, producing finished systems that meet the functional, aesthetic, and sustainability demands of real spaces.”
The architectural systems business launches with two product categories: panels and screens. These systems are designed as modular components for interior and architectural environments. Circdal uses a fully digital, mold free manufacturing process that allows geometry, texture, pattern, color, and scale to be adjusted without changes to physical tooling.
Architectural features such as outlets, shelving, lighting elements, curvature, and complex geometries can be integrated into printed components during fabrication. This approach removes the need for post production modification and allows design changes to be implemented through file revisions rather than retooling. Circdal reports that systems are designed, engineered, and 3D printed on demand in St. Louis, Missouri, enabling production without excess inventory.
Material sourcing and reuse are central to Circdal’s manufacturing model. Architectural systems are produced using at least 97% recycled materials, including recycled PETG plastics sourced from the food packaging industry and recycled wood fibers. In addition to standardized recycled feedstocks, the company sources post industrial plastic waste streams from corporate partners and converts them into architectural components.
Circdal also offers what it calls a Circular Design Service, through which systems can be returned after use, recycled, and reprinted into new applications. This closed loop process positions additive manufacturing as a method for extending material use across multiple product life cycles rather than discarding printed components after a single application. “Additive manufacturing isn’t just about how things are made, it’s about rethinking what materials do over time,” Esser said. “Circdal shows how circularity and large scale 3D printing exist together.”
Architectural 3D printing tests modularity, material performance, and deployment limits
Recent architectural applications of 3D printing have focused on modular components rather than full structural construction. At the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, the Duality of Skin and Core installation presented a 3D printed concrete structure composed of 13 discrete modules developed by researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology in collaboration with LANXESS and Dutch 3D printing firm Vertico. The installation used nine cylindrical drums and four wing-shaped elements, each weighing under 30 kilograms, allowing manual handling, transport, assembly, and disassembly. In parallel testing, LANXESS worked with the Institute of Construction Materials at the Technical University of Dresden to evaluate Bayferrox and Colortherm iron oxide pigments under 3D printing conditions, reporting consistent coloration without measurable changes to the concrete’s mechanical or physical properties.
Other projects have examined deployable architectural systems produced through prefabricated 3D printing. In Inner Mongolia’s Tengger Desert, the Desert Ark shelter developed by designRESERVE consisted of nine prefabricated 3D printed modules arranged around a 150-square-meter circular foundation made from crushed stone, concrete canvas, and reinforced plastic pallets. Modules were 3D printed in Wuxi, China using sand-based materials, transported by truck, and assembled on-site in two days. Insulated walls enabled operation in temperatures ranging from –30°C to 45°C, while integrated solar panels, water systems, and a retractable canopy supported off-grid use. The structure was placed directly on sand and designed to be relocated if required.
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Featured image shows 3D printed architectural panels for interior environments. Image via Circdal.
