RIVA at King's Cross: Sculptural 3D Printing

Public art · Biobased robotic 3D printing · King’s Cross, London · 2025

RIVA is a luminous, flowing artwork at the entrance of Two Pancras Square. Designed by Mamou-Mani for King’s Cross, it pairs sculptural metalwork with an interior, robotically 3D-printed element fabricated in collaboration with Fab.Pub.

RIVA sculptural light installation spanning the entrance at Two Pancras Square, King’s Cross — RIVA creates a wave-like threshold at Two Pancras Square. Photography: John Sturrock.

One wave, two material languages

The exterior artwork is formed from aluminium panels folded into a fluid origami-like surface using a lattice-hinge technique. The interior counterpart explores a different fabrication logic: large-scale robotic 3D printing with a material blend incorporating fermented sugar and a non-toxic fire retardant.

Measuring approximately 3 metres long and 1.9 metres high, the interior piece was Mamou-Mani’s largest single 3D print at the time of the project. Its geometry translates the rhythm of the exterior installation into a complementary interior experience.

Interior RIVA biobased 3D-printed relief sculpture illuminated above the seating and planting — The interior, robotically 3D-printed RIVA element in the Two Pancras Square foyer. Photography: John Sturrock.

Close view of flowing geometric lattice of RIVA at King’s Cross — A closer look at the wave geometry and patterned surface. Photography: John Sturrock.

Fab.Pub’s fabrication contribution

Fab.Pub collaborated with Mamou-Mani on the robotic 3D printing of RIVA’s interior element, bringing together parametric design, material experimentation and large-format digital manufacturing. The wider project also used augmented-reality review to coordinate the complex forms with their architectural surroundings.

The result bridges advanced manufacturing and a gentle architectural experience: during the day, the sculpture’s geometry draws the eye into the passage; at night, its diffused illumination animates the entrance.

RIVA wave sculpture illuminated at Two Pancras Square after dark — RIVA after dark. Photography: John Sturrock.

Project credits

Client: Related Argent
Design and lead contractor: Mamou-Mani
Fabricators: Fab.Pub, including Fun Yuen, Giovanni Panico, Antoine Proust and the wider fabrication team
Engineering: Format Engineering
Lighting design: The Lighting Asylum
Site installation: LightMotif and Fab.Pub
Photography: John Sturrock

Read the full Mamou-Mani project or speak to Fab.Pub about sculptural 3D printing.

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