This is the first 3D printed concrete bridge to be supported solely by its geometry

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Venice has welcomed in recent days a piece of architecture that could well be the beginning of great changes in construction models. It is a 3D printed concrete bridge, the first of its kind since it is a structure that does not require mortar or steel reinforcement.

The creators of the work are the architecture studio Zaha Hadid Architects and ETH Zurich, and in their presentation, they explained that to achieve the structure without reinforcement, a new type of concrete ink was produced by a company called Holcim was used.

As Philippe Block, a researcher at ETH Zurich told the media: This precise method of 3D concrete printing allows us to combine the principles of traditional vaulted construction with digital concrete fabrication to use material only where it is structurally necessary without producing waste.

The architects also revealed that the structure, called Striatus, is held together by compression, without reinforcements:

Striatus stands on the shoulders of giants - reviving ancient techniques from the past, bringing 17th-century structural logic into the future with digital computing, engineering, and robotic fabrication technologies.

The bridge is currently in the Giardini Della Marinaressa as part of the Venice Architecture Biennale. It will be there until November 2021, at which point it will depart for another location as the structure can be easily disassembled and reassembled.