Australia’s first multi-storey 3D concrete printed home completed in WA Construction 3D Printing

by Architecture

Western Australia has reached a significant national milestone in construction innovation with Contec Australia completing the country’s first multi-storey 3D printed concrete home. This project also marks the first of its kind in Perth. As WA’s only operational 3D concrete printing company, Contec Australia used mobile robotic technology to print the full structural walls of the Tapping home in just 18 hours of active printing time. The entire two-storey build, from the laying of the slab to final completion, was achieved in only five months.

LFAM enables the future of nuclear energy at ORNL Industrial Additive Manufacturing

by Architecture

In a major advancement for nuclear construction, the Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), in partnership with Kairos Power and Barnard Construction, has developed and validated large-scale 3D-printed polymer composite forms. These are used to cast complex concrete structures for Kairos Power’s Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor, now under construction at their Oak Ridge campus.

5f3f8211c86fec246541584eb188f33b.jpg

TU Munich researchers 3D print wall façade for urban wildlife Sustainability

by Architecture

Urban wildlife is quite amazing at adapting to city environments, both through behavioral changes and physiological ones. A study on Chicago rodents, for example, found that meadow voles had evolved to have smaller inner ear bones, possibly to mitigate the effects of noise pollution in urban areas. Despite this, humans must also recognize the challenges that our urban spaces create for animals and help by making accommodations and safe environments. On this front, a team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has created a 3D printed wall façade that functions as a nesting shelter for local wildlife.

‘Duality’ column adds some color to 3D printed concrete Professional Additive Manufacturing

by Architecture

It is telling that this year’s Venice Biennale of Architecture features a plethora of 3D printed works, from Anti-Ruin, a 3D printed gate made from a marble dust material, to Picoplanktonics, a living 3D printed installation at the Canadian Pavilion. The technology is clearly at the cutting-edge of architecture and is an effective tool for architects and designers to reimagine and play with new designs and materials. We recently learned of yet another 3D printed project, which is on display in Venice’s Giardini della Marinaressa: Duality, a sculpture 3D printed from colored concrete.

Bratislava welcomes first-ever 3D printed bus stop Construction 3D Printing

by Architecture

According to The Slovak Spectator, Bratislava has welcomed the city’s first-ever 3D printed bus stop – located on Harmincova Street in the Dúbravka borough. Completed in early April, the bus stop is the result of a collaboration between the architectural studio Architekti Šebo Lichý and ITB Development – the investor behind the nearby Čerešne residential project – as well as Collarch and the Czech company ICE Industrial Services, which handled the 3D printing of the concrete components.

8d073aa0a615fc9e1dd0ed8fa37b8a87.jpg

Sperra deploys 3D printing for coral reef regeneration in Jordan Materials

by Architecture

Sperra, a producer of structural systems for aquatic environments, has entered a partnership with Philippe and Ashlan Cousteau’s Bluetech venture, Voyacy Regen, to support a pioneering coral reef resiliency project in Aqaba, Jordan. This initiative, led by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Aqaba Development Corporation, integrates Sperra’s cutting-edge 3D concrete printing to restore marine ecosystems in the Red Sea.

ac5678da4ea3a6610f1212c7a369ae73.jpg

Tiandu scientists successfully prototype lunar regolith 3D printer Aerospace AM

by Architecture

A groundbreaking 3D printing system developed by Chinese scientists at Tiandu Laboratory has explored using only on-site-sourced lunar soil to build habitats, paving the way for the large-scale, on-site construction of lunar research stations. The Deep Space Exploration Laboratory in Hefei, Anhui Province, has successfully prototyped a lunar regolith 3D printer that eliminates the need for Earth-sourced construction materials, according to Yang Honglun, a senior engineer at the lab.