Skip to content

Zaha Hadid Architects

Your Starred Items

Studio

Archive Search
Studio
Your Starred Items
Searching. Please Wait...

  • Filters

  • Filters

  • Filters

  • Filters

  • Awards
  • People
  • Publications
  • Videos
  • Careers

News

Striatus shortlisted for AJ100 Innovation of the Year

Striatus, an arched 3D-concrete-printed masonry footbridge, has been shortlisted for the AJ100 Innovation of the Year awards organised by the Architects’ Journal. Rewarding innovations that has transformed an aspect of an AJ100 practice’s work, the Innovation of the Year winner will be announced at the annual AJ100 awards ceremony on 22 June 2022.

Striatus was also named jury winner as well as People Choice winner of the World Architecture Community (WA) Awards 2022.  Now in their 40th cycle, the World Architecture Community Awards recognise remarkable projects that inspire contemporary architectural discourse.

Striatus is an arched masonry footbridge composed of 3D-printed concrete blocks assembled without mortar or reinforcement, developed by the Block Research Group (BRG) at ETH Zurich and Zaha Hadid Architects Computation and Design Group (ZHACODE), in collaboration with incremental3D (in3D) and made possible by Holcim.

The 16 x 12 metre footbridge is the first of its kind, combining traditional techniques of master builders with advanced computational design, engineering and robotic manufacturing technologies. Proposing a new language for concrete that is structurally informed, fabrication aware, ecologically responsible and precisely placed to build more with less, Striatus optimises the properties of masonry structures, 3D concrete printing (3DCP) and contemporary design; presenting an alternative to traditional concrete construction.

The name “Striatus” reflects its structural logic and fabrication process. Concrete is precisely printed in layers orthogonal to the main structural forces to create a “striated” compression-only structure that requires no mortar or reinforcement. Using a special concrete ink developed by Holcim, this method of 3D concrete printing combines the principles of traditional vaulted construction with digital concrete fabrication to use material only where it is structurally necessary and eliminate waste. As the construction does not need mortar, the blocks can be dismantled, and the bridge reassembled at different location. If the construction is no longer needed, the materials can simply be separated and recycled.

Photograph by Naaro