Germany’s first 3D printed concrete residential building
HeidelbergCement is supplying the material for Germany’s first 3D printed residential building made of concrete. The new material, i.tech 3D, was developed by HeidelbergCement subsidiary Italcementi specifically for 3D printing and is suitable for use with various types of 3D printers.
The two-storey detached house in Beckum, North Rhine-Westphalia, consists of three-shelled walls filled with insulating compound. It is being produced by a 3D concrete printer installed and operated on site by PERI, a manufacturer of formwork and scaffolding systems for the construction industry.
Enrico Borgarello, director of global product innovation at HeidelbergCement is excited that a traditional building material has been adapted to the possibilities offered by digitalisation. He says, ‘The product is easy to pump and extrude and quickly develops sufficient load-bearing capacity so that the lower layers do not give out under the load of the upper layers. i.tech 3D allows more freedom and more variety as each component can be individually designed. It also enables the construction process to be significantly accelerated’.
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