Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe, a subsidiary of building materials specialistLafargeHolcim, is set to build affordable, low-carbon homes in Zimbabwe using the company’s concrete 3D printing technology.
The project aims to address Zimbabwe’s chronic shortage of housing and school infrastructure, with construction expected to begin later this year.
“为了展示3D打印的功能，Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe将在目前正在进行的负担得起的住房项目下在Knockmalloch建造10个单位，”该公司told The Herald.
“This project will afford relevant stakeholders to witness and experience the capabilities of this innovative technology and it is anticipated that this will attract more projects towards the use of the technology to provide decent affordable housing.”
Meeting Africa’s affordable housing demand
The concrete 3D printing technology Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe will use during the project was developed by14TreesLafargeholcim的子公司和与合资企业的子公司CDC Group, the UK’s publicly owned impact investor.
Using a proprietary ink from LafargeHolcim, the 3D printing technology is expected to significantly reduce the time and costs of building homes and schools. The project最初在马拉维开始，建造了第一个原型房屋的地方。房屋的墙壁仅在12小时内就印刷了，而第一所原型学校则在18小时内印刷。
As well as speeding up the construction of new buildings, 14Trees’ 3D printing technology reportedly reduces the carbon footprint for building new homes by up to 70 percent through optimizing the use of materials.
“我对我们的合资14trees的工作感到非常兴奋，从3D印刷技术创新，从房屋到学校，从房屋到学校，加速可负担和可持续的建筑物，”中东地区负责人Miljan Gutovic在12月的12月中说道。该项目首先宣布。“这是我们致力于为人民和地球建造的一个很好的例子。”
The technology was initially deployed in Malawi during the first phase of the project before being rolled out to Kenya and Zimbabwe. LafargeHolcim recently opened a new $2.8 million dry mortar plant in Zimbabwe that will produce the 3D printable ink required for local construction projects.
LafargeHolcim’s 3D printing technology
LafargeHolcim’s concrete 3D printing process used in the project consists of a 3D printer with a robotic mechanical arm that deposits the proprietary ink into patterned layers that eventually make up the walls of a building.
The company’s technology and proprietary building materials have also been involved in several other 3D printing construction projects.
For instance, over the last couple of years, the firm has been working withGE RenewableEnergy and Danish 3D printing construction companyCOBOD发展3D printed “record-tall” turbine towers. The partners successfully printed a 10-meter tall turbine tower last year, and the environmental benefits of the project were recently presented to world leaders atPresident Joe Biden’s climate summit.
LafargeHolcim has also been awarded a design-build contract for a 3D printed40-meter pedestrian footbridge为了准备在巴黎举行的2024年奥运会。该公司构成由土木工程公司组成的财团的一部分Freyssinet,Levigne and Cheron Architects, computing and artificial intelligence (AI) firmQuadricand large scale 3D printing firmXtreee, which will work together to construct the deck of the bridge entirely from 3D printed concrete.
LafargeHolcim has previously taken part in a collaborative 3D printing research and development project that sought to develop innovative3D printing systems and materials for construction. Spanish construction consortium3DCON, of which LafargeHolcim is a part, hopes its research will enable the future automation of building construction, rehabilitation, and thermal insulation with 3D printing.
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特色图片显示14是使用3 d打印解决非洲的housing and infrastructure shortage. Image via 14Trees.
