Farmhouse constructed using concrete 3D printing technology Xu Weiguo/ProvidedIn the internet era, digitalization has spurred transformation and innovation across various industries, and the construction industry is no exception.“Currently, intelligent construction has become an inevitable trend in the development of the construction industry and an important lever for transformation and upgrading. It is one of the effective ways to address the low efficiency, high pollution, and high energy consumption in the construction sector. As an innovative intelligent construction technology for housing, concrete 3D printing technology has ushered in unprecedented development opportunities,” said Xu Weiguo, a professor at Tsinghua University’s School of Architecture, in an interview with the China Building Materials News. Concrete 3D printing technology is not merely a single technology but an integration of various technologies, including digital architectural design, robotic systems, printing technology, and material technology. Its advantages include high efficiency, no formwork, reduced labor, material savings, and low carbon environmental protection. It is suitable not only for traditional housing design and construction but also for creating various beautiful irregular curved forms, promising great potential for the future.3D Printing Promotes Digital Architecture DevelopmentXu Weiguo has been engaged in digital design and construction research since 2003. Over the years, he has promoted the rapid development of digital architecture in China through teaching, engineering, curation, and publishing.Speaking of his dream for digital architecture, Xu Weiguo stated that construction is a process, a system, currently comprising architects, structural designers, plumbing and electrical engineers, and construction teams, which are often disconnected. However, in the information society, the production model has fundamentally changed, and each link should reflect the characteristics of intelligent construction.To realize this dream, Xu’s team has developed robotic 3D printing concrete construction technology based on digital architectural design, robotic control systems, and special concrete materials technology.“This technology is an intelligent construction technology, and its construction process includes algorithm-generated creative design, digital morphology modeling, printing path planning, program coding, virtual printing simulation, on-site printing, or on-site prefabricated printing and assembly. It not only digitizes the entire process of housing or landscape construction but also divides it into virtual construction and physical printing construction. The continuous digital information flow and material construction flow complement each other during the construction process, forming an integrated intelligent construction process.”Xu Weiguo pointed out that this technology involves participation from different industries, including algorithm-generated architectural creative design, path planning and control software development, integration manufacturing of robots and printing equipment, mixed production of printing materials, and digital construction sites. Its promotion will not only upgrade the traditional housing construction industry but also drive the formation of a new digital construction industry chain.
Concrete components being printed Xu Weiguo/Provided
There Must Be a Broad Concept of ConcreteAs an innovative intelligent construction technology for housing and environments, the greatest advantage of robotic 3D printing concrete construction technology is saving labor, improving efficiency, reducing costs, and ensuring quality.In this regard, Xu Weiguo pointed out that intelligent construction will promote the transformation and upgrading of China’s construction industry, and 3D printing, as an important method of intelligent construction, will play a vital role in the intelligent development of engineering construction. This technology significantly enhances construction precision due to the use of intelligent systems and devices, thereby ensuring construction quality. Furthermore, the algorithm-generated digital design employs spatially movable robotic arms for construction, allowing this technology to create not only traditional architectural forms but also various rich organic architectural shapes. It is understood that this technology is undergoing industrial application and has achieved the world’s largest-scale attempt at constructing a 3D printed concrete greening park in Baoan District, Shenzhen. So far, projects such as new rural housing, affordable housing in Kenya, pedestrian bridges, and libraries have adopted this technology.“Although many bottlenecks still need to be resolved in 3D concrete printing construction, and competition in technology research and practical application in this field is becoming increasingly fierce, the greatest obstacle currently is the public’s lack of understanding of this technology.” In response to the skepticism surrounding concrete 3D printing technology, Xu Weiguo believes that the concrete mix can vary, and different mixes will lead to changes in concrete performance, such as ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC). Once such materials are applied to 3D printing, concrete 3D printing will have more possibilities. “We are in an era of collaboration, and to promote technological development, various industries need to work together. In this process, people must have a broad concept of concrete,” Xu Weiguo said.
Construction site Xu Weiguo/ProvidedPromoting Improvement of Rural Living Conditions
During the interview, Xu Weiguo’s team was busy with a rural housing project in Guizhou. Whether it is the farmhouse in Wujiazhuang, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, or model houses for low-income housing in Africa, Xu Weiguo’s team has brought many innovative technologies to the rural housing project site.
In this regard, Xu Weiguo stated that rural renovation is an important task for current social development, but many rural renovations have only achieved improvements in public environments, such as road repairs, municipal pipeline installations, and redecoration of housing exteriors. In fact, the living space and indoor living conditions of these rural houses have not undergone substantive changes. The “robotic 3D printing concrete mobile platform” and “rapid concrete housing construction system” can use organic renewal methods to rebuild rural houses one by one, contributing to rural housing construction.
“Since 2003, I have been engaged in digital design research. In my view, the greatest feature of our team is moving research from the laboratory to the construction site.” Xu Weiguo believes that research in the laboratory is often far removed from practical engineering applications, and sometimes technologies that are successful in the lab cannot be applied in real engineering. Conducting research and development in actual engineering and finding the system’s optimal solution through hundreds or thousands of experiments is the key to Xu Weiguo’s team’s continuous achievements.
This article was originally published in the China Building Materials News on November 7, page 7
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