A 3D printed concrete bridge made with recycled materials

Swiss building materials manufacturer Holcim, in collaboration with ETH Zurich, Zaha Hadid Architects Computation and Design Group, and incremental3D, created what is said to be a first of its kind, 3D printed concrete masonry bridge made with recycled materials.

Called Phoenix, the bridge is an evolution of Striatus, a 3D printed concrete printed bridge that was developed in 2021 (read more about this project here). Building on the innovations of Striatus, the new bridge is made with 10 tons of recycled materials, including recycled aggregates from the original blocks of Striatus. To make the bridge, the team developed a custom concrete ink, which incorporates the recycled materials and has an optimized low-carbon formulation that has a 40% lower CO2 footprint compared to the original Striatus.

Circular construction, using computational design and 3D printing, allows for a reduction of up to 50% of the materials used with no compromise in performance. Phoenix stands solely through compression without reinforcement, with blocks that can be easily disassembled and recycled.

Photos: Holcim