Italian researchers transform stone processing waste into a 6-meter sustainable footbridge using innovative 3D printing technology.
If you spot an impressive stone bridge at Italy’s Polytechnic University of Bari this year, you should know that it’s more than just an architectural showpiece. Meet the world’s first recycled 3D-printed stone waste footbridge, and the way future sustainable construction is looking!
This snazzy piece of engineering, spanning roughly 6 meters (20 ft), isn’t your average bridge. It’s a brilliant collision of da Vinci’s centuries-old design for a self-supporting bridge (originally envisioned to traverse Constantinople’s Golden Horn) and state-of-the-art 3D printing technology.
The real game-changer here? The bridge is made out of what would otherwise be thrown away. The innovative folks at B&Y, an Italian startup led by Vincenzo Gurrado, cooked up a special low-impact mortar using waste stone powders mixed with a lime-based binder. Talk about turning trash into treasure!
WASP, the big players in sustainable 3D printing, brought their heavyweight 3MT LDM Concrete printer to the party. This beast churned out 13 separate blocks that the University of Bari team then pieced together like a high-tech puzzle, using a temporary support system.
What makes this bridge really special is how it stays true to da Vinci’s original vision while pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with modern construction. The team used stereotomy – fancy speak for the art of cutting solids into specific shapes – to make the bridge self-supporting, just like the master himself planned.
The project wasn’t a solo act – it took a dream team of professors, architects, and engineers from the Polytechnic University of Bari, B&Y, and WASP to pull it off. And they’re not done yet – they’re already looking at ways to make the materials even better and the printing process smoother.
