Un Nido Explores Craft, Materialand Form Through 3D-Printed Concrete

Collaborative installation explores digital fabrication and low-waste concrete manufacturing during Fulton Market Design Days in Chicago

Common Object Studio, a Maryland- and Michigan-based regenerative design practice focused on material, craft and manufacturing, and Mangrove, a Michigan-based Selective Paste Intrusion (SPI) manufacturing company specializing in large-scale 3D-printed concrete, will debut Un Nido during Fulton Market Design Days, June 8-10. The activation is located on W. Fulton St., between N. Sangamon St. and N. Peoria St. The Un Nido collection consists of a lounge chair, coffee table and planter.

Un Nido is a collaboration between Common Object Studio and Mangrove exploring 3D printed concrete as a medium for contemporary craft. Developed through low-waste fabrication and material research, the collection translates weaving logics into latticed forms that balance structure, openness, and tactile surface variation. Mangrove’s proprietary SPI concrete printing technology is an emerging additive manufacturing process that builds concrete structures layer by layer within a surrounding bed of aggregate, allowing complex forms to be produced with a high degree of precision, consistency and material efficiency at architectural scale.

Un Nido is a collaboration between Common Object Studio and Mangrove, developed through shared design philosophies on how emerging technologies can produce objects rooted in craft, material and human touch. The project brings together Common Object’s approach to sustainable design and contemporary craft with Mangrove’s innovation in low-waste 3D-printed concrete, combining material research with advanced fabrication methods.

Inspired by traditional handcrafted objects and weaving practices, this collection reframes the visual and physical weight of concrete, a material typically perceived as cold and heavy. Through latticed geometries, density gives way to openness, allowing structure to feel unexpectedly light. This shift is held within nest-like forms that feel soft, open and inviting.

“The project began by questioning the conventional perception of concrete as a material associated with weight, permanence and uniformity. We were interested in how digital fabrication could instead reveal qualities of softness, openness and tactility,” said Fernando Ramirez, Co-Founder and Designer at Common Object Studio. “We embraced the tension between the control of the print and the variation within each printed layer. The forms emerge through highly controlled fabrication methods, while the surfaces retain subtle rhythms, variations and traces of refinement by hand. In this way, the work explores how technology can produce objects that still feel materially sensitive and connected to human touch.” The collaboration further explores how digital fabrication can support more materially responsive and intentional forms of production.

“Un Nido is an example of how our technology can take ideas from possibility to real-world application,” said Nathan Kerkstra, president at Mangrove. “This collaboration allowed us to demonstrate the scale, precision and material efficiency of our process while expanding the boundaries of what can be achieved through concrete fabrication.”

About Common Object Studio

Common Object Studio is a regenerative design practice exploring the relationship between material, craft, and
manufacturing. Founded by designers Fernando Ramirez and Justin Beitzel, the studio develops furniture, products, and systems that rethink how objects are sourced, manufactured, and experienced. Working across sustainable materials, contemporary craft, and emerging production technologies, Common Object collaborates with brands and manufacturers to create more responsible approaches to making that balance material intelligence, environmental impact, and human connection. https://www.commonobjectstudio.com/

About Mangrove

Mangrove is a design-driven concrete additive manufacturing company and the only manufacturer in North America operating Selective Paste Intrusion (SPI) concrete printing technology at production scale. The company partners with architects, designers and developers to create complex, large-scale concrete elements for architectural, landscape and environmental applications. Using its proprietary SPI process, an industrial form of 3D concrete printing, Mangrove eliminates the need for traditional formwork, enabling greater design freedom, precision at scale and material efficiency from concept through production. Its integrated, in-house model brings together designers, engineers and fabrication specialists to deliver premium, custom solutions that would be difficult or impossible to achieve through conventional methods. Built on the Kerkstra family’s multi-generational legacy in concrete manufacturing, Mangrove combines decades of technical expertise and operational discipline to advance a new era of design-forward concrete fabrication. https://mangrove3d.com/