Posts tagged: Construction 3D PrintingSustainability

Buena Vista, Colorado is a mountain town known for its incredible views (obviously) as well as its ideal location for hiking. The scenic community is, however, also increasingly at risk of wildfires. In fact, nearly half of Colorado’s population reportedly lives in regions that could be impacted by wildfires, a growing risk due to global warming. Ideally, this risk would be addressed through grand-scale policy changes, but in the absence of that, smaller scale initiatives are critical. One such initiative is being led by construction tech company VeroTouch, which worked with Buena Vista contracting firm South Main to 3D print a pair of fire-resistant homes.

Azure Printed Homes, a sustainable 3D printed small dwellings company, has been named the winner of this year’s SWSX Urban Experience Award.

Last September, we told you that the Czech construction company ICE was building the world’s first 3D printed cable car station. As ambitious and possibly far-fetched as that may have seemed, that project, the highest 3D-printed building, is now complete. The cable car station, designed by ATELIER3M, combines innovative design with sustainability, this project integrates prefabrication and on-site production to create a dynamic, functional structure that harmonizes with its natural surroundings.

The idea that some (or all) of the houses that burnt down in the dramatic LA fires will be rebuilt in concrete, possibly using 3D printing technology, may be strengthened by the revelation that Pikus is 3D printing all the concrete seating for a stadium, working with the specialists at HOK. While the stadium benches are being printed away from the final location, this large-scale concrete 3D printing level shows that the technology is now mature enough to undertake massive projects.

A 3D printed social housing development in Dubbo, Australia has been making significant progress. The project, which was announced this past summer, is spearheaded by the government of New South Wales and brings on local construction 3D printing company Contour3D, Crete-Tech Australia and Ash Group Holdings, an Aboriginal-owned organization specialized in sustainable housing.

Thousands of people experience homelessness every year in Austin, Texas. Fortunately, there are efforts underway to support these people by—as simple as it sounds—building housing for them. As part of this effort, construction 3D printing company ICON is once again teaming up with Mobile Loaves & Fishes, a local nonprofit that that has dedicated itself to supporting the Austin homeless community for nearly three decades, to build 100 more 3D printed homes in the Community First! Village.

Holcim Polska completed its first 3D printed concrete drinking water tank in Barczewko, near Olsztyn, Poland. This project, achieved in collaboration with GLOBTANK, COBOD International, and the general contractor EKO-WOD Kętrzyn for the investor ZWiK Barczewo, highlights Holcim’s emerging role as a leader in innovative additive construction technologies such as the BOD 3D printers.

Azure Printed Homes, a company 3D printing homes using recycled polymers, is expanding its operations by more than 100% – directly responding to the growing need for affordable and sustainable small home and ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) solutions. Launched in 2022, Azure Printed Homes is emerging rapidly as a category leader in the creation and production of high-quality small dwellings. Azure’s small houses and ADUs have been particularly successful due to their ability to use recycled plastic polymer as their primary building material.

Mega retailer Walmart has commissioned what is being recognized as one of the largest free-standing 3D printed commercial building in the United States. The large-scale construction 3D printing project, which spans nearly 8,000 square feet and is nearly 20 feet tall, was carried out in partnership with Colorado-based Alquist 3D, which specializes in robotic concrete 3D printing.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have pioneered a revolutionary robotic additive manufacturing technique – which they called impact printing – aimed at transforming the construction industry by using circular, low-carbon materials. This new method represents a significant leap forward in sustainable construction.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), whose mandate is to tackle poverty and reduce inequalities around the globe through sustainable development, is leveraging 3D printing in its next initiative. Specifically, the UNDP has acquired a construction 3D printer from Italian company WASP, which it will deploy in Colombia to construct buildings using locally sourced materials.

Construction 3D printing has long been heralded as a solution for building affordable housing and as the technology has advanced over the years, we are now starting to see that become a reality. The latest news on this front is coming out of Australia, where the government of New South Wales has announced its intention to use 3D printing to address a shortage in housing and build the first 3D printed social housing property in the Australian state.

Black Buffalo 3D, a construction 3D printing company based out of New Jersey, is gearing up to 3D print a minimalist home design in Fort Worth, Texas on May 29 and 30th. Notably, the company is turning the build into a live event, inviting people from the additive and construction industries to witness its NEXCON 3D printing solution construct a code-compliant home.

In an initial proof of concept, voxeljet and ParaStruct GmbH have successfully tested the 3D printing of recyclable residual materials from the construction industry. For this purpose, voxeljet’s binder jetting 3D printing technology was used. The material tested was the Ecomould material set from Parastruct GmbH. This material set consists of biogenic production residues from the construction industry and a mineral binder, which was developed by the Austrian start-up.

Mighty Buildings, a 3D printing construction technology company known for its prefabricated, environmentally friendly, and climate-resilient homes, along with partners led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), has been awarded a $5 million GFO-22-305 grant from the California Energy Commission. The funding supports the partners’ work to develop, test, and demonstrate zero-carbon or near-zero-carbon, cost-effective, modular, and manufactured homes in Bay Point, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area, that can be readily deployed, particularly in under-resourced communities.

