It is not made to stay where it is

3D printing is beginning to transform the way we build. In Germany it has already shaped a Data center with a undulating facade that would have been difficult to lift with conventional methods. In Japan it has allowed to print, in record time, A small railway station building. And now, in a tiny high mountain town in the canton of the Gray, in Switzerlanda white concrete tower It has ever become higher created with this technique. It is called Tor Alva, and it is not only an engineering work, but also a declaration of intentions. How culture, computational design and sustainability can be intertwined.

A new milestone of 3D printed architecture

Tor Alva, who in Romonche “The White Tower” means, it is the result of a collaboration between the Swiss Cultural Foundation Nova Fundaziun origin and the Federal Institute of Zurich Technology (Eth zurich). Raised in the small Mulegns enclave, the 30 -meter high tower (counting the base on which it supports) is presented as a vertical scenic space, a cultural lighthouse that emerges on the roofs of the Valley of Surresses.

According to those responsible for the projectthe building combines computational design and automated structural reinforcement to shape a structure that, until recently, seemed technically impossible. It is a five -story building, crowned by a theatrical dome with capacity for 32 people, sustained by 32 unique columns printed one by one by a robotic system. These columns not only fulfill a structural function: they are also the facade, the ornamentation and the visual firm of the tower.

The columns of Tor Alva They are made of white concrete Printed in layers of 8 millimeters high by 25 millimeters wide. Each one measures between 3.4 and 6 meters high, and is formed by three different layers: an exterior with ornamental textures, an intermediate that houses structural reinforcement and a hollow interior for vertical channels. In total, each column implies about 5,000 meters of extruded material.

The most striking thing is that there are not two equal columns. They ensure that all were designed algorithmically and manufactured with millimeter precision. The design is articulated on three scales: an organic general form that absorb lateral forces Without additional reinforcements, a wave structure that reinforces the thin walls and, finally, an ornamentation pattern generated directly by the printing of the Printer Head. The result is an unconventional structure, but built with structural logic and material efficiency.

One of the biggest challenges of 3D printing with concrete has been, so far, the lack of effective structural reinforcement. Tor Alva solves that stumbling block with a notable technical innovation: during the printing of each column, two robots worked in tandem. One was in charge of extruding the concrete layer per cape. The other induced, in parallel, the metallic reinforcement between those layers. Later, vertical steel rods were placed and mortar injected to consolidate the set.

Unlike traditional buildings, Tor Alva has been designed with an eye on its future disassembly. The tower will only remain in Mulegns For five years. But something is very curious: at any time it can be completely disassembled and rebuilt elsewhere.

The columns were assembled in a prefabrication plant located 10 kilometers from the town, and moved in trucks to the work. Each consists of three parts: the base, the printed column and the capitel. The horizontal pieces, which did not lend themselves well to the impression, were manufactured with molds also printed on 3D and ecological concrete. The structure is completed with an ultralight and removable outer membrane that protects it in winter and can be removed in summer.

But Tor Alva is not just a technical experiment. It is also a cultural space. Since the end of May that is open to the public. Visitors ascend through a snail staircase, cross dark rooms, stays bathed in the light and, finally, reach a show room under the dome. There will be held concerts, readingscontemporary choreographies and other scenic proposals.

Images | Tor Alva/Eth Zurich

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