Professor Ronald Rael, part of Berkeley's architecture department, has been spearheading the initiative over the past few years, and he says it is now getting closer to commercialization.

The studio project began as a way to look into making architecture in the Bay Area using local materials, Rael explained. But it's taken on life from there.

"I wanted to 3D print, but I found the materials were very expensive. So I wondered if it was possible to print with less expensive materials—and if we could invent our own materials that would be less expensive," Rael said. [Read also: "3D Print Your Own Invisibility Cloak at Home."]