3D Printing of Sustainable Concrete Structures (2015-08)¶

Structural engineers are confronted with a shift of mind in the building industry. The desire for a more sustainable built environment is growing in the western society. This call has to be answered from every discipline involved in the construction cycle. The discipline of structural design and engineering has found a way to contribute to this transformation: structural optimization. Methods have been developed over the past years, allowing for designs which carry and transfer loads in an efficient way, minimizing material use. While these methods guide the structural engineer in an early design stage, their implementation in practice is restricted so far due to the limitations of traditional production techniques. This new way of designing requires a new way of constructing, which can only be achieved if the building industry embraces the strange and keeps an eye on new and upcoming techniques. 3D Printing of concrete structures is one of these on-going high-tech developments in present construction technology. The advantages are clear: high speed construction, no need of formwork, less heavy labour and most of all a large increase in freedom to design. 3D Printing allows for mass customization, as it does not require every (structural) element of a building to be identical, for matters of speed or costs. Besides, as the printer only prints material where it is needed, solid and massive structures are no longer required. 3D Printing creates new shapes in an efficient manner, answering the call for a more sustainable built environment.