3D printed reinforcement free bridge aces final tests
Today if water gets into reinforced concrete the steel rusts, expands, and wrecks the infrastructure costing the world hundreds of billions of dollars to fix, but what if you didn't need steel any longer?
Key takeaways
- How it works is, the bridge's building blocks were created using a 3D printer, which extruded a cement-based mixture in layers to built up the blocks' structure, following an exact computer-made plan.
- Boosting its green cred further, the cement mixture incorporated 10 tons of recycled materials, including much of the original Stratius bridge.
- Check out the first of a kind bridge The blocks were then arranged into the correct position so that compression from their geometry and the bridge's abutments hold everything together firmly in place.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2024) '3D printed reinforcement free bridge aces final tests', 311 Institute, 13 January. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/3d-printed-reinforcement-free-bridge-aces-final-tests/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
Humans have been building walls, bridges, and other structures without any steel or mortar reinforcement for a long time. And, now a team led by Holcim has put a 3D printed spin on the idea, and hopes to use it to revolutionise modern sustainable infrastructure.
The project, named Phoenix, is a new iteration on the previously revealed Striatus bridge, and was developed by Holcim, with the Block Research Group at ETH Zurich, Zaha Hadid Architects Computation and Design Group, and Incremental3D.
It reaches a maximum height of 2.6 m (8.5 ft) and its longest span is 17 m (55 ft). How it works is, the bridge's building blocks were created using a 3D printer, which extruded a cement-based mixture in layers to built up the blocks' structure, following an exact computer-made plan. Boosting its green cred further, the cement mixture incorporated 10 tons of recycled materials, including much of the original Stratius bridge.
Check out the first of a kind bridge
The blocks were then arranged into the correct position so that compression from their geometry and the bridge's abutments hold everything together firmly in place. This makes for a far more efficient structure that uses up to 50% less building materials compared to a standard bridge and, of course, is much easier to disassemble and recycle if required.
"Concrete is an artificial stone, and like stone, it does not want to be a straight beam, it wants to be a masonry arch," explained Philippe Block, Co-Director, Block Research Group at ETH Zurich. "Following these historical principles allows us to keep materials separated for easy recycling and to dry-assemble the structure for easy deconstruction and reuse. 3D concrete printing allows us to use material only and exactly where needed. The result is a sustainable and truly circular approach to concrete construction."
Looking to the future, Holcim and its partners are now further developing the Phoenix and exploring how it can be scaled up. Provencher Roy also recently produced an impressive recycled glass-based bridge in Canada, plus researchers elsewhere made one from river mud and so forth.
Source: Holcim
FAQ
Why does this matter?
Today if water gets into reinforced concrete the steel rusts, expands, and wrecks the infrastructure costing the world hundreds of billions of dollars to fix, but what if you didn't need steel any longer?
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
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Sources and further reading
- Phoenix bridge holcim.com
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 13 January 2024. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2024). 3D printed reinforcement free bridge aces final tests. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/3d-printed-reinforcement-free-bridge-aces-final-tests/
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