RENCA, a pioneer in sustainable geopolymer materials for construction 3D printing, has set a significant milestone in the construction industry by using their zero-cement geopolymer 3D printing mortar in the construction of the world’s first 3D printed geopolymer house. The sustainability of construction materials and methods is a major global concern, given the significant pollution contributed by these elements. With emerging technologies such as 3D printing, new possibilities for reducing environmental impact are arising. This technology not only offers unparalleled freedom in design but also lessens the waste produced and the materials required.

14Trees, a joint venture between Holcim and British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, launched a new construction-ready 3D printer, the Iroko. The new machine, which externally looks very similar to other existing systems, looks to improve construction speed, cost, and flexibility – scaling up digital automation to build resilient and affordable housing, education infrastructure and commercial real estate worldwide.

The latest large format additive manufactring project from Caracol AM, a highly dynamic company in the robotic LFAM segment, is a giant “Y” shaped sculpture placed in front of Yamamay’s HQ in Gallarate, near Milan, in Italy. Yamamay the Italian leader in the production and distribution of underwear, lingerie, sleepwear and beachwear products. The company is very much dedicate to innovative design and implementing more sustainable manufacturing practices: the 3-meter tall sculpture, 3D printed with 170 Kg of 100% recycled polypropylene, embodies both of these elements.

A plan from Texas A&M University researchers to 3D print new resilient buildings using hempcrete has the potential to lower the environmental impact of traditional construction methods and make housing more affordable and available, according to an article posted on the University’s College of Engineering website by Alyson Chapman.

GE Renewable Energy today held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to inaugurate a new research and development facility that will conduct research on how to 3D print the concrete base of towers used in wind turbines. The research will enable GE to 3D print the bottom portion of the wind turbine towers on-site at wind farms, lowering transportation costs and creating additional employment opportunities at the wind farms where the technology will be used.

Bart Kellerhuis the creative director of Zecc Architecten is responsible for the temporary accommodation of the Dutch House of Representatives, more commonly known as ‘Tweede Kamer’. Zecc created a custom version of Aectual technology‘s Weave panels to design a unique circular canopy for the building.

3D printed buildings are popping up in more and more places, like the recent 3 floors apartment building in Germany but so far Africa has been only marginally on the map. 14Trees are about to change that. Established by LafargeHolcim, a world-leading provider of cement and concrete with 70,000 employees, 14Trees is focused on building affordable houses, schools and social infrastructures in Africa.

Thanks to the latest video by Jarett Gross, the untirable explorer of construction 3D printing projects (who has previously contributed to this portal), we found out about a very interesting 3D printed, upcycled cement-wooden structure that may have been initially ignored by those outside the architectural community: the Ashen Cabin by Cornel University and HANNAH Design Office.

After finalizing the 3D printed reefs in the labs of the Civil Engineering School of the University of Cantabria, 3DPARE is deploying them off the Atlantic coasts of England, France and Spain. Portugal is next in line.

In yet another fascinating demonstration of the capabilities of construction 3D printing to rebuild marine habitats, architects and marine scientists at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) have jointly developed a novel method for coral restoration making use of specially designed, 3D printed reef tiles. The elegant looking structures can be used by corals to enhance their chance of survival in the Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park in Hong Kong waters.

Barberio Colella Architetti and Dr. Angelo Figliola proposed a design to ameliorate temperature perception in Abu Dhabi’s urban microclimates using 3D printed sandstone. The design focuses on a city whose average temperature for 2019 was 28.9 degrees Celsius. The United Arab Emirates’ annual average in 2019 was 29.1 degrees Celsius. The city’s warmest month is August; the architects and Dr. Figliola’s design projects temperatures of 26 degrees Celsius in August. This substantial cooling effect helps make targeted areas more comfortable.

AMT-Specavia, a Russian company specializing in construction 3D printing technologies, is partnering with a team in South Korea with the aim of producing artificial coral reefs for the Yellow Sea. The 3D printing effort, which it utilizing high-strength hydrophobic concrete to create the artificial coral, aims to rehabilitate the quickly deteriorating coral reef ecosystem in the Yellow Sea.

Proponents of construction 3D printing say the technology could be disruptive in the industry, offering a more flexible and cost-friendly way to quickly construct housing. These benefits, along with the ability to construct buildings in remote locations (by working with local building materials), have apparently caught the attention of the Conference Board of Canada which will explore construction 3D printing for building homes in Canada’s northern and indigenous communities.

With all the excitement of Formnext, we missed an important date this week: November 19th, otherwise known as World Toilet Day. No, World Toilet Day isn’t akin to World Pancake Day, it is a real event organized by the United Nations as a call to action to overcome the world’s sanitation crisis. To mark the observance day, SPARK Architects, a Singapore, Shanghai and London-based architecture firm introduced its Big Arse Toilet concept, an easily transportable 3D printed toilet.

In the city of Eindhoven the realization of the first of five planned 3D printed concrete houses will start this year. The project, called Project Milestone, is a world’s first, as the houses will all be occupied. The six parties involved showed the design today.

Construction 3D printing is literally taking off and one company – more than many others involved – is taking digital, additive building practices from concept to reality. Winsun’s President and CEO, Ma Yihe, has always maintained that one of the biggest challenges that need to be overcome is lack of industry awareness since the benefits of using 3D printing technologies for construction have been widely established. The company has now set out to start a 3D printed public toilets revolution nationwide as well as a 3D printed bus stop revolution starting in Fengjing Ancient Town, Jinshan, a popular cultural town in China.