Holcim CEO Jan Jenisch explains how 3D-printed concrete bridge Striatus aims to showcase how to build with less material without compromising performance in this video Dezeen produced for the building materials company.
Striatus is a 16-metre-long 3D-printed concrete footbridge built by Block Research Group at Swiss university ETH Zurich and the Computation and Design Group at Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA CODE), in collaboration with concrete 3D printing specialists incremental3D.
The project was made possible by Holcim, which created a custom-made proprietary concrete ink that was used to print the bridge.
Striatus is a 3D-printed concrete footbridge
The project is intended to demonstrate a new way of building with concrete that uses far less material than traditional methods and can be disassembled and recycled. Striatus showcases "concrete at its best"
"Striatus establishes a new language for concrete that is digital, environmentally advanced and circular by design," Jenisch says in the video, which was filmed in Venice and at Holcim's headquarters in Zug, Switzerland.
"It uses concrete at its best, with a minimum amount of material for maximum strength."
The Striatus bridge is made from 53 hollow, 3D-printed concrete blocks
The arched bridge is constructed from 53 hollow blocks, each printed from 500 layers of concrete, which are held in place solely through compression, without any reinforcement or binders.
According to the designers, this a...