#3dprinter

First two-storey 3D printed house in Europe

Kamp C is the provincial Centre for Sustainability and Innovation in construction located in Westerlo, Belgium, who created a two-storey 3D printed house using Europe’s biggest 3D concrete printer.

The COBOD`s BOD2 fixed printer was used to print the dwelling in one piece. Namely this is the very first example in the world.

This two-storey house is eight metres tall and has a floor area of 90 m2, the average size of a terraced house in this region.

What makes this house so unique, is that we printed it with a fixed 3D concrete printer. Other houses that were printed around the world only have one floor. In many cases, the components were printed in a factory and were assembled on-site. We, however, printed the entire building envelope in one piece on-site.

Emiel Ascione, the project manager at Kamp C

Therefore, this 3D printed house is three times more robust than a house 
constructed with quick brick building.
The material’s compressive strength is three times greater than that of the conventional quick build brick.
Marijke Aerts, the project manager at Kamp C
This is a prototype and its solidity will be tested over time.
The volume of wire-mesh insulation utilised and the fibres in the concrete are extremely limited.
First two-storey 3D printed house in Europe -Detail
Consequently, the formwork was redundant, saving an estimated 60% on material, time and budget.

The whole 3D printing process took only three weeks, but a whole 3D printed house may be ready in just under two days‘ time in the future.
First two-storey 3D printed house in Europe - Interior
This 3D printed model home is designed to showcase the technology and the potential of 3D printing.
We printed an overhang, it has heavily curved walls, different types of walls… We also incorporated solutions to the traditional thermal bridge, eliminating cold bridges altogether. We developed a low-energy house, with all the mod cons, including floor and ceiling heating, special façade solar panels and a heat pump, and we will also be adding a green roof.
Emiel Ascione, the project manager at Kamp C
First two-storey 3D printed house in Europe - View
When we started to build it, we had no idea which use the building would have. Our aim was to print the floor area, height, and shape of an average contemporary home, in the form of a model home with multipurpose options.
This is a principle of circular building. The building can be used as a house, a meeting space, an office, or an exhibition space. People can visit the house from September after making an appointment.
Piet Wielemans, architect at Kamp C
The house is part of the European C3PO project, which aims to accelerate the transition to this innovative technology in Flanders.
First two-storey 3D printed house in Europe
More in detail, eight partners, from the business community and the scientific community, have joined forces for the project. They are Beneens, ETIB/CONCRETE HOUSE, Groep Van Roey, Thomas More, Trias architecten, Ghent University and Vicré. Saint-Gobain Weber is also contributing to the project.
– All the photos in this post are © Kamp C & Jasmien Smets – 
Are you interested in 3D printed models?

How to create 3D models with 3D printing pens

Have you ever created 3D models with 3D printing pens?

Some of the links in this post are partner/ambassador/affiliate links. Please read our Partner, Ambassador and Affiliate disclaimer for more info. Sharing is caring!

Sometimes it is hard to visualize the projects you want to make.

Some architects and designers find useful to sketch their ideas by hand before sitting in front of a computer for hours to define every single detail.

But not all of your clients are visual people who can easily see how the final outcome of your 2D drawings will look like.

You can now overcome this issue by sketching your ideas as 3D models with 3D printing pens.

A 3D printing pen is pretty much like a normal pen, but instead of ink, it uses a melted plastic filament. hence it draws physical objects in thin air, making it a sort of handheld version of a 3D printer.

In this way you can create a physical 3D model that you can easily discuss with your client.

The architect Anneke Vervoort gives us a great example on how to create 3D models with 3D printing pens.

She modelled the Sagrada familia with a 3d printing pen in 33 hours!

Anneke is a real artist. Her amazing work shows the perfect imperfection of the drawing hand. In this short video you can appreciate her ability.

As you can see, the 3D printing pen extrudes heated plastic from its nozzle. You don’t need any software or files to transfer. You do need some practice, but it’s not a difficult tech to master. You can basically draw whatever you imagine on almost any surface.

A lot of 3D printing pens have a childish look, as they were initially thought for kids, and they are very affordable. You can buy one for less than £50.

The basic ones are a very cost-effective way to start if you want to try this tech. For instance I used one for kids to practice, it worked perfectly fine and I was amazed by it!

However if you want something for professional work, you can choose more expensive and professonal-looking ones.

Are you interested in 3D printed models?

Want to give this technology a try and do your own 3D models with a 3D printing pen?

Have a look at these top 3D pens and filaments:

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3D Modelling in bridges’ renovations save lives and the environment

“London Bridge Is Falling Down” is one the most popular traditional English nursery songs. World-wide there are different versions, but the core vision is pretty much the same. No matter the material of which it’s built, over time the bridge looses its load-carrying capacity and eventually falls down.

Kids sing the lyrics lightheartedly as collapsing is the natural innocuous way a bridge ends. But what the composition really describes is one if the worst structural failure you’d prefer not to see. The song actually omits to mention the tragic consequences the falling of a bridge can have.

The Polcevera Viaduct

The Morandi Bridge (officially Polcevera Viaduct) in Italy sadly reminded them to the world last summer.

3D Modelling saves lives
The Morandi Bridge in Genoa, Italy – Photo by Michele Ferraris, 19 August 2018 – CC BY-SA 4.0

Built between 1963 and 1967, the bridge linked two districts of the city of Genoa and crossed the river Polcevera. It became famous in August 2018 when it partially collapsed, killing 43 people who were crossing it. The continuous restoration works carried out since the 1970s were not sufficient to prevent the tragic event.

What’s most worrying and shameful is that it was not an isolated case for the country. The newspaper Corriere della Sera reported it was the 11th bridge to fall down in Italy since 2013. [1]

Bridges are highly stressed structures and on the long run they suffer from fatigue and pressure. This doesn’t mean that they cannot be restored and their life extended. 3D modelling can save lives and the environment. It can be a pivotal tool to verify bridges’ current operational safety and upgrade them.

Arup’s Bridge Information Model

The Arup’s Bridge Information Model (BrIM) is a great example of this application.

The 3D models help the working team to visualise advanced calculations, and enable advanced static and fatigue modelling under different scenarios. The expertise and knowledge acquired during the ongoing bridge renovation programme is then used to design new bridges. [2]

Arup, in collaboration with RHDHV and Greisch, has developed a sustainable remediation programme to extend bridges’ life for at least 30 years. Based on digital design, it will allow the refurbishment of eight of the 200 bridges in the Netherlands risking collapse. In the video below Arup explains in details their approach and how 3D models were used to find the most effective solutions.

To sum up, 3D Modelling can really save lives and the environment.

If you are curious about 3D modelling and construction, you may be interested in reading our post on the first two-storey 3D printed house in Europe.

References:

[1] “Dieci i ponti crollati in 5 anni: in calo la manutenzione e gli investimenti”. Corriere della Sera. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018.

[2] https://www.arup.com/projects/rijkswaterstaat-bridge-renovations

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