Coral Reef | Mrjan مرجان¶
"What if the thing we built to save the reef looked like the reef itself?"
The Problem Statement¶
Aqaba sits at the northern tip of the Red Sea . a city where the desert meets the water in an improbable burst of life. For centuries, the coral reefs here were the exception to every rule and according to Unesco it is one of the best corals worldwide.
While reefs around the world collapsed under warming oceans, Aqaba's corals held on uniquely heat resistant, stubbornly alive, quietly extraordinary.
Then, in 2024, the bleaching began. Even here. Even this reef.
That moment that quiet ecological crisis "higher Temperature + Bleaching " unfolded beneath the surface — >> is where Murjan begins.
where is this project locate? It is in middle east , Jordan and exactly for Aqaba Gulf.¶
presentation¶
Clay — the most ancient building material, reborn¶
The answer wasn't concrete. It wasn't any toxic rigid material or even a steel But. It was clay !! the same material humans have shaped with their hands for ten thousand years. Locally sourced, biodegradable, Low-carbon. A material that doesn't fight the sea but dissolves gently into it over long time, becoming part of it.
Using a WASP 2040 clay 3D printer, this project start with a question: can i design a reef structure that doesn't just sit on the seafloor, but speaks the same language as the organisms it's trying to save? Not a foreign object dropped into an ecosystem — but an invitation, And the answer is a yes ! with forusing on a coral morphology + Biomimicry .
Corals Biomimicry to focus on
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Acropora (The most coral type observed in aqaba gulf: Quick grown - sensitive to enviroment changes!)
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Pocillopora
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Brain Coral
Moodboard¶
References¶
Moodboard — 3D Printed Clay & Ceramic Biomimetic Structures¶
[1] Y. K. Abdallah and A. T. Estévez, "3D-Printed Biodigital Clay BricksY. K. Abdallah and A. T. Estévez, "3D-Printed Biodigital Clay Bricks,"Biomimetics, vol. 6, no. 4, p. 59, Oct. 2021, doi: 10.3390/biomimetics6040059.
[3] V. Yu, "Archireef: 3D-Printed Terracotta Reef Tiles," Archireef, Hong Kong. [Online]. Available: https://archireef.co. [Accessed: Apr. 21, 2026].
[4] U. Pfreundt, "rrreefs: Modular 3D-Printed Clay Reef Structures," rrreefs. [Online]. Available: https://www.rrreefs.com. [Accessed: Apr. 21, 2026].
[5] U. Pfreundt, "Pujada Bay, PH," rrreefs, Feb. 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.rrreefs.com/projects/pujada-bay-ph. [Accessed: Apr. 21, 2026].
[6] E. Tarazi and O. Arbel, "Coral Reef Restoration Using 3D-Printed Clay and Participatory Design," Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Apr. 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.technion.ac.il/en/blog/article/coral-reef-restoration-using-3d-printed-clay-and-participatory-design. [Accessed: Apr. 21, 2026].
[7] R. Yanovski, A. Abelson, and E. Tarazi, "Design and Application of a Novel 3D Printing Method for Bio-Inspired Artificial Reefs," Ecological Engineering, vol. 188, Mar. 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2023.106892.
[8] Emerging Objects, "Coral Reef Seeding Units," Emerging Objects. [Online]. Available: https://emergingobjects.com/project/coral-reef-seeding-units. [Accessed: Apr. 21, 2026].
[9] O. van Herpt, "3D Printing Ceramics," Olivier van Herpt Studio. [Online]. Available: https://oliviervanherpt.com/3d-printing-ceramics. [Accessed: Apr. 21, 2026].
[10] E. Souza, "Rethinking Artificial Reef Structures through 3D Clay Printing," ArchDaily, Nov. 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.archdaily.com/947495/rethinking-artificial-reef-structures-through-3d-clay-printing. [Accessed: Apr. 21, 2026].