Enrico Dini

D-Shape technology was invented in 2004 by the pisan engineer Enrico Dini. He comes from a family with a long scientific tradition. His ancestor Ulisse was a distinguished mathematician in Europe and rector of the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa. His father Egisto was head of the calculation office of Piaggio and trusted collaborator of the engineer Corradino D’Ascanio, inventor of the helicopter and the Vespa scooter, both of which inspired Enrico’s future professional choices.

Enrico is a marine civil engineer, but he spent the first fifteen years in the field of industrial automation and robotics, particularly in the field of the footwear and automotive industries.

Managing the family company Dini Engineering together with his elder brother Riccardo, he has created dozens of manipulators, transport systems and robotic systems for the most disparate processes (cementing, painting, welding, assembling, cnc machining). He was the first proponent or sub-contractor or consultant in several research and technological innovation programs in the footwear industry.

Starting in the late 90s, following the transfer of the footwear industry to the East and Far East, Enrico moved to other industrial sectors. After a brief experience in the field of production of Hydrogen and AI, Enrico focused on the nascent 3D-printing techniques. He was fascinated by the powder-bed 3D printer invented at MIT in Boston by Sachs and Al, and suddenly had the vision that this implementation process applied at the architectural scale could revolutionize the construction industry. Enrico had a vision of beauty and decided to dedicate the rest of his life to the project he called D-Shape.

In 2005 filed his first patent, and the following year he founded Monolite UK Ltd in London, the first company in the world created to produce products and services for 3D printing in architecture.

In 2007 he created the first 6 meters-side industrial printer, and printed the Radiolaria Pavillon designed by arch. Andrea Morgante: the first 3D printed structure ever made.

In the following years, Enrico demonstrated the immense potential of 3D printing through some iconic creations such as 3D-printed coral reefs, portions of lunar bases, pedestrian bridges, facades, elements of street furniture and interiors.

For this effort, in 2014 at the 3rd annual 3D Printshow in London he received the ‘Industry Icon’ award, and in 2018 he was awarded in Zurich by the RILEM of the ‘Pioneering Achievement Award’.

Enrico is presently involved in numerous research projects ranging from the field of maritime and coastal restoration to the colonization of the Moon and Mars. He collaborates with the most prestigious architectural firms, agencies and research institutes, such as Foster+Partners and Zaha Hadid Architects in London, the European Space Agency in the Netherlands, Boskalis in the Netherlands and Scuola Superiore S. Anna in Pisa.