All images via Terrafab/Bengler
If you’ve ever been to Norway, or at least peered down at its majestic fjords from the window of a plane while passing high above, you will agree that it would probably be the best nation to 3D-print. And now you can, thanks to design firm Bengler and the Norwegian government.
The company explains how the project began: “As a going away present the centrist left government in 2013 mandated that the Norwegian Mapping Authority give away a solid chunk of their geospatial data.”
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They did, and they handed it over the Bengler to help roll it out; the project was christened Terrafab. Now, Norweigans (or anyone) can create their own “3D-printed genuine gypsum heirloom mantelpiece display replica” of their favorite spot in the Scandinavian nation, “in two easy steps.”
An interactive Google Satellite-esque map interface allows users to scan the Norwegian geography and select a slice to take a closer look at. If it suits you, print the model out in exquisite detail. Take it for a spin here.
It’s not all geography—the project has allowed for experiments in 3D cartography, too. Here’s a 3D printed map of all the roads in Oslo, for example.
It’s mostly just a fun project, but the renderings, I’d argue, do encourage a unique engagement with the nation’s geography—they tweak our extant digital folded-map perceptions of what countries look like, and offer a genuinely new perspective on the natural environment.
So let’s get some of that geospatial data rolling over here; 3D prints of spots Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Zion, and Mount Rushmore would easily prove popular for classrooms, outdoors buffs, tourists, etc—especially since our own government has seen fit to close most of them down in real life.
