A September case study from Formlabs follows an ambitious model-making project: a roughly 48-square-meter recreation of Rome made from terracotta tiles, with 3D printing helping produce the forms used in the casting process.
A printed step on the way to a ceramic city
Architect Marco Galofaro's team worked with 3DiTALY and three Form 4L printers using Fast Model Resin. Formlabs reports 953 tile molds produced during a 26-day project. The finished installation belonged to MAXXI's ROMA NEL MONDO exhibition, which ran from December 17, 2025, through April 26, 2026.
The finished city was terracotta; the resin prints supported its production. The newly published case study looks back at that work. Read Formlabs' full account and process photos for the construction details.
An idea to bring to your next terrain project
Our takeaway for hobby model-makers is to plan how separate pieces will become one scene. Before building a village or dungeon display, sketch its overall footprint, choose a few landmarks, and decide where the sections meet.
Try a small layout with three paper rectangles first. Mark one as the focal area, then arrange the other two to lead the eye toward it. That quick exercise can help you decide which details deserve the most attention before you spend time making individual pieces.
Published October 3, 2026. Featured image: courtesy of the MIC, as credited in the Formlabs case study.