ETH Zurich The White Tower Tallest 3D-Printed Structure
Photo credit: Hansmeyer | Dillenburger
ETH Zurich’s The White Tower is unofficially the world’s tallest 3D-printed structure, located in the Swiss Alps. Standing 100-feet-tall, its 3D-printed columns support five floors that form its open-air facade, complete with removable membrane to shelter visitors from inclement weather.



The White Tower was 3D-printed three-dimensionally using a concrete extrusion process developed at the DBT group of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) that has a robot successively applying 5mm thin layers of soft concrete through a nozzle. This extruded material is soft enough to bond together and form homogenous components while hardening quickly enough to support the successive layers. The researchers estimate that it will take around 900-hours to complete this large structure that consists of 102 individual 3D-printed columns.

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ETH Zurich The White Tower Tallest 3D Printed Structure
ETH Zurich The White Tower Tallest 3D Printed Structure
ETH Zurich The White Tower Tallest 3D Printed Structure

The 3D printing approach to construction allows complex geometries to be produced, and for the concrete to be used exactly where it is needed for the load-​bearing structure. The structure will also need less raw materials overall, as no formwork is needed,” said ETH Zurich.

[Sources 1 | 2]

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