A new testing method to reliably calculate the load-bearing capacity of 3D-printed concrete has been created to build the world’s tallest 3D-printed structure without formwork.
Known as Tor Alva, the building in Mulegns, Switzerland, is almost 30 metres in height and has 32 sculptured white concrete columns rising up over four storeys. The columns become thinner and more branched moving upward before fanning out in an almost tree-like fashion to form a dome space at the top.
3D-concrete printing of the building was performed by two robots, one applying the concrete in layers and the second, placing a ring-shaped reinforcement in the new structure every 20 cm. These reinforcement rings were supplemented by longitudinal rebars added after printing.
Known as ‘Reinforcement that Grows’, the technique was developed by three professors at ETH Zurich in conjunction with the uni’s spin off, Mesh, and Zindel United.
For construction, according to the team involved, it took five months to print the columns on the ETH campus. The components were then assembled elsewhere and delivered to the site.
The 3D-printed tower, designed by architect Michael Hansmeyer and ETH Professor of Digital Building Technologies, Benjamin Dillenburger, is the first of its kind to be load-bearing.
The researchers also developed a new testing method which allows the load-bearing capacity of 3D-printed concrete to be reliably calculated for the first time, they said.
Tor Alva has been built as a cultural hub, an initiative of Nova Fundaziu- Origen in collaboration with technical university ETH Zurich, to reinvigorate interest in the village.
“[It] is intended to remain in Mulegns for around five years. It can later be dismantled and re-erected elsewhere,” ETH Zurich said.
Image: Tor Alva at dusk. Credit: Benjamin Hofer / Nova Fundaziun Origen.
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Desi Corbett
Desi is the Editor of Concrete in Australia, at the helm since December 2013, and our weekly news writer since 2016. Focused on concrete and construction for more than 11 years, her expertise in this field forms part of a journalism career spanning three decades. To get in touch please email desi@corbettcomms.com