Venice has another landmark to sit alongside its gothic treasures — a footbridge made by a robotic 3D printer using a new type of “concrete ink”.
The structure, called Striatus, is formed of several large pieces. Each was created by a robot, which squeezed a specially formulated concrete through a nozzle, as if piping icing on to a cake. Layer by layer, this concrete “ink” forms a three-dimensional shape.
The bridge, which measures about 16 metres across, is a collaboration between the London-based design firm Zaha Hadid Architects and a group of researchers from ETH Zürich, the Swiss university. They hope that the technique will replace conventional building techniques.
Unlike many concrete structures, there is no metal reinforcement. The inventors say that the method could cut the environmental impact of construction by requiring less concrete and little steel.
Professor Philippe Block, of ETH Zürich, said: “This precise method of 3D concrete printing allows us to combine the principles of traditional vaulted construction with digital concrete fabrication to use material only where it is structurally necessary without producing waste.”
Advertisement
The blocks have no mortar to fix them together. They can be dismantled, and the bridge reassembled again at a different location. “Strength is created through geometry,” Block added.
If the bridge is no longer needed, the materials can easily be separated and recycled, the researchers say.
Shajay Bhooshan, from Zaha Hadid Architects, said that the project had blended historical architectural techniques and modern computer-assisted design. “Striatus stands on the shoulders of giants,” he said. “It revives ancestral techniques of the past, taking the structural logic of the 1600s into the future with digital computation, engineering and robotic manufacturing technologies.”
The concrete ink was developed by Holcim, a large building materials company. Jan Jenisch, its chief executive, said: “It demonstrates the infinite possibilities of 3D concrete printing to enable more sustainable, faster and effective building structures, without compromise on aesthetics and functionality.”
The bridge is being displayed until November as part of the Venice Biennale of Architecture.
