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Using 3D printing technology, a large European building dubbed the “Wave House” by its creators was built in just 140 hours.
According to New Atlas, this is the result of a collaboration between multiple companies and technical experts. A unique and stylish cloud computing data center was built in Heidelberg, Germany. This is the largest 3D printing structure in continental Europe.
In addition to its veritable maritime-themed design, the building is another success story of a unique architectural concept.
The printer, which looks like a scaffolding device that moves on top of a construction site, releases a recyclable “cement-like mixture” in layers. The slurry flows out at a rate of 43 square feet per hour to form the exterior walls. According to New Atlas, the process releases “significantly less” air pollution than traditional methods.
The unique facility covers an area of 600 square meters (approximately 6,458 square feet) and was designed by SSV and Mense Korte and printed by Peri 3D Construction for developer KrausGruppe.
“The architects solved one of the challenges of the Heidelberg Project… by wavy design of the walls, a design feature that also gave the building its name: Wave House. Such wavy-designed walls would not have been possible using traditional construction methods. 3D architectural printing technology was therefore used due to the design freedom of this construction method,” New Atlas said, citing a press release about the project.
The time-lapse movie highlights the printer’s impressive size and maneuverability, showing it moving back and forth on the structure, adding a layer of material with each pass.
The result is a building that looks fit for a Hollywood movie set, with vertical ridges, cylindrical elements and a wave-like design. Crews completed the roof, doors, wiring and some other parts of the building.
Standard materials used to construct buildings produce approximately 9% of global air pollution. What’s more, by 2060, “raw material use” is expected to double. Steel, concrete and cement are among the building elements cited in a United Nations report on the industry’s impact on overheating the planet.
Other concepts being developed to clean up pollution from the construction industry include cement alternatives made from fungi, called fungal concrete. In the United States, the 3D printing community is growing to take advantage of the technology’s efficiencies.
These innovations are important in many ways. By reducing air pollution that contributes to global warming, we can make food systems more sustainable as climate-worsening storms, droughts and other weather patterns are affecting the agricultural sector, including food prices.
Unique 3D-printed buildings like the Wave House may become a more standard part of building quickly and sustainably. For a typically utilitarian structure like a data center, the results may even be a bit artistic.
“Data centers are getting closer to users, so the trend of locating data centers in suburbs and cities requires making data centers more visually appealing,” New Atlas reported, citing a press release on the project.
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