Dates & times
All times are local to the venue · America/Los Angeles
- From 6:30 PM
Mud Frontier at YBCA: 3D-Printed Earth, Adobe and a Talkback
Mud Frontier follows architects bringing 3D printing into a building tradition shaped by earth and adobe. Its setting is the San Luis Valley in Colorado, where Ronald Rael returns to his ancestral homeland with Virginia San Fratello to explore how contemporary fabrication might work alongside established methods and Indigenous traditions.
A fabrication experiment rooted in place
The 63-minute documentary, made by Cooper Hewitt in 2022 and filmed over two years, follows Rael and San Fratello as they experiment with 3D-printed earthen architecture. The film’s focus is not simply a new machine or material: YBCA describes the project in relation to adobe, Indigenous traditions and the possibility of more sustainable construction.
The listing does not specify which Indigenous traditions or building methods appear in the film, but it makes clear that the architects’ experiments are set against a longer history of building with earth. That relationship gives the screening its central subject: how a recent fabrication technology might meet forms of material knowledge that precede it.
Further reading: Mud Frontier: Film Screening & Talkback with Rael San Fratello - YBCA ↗
From earthen construction to border projects
Oakland-based studio Rael San Fratello was founded by Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello in 2002. Its work has crossed architecture, design and construction, including experiments that combine 3D printing with traditional earthen materials. Rael’s practice also draws on his experience as a traditional builder and multi-generational rancher; San Fratello works across material knowledge and industrial 3D printing and chairs the Department of Design at San José State University.
The studio’s projects place questions about materials beside questions about borders and social life. Its 2019 Teeter-Totter Wall consisted of bright pink seesaws installed along the U.S.-Mexico border wall, creating a way for people on either side to interact. It is a different kind of project from the earthen-building research in Mud Frontier, but it helps explain the range of concerns informing the studio’s work.
Further reading: Rael San Fratello: Prototypes and Provocations - YBCA ↗ · Ronald Rael - YBCA ↗ · Virginia San Fratello - YBCA ↗
A discussion led by an architectural historian
After the film, Rael and San Fratello join the talkback. Their professional backgrounds offer distinct points of entry into the subject: Rael is an architect and traditional builder whose work connects architecture, technology and land-based practices, while San Fratello’s work pairs long-standing material knowledge with industrial 3D printing.
Andrew Shanken moderates. A professor of architectural history and American Studies at UC Berkeley, he writes about memory and the built environment. That perspective can bring questions of meaning and history into a conversation about construction methods, not just their technical possibilities.
Further reading: Mud Frontier: Film Screening & Talkback with Rael San Fratello - YBCA ↗ · Ronald Rael - YBCA ↗ · Virginia San Fratello - YBCA ↗ · Andrew Shanken - YBCA ↗
A separate exhibition broadens the material story
YBCA is also listing Rael San Fratello: Prototypes and Provocations at Gallery 2 from September 25, 2026, through January 31, 2027. It is a separate exhibition, not part of the film program. Among its works is Sanctuary, a cylindrical structure printed onsite from soil, straw and water.
The exhibition also includes 3D-printed objects made with materials such as salt, Chardonnay grape skins, coffee grounds, clay, sawdust and ash collected after California wildfires. Those examples show how widely the studio’s material experiments extend beyond earth. YBCA lists free gallery admission on Wednesdays; the film event’s registration is separate, and its listing does not say whether it includes exhibition entry.
Further reading: Rael San Fratello: Prototypes and Provocations - YBCA ↗ · Visit - YBCA ↗
A documentary followed by a talkback
The program pairs Cooper Hewitt’s 63-minute film with a moderated conversation featuring its two central architects. No end time is listed.
Wednesday, December 9, 2026 · Screening Room, YBCA
- Screening of Mud Frontier: Architecture at the Borderlands (Cooper Hewitt, 2022; 63 min).
- Talkback with Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello, moderated by Andrew Shanken.
Plan your visit
Wednesday, December 9, 2026, at 6:30 p.m.
The listing gives the screening start time but does not provide an end time.
Mud Frontier: Film Screening & Talkback with Rael San Fratello - YBCA ↗
Free with registration
Use YBCA’s event registration listing to reserve. Current availability and any booking limits or additional conditions are not established in the event information.
Mud Frontier: Film Screening & Talkback with Rael San Fratello - YBCA ↗
Screening Room, YBCA
The Screening Room is in YBCA’s Gallery & Forum Building at 701 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103. The main entrance to that building is at 701 Mission Street.
Mud Frontier: Film Screening & Talkback with Rael San Fratello - YBCA ↗ · Visit - YBCA ↗ · Our Campus - YBCA ↗
General YBCA access information
YBCA says its public entrances are accessible, and elevators serve both buildings. At the Gallery & Forum Building, the 701 Mission Street and Garden Esplanade entrances have electric push-button doors. Wheelchairs are available first-come, first-served.
Sign-language interpretation for YBCA programs is available with three weeks’ notice. One caregiver accompanying a visitor with accessibility needs is admitted free. Assistive listening devices are available for amplified performances; the event listing does not say whether they apply to this screening. YBCA describes accessible seating in its Forum and Theater, but does not specify seating features for the Screening Room.
Service animals meeting the ADA definition are welcome if kept on leash, under the handler’s control at all times, and not posing a threat or creating a disturbance. Pets, emotional-support animals and therapy animals are not permitted. Breastfeeding and bottle-feeding are allowed in YBCA’s public spaces.
Getting to YBCA
Use the Gallery & Forum Building entrance
The Screening Room is in YBCA’s Gallery & Forum Building at 701 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103. YBCA identifies 701 Mission Street as the main entrance for its galleries and Forum event space; the theater entrance at 700 Howard Street is for a different building.
Transit, driving, biking and walking
YBCA lists public transit, car, bicycle and walking as ways to reach campus, but the captured directions do not give route numbers, parking details or other mode-specific instructions. The map links can calculate directions from your starting point.
Before you make a plan
How long is the film, and when does the event end?
The film runs 63 minutes. The screening is listed for 6:30 p.m., followed by a talkback, but YBCA does not give an end time.
Mud Frontier: Film Screening & Talkback with Rael San Fratello - YBCA ↗
Who takes part in the talkback?
Architects Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello join the conversation, moderated by UC Berkeley professor Andrew Shanken.
Mud Frontier: Film Screening & Talkback with Rael San Fratello - YBCA ↗ · Andrew Shanken - YBCA ↗
Is admission free?
Yes. YBCA lists the event as free with registration.
Mud Frontier: Film Screening & Talkback with Rael San Fratello - YBCA ↗
Can I also see the Rael San Fratello exhibition?
The Gallery 2 exhibition is separately listed through January 31, 2027. YBCA lists free gallery admission on Wednesdays and Wednesday hours of 11 a.m.–8 p.m.; the film listing does not say that event registration includes exhibition entry.
Rael San Fratello: Prototypes and Provocations - YBCA ↗ · Visit - YBCA ↗
Location & Google Maps
Screening Room, YBCA
701 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
Map search by venue and address. Check the organiser’s entrance details before travelling.