Digital craftsmanship for education and diffusion of scientific culture: the model of herringbone masonry in a circular dome

In this paper the experience is reported of the use of 3D printing for the dissemination of a cultural content. When Filippo Brunelleschi vaulted the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence without using any scaffolding, demonstrated the ability to control the constructive process in its structural essence. The comprehension of the static principles that stand at the base of the equilibrium of a circular dome are necessary to understand the work of the architect and the reason of the herringbone brickwork adopted. These principles can be easily explained, also to people who do not have any technical education, by means of a three dimensional model. A wood model realized by hand in the ’80 was reproduced in a smaller scale with 3D printing. The geometry of the model was easily reproduced with a parametric modelling software and was then elaborated to produce the geometric models for sintering polyamide voussoirs. A comparison is attempted between the cost of the two physical models in term of work time and print time, and a balance is made to highlight the value added to the production of such didactical models by the 3D printing process.