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Tissues are complex multi-cellular three-dimensional structures with architectures designed to achieve a desired function. Understanding the role of the local tissue architecture is a critical step towards engineering complex tissues and recapitulating tissue structure in organoids. For tissues where mechanical forces are prevalent, the local architecture will control how mechanical signals are translated through the tissue and to the cells. For example, osteochondral tissues found in articulating joints have a complex structure where stiff subchondral bone and compliant hyaline cartilage anchor together by a thin intermediate calcified cartilage layer. This tissue works synergistically to control cellular level strains and impart a high resistance to failure. Our group utilizes 3D printing to recapitulate key aspects of the mechanical environment and spatially control the local cues sensed by cells. Another example is tendons and ligaments, which have a hierarchical fibrous structure whereby cells reside on collagen fibers that are highly discontinuous. This complex structure leads to a micromechanical environment where cells experience a combination of shear and tensile strains when tendons and ligaments are stretched. Our group has designed fibrous materials that capture aspects of this complex architecture and demonstrated that this local micromechanical environment with controlled shear and tensile strains influence cellular response. Together, our overarching goal is to develop composite materials that provide the mechanical supported needed to function in vivo while simultaneously supporting cells and tissue growth through soft biomimetic hydrogels.