Building unimaginable shapes

http://on.ted.com/Hansmeyer

 I bet Antoni Gaudi wonders where does he get those magnificent toys.

I can't help but think how relevant algorithmic design will become when nanotechnology gets to a stage whereby structures can be 'grown' with raw material rather than 'forged' from material. Nature won't only serve as an inspiration for end-state designs, but certainly methods can and will be borrowed as well. For example, co-opting the transcription machinery of DNA and RNA to manufacture proteins -- at some point, 3D printers will thought to be so -- "old fashioned."