A striking new bench and covering at the Stromovka tram stop