STRIATUS BRIDGE WINS ARCHITIZER A+ AWARD 2022
Striatus was also named winner of the ‘Green Design Awards’ organised by the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. The awards recognise individuals, companies, organizations, governments, and institutions that demonstrate exceptional thinking and inspire progress towards a healthier and more sustainable built environment.
We featured Striatus in Issue 4 2021 of Plan Magazine
‘Striatus’ is an arched, unreinforced masonry footbridge composed of 3D-printed concrete blocks assembled without mortar. Exhibited at the Giardini della Marinaressa during the Venice Architecture Biennale until November 2021, the 16x12m footbridge is the first of its kind, combining traditional techniques of master builders with advanced computational design, engineering and robotic manufacturing technologies. It was built by the computation and design team at Zaha Hadid Architects, known as ZHACODE, in collaboration with the Block Research Group (BRG) at Swiss university ETH Zurich, incremental3D and Holcim.
The bridge was constructed from 53 hollow blocks, each printed from 500 layers of printed concrete and features a double-curved deck with swooping stepped entry points placed at either end of the bridge, leading up the structure from its footings.
According to the architects, the name ‘Striatus’ reflects its structural logic and fabrication process. Concrete is printed in layers orthogonal to the main structural forces to create a “striated” compression-only funicular structure that requires no reinforcement.
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Denise Maguire Editor of Irish Construction Industry Magazine & Plan Magazine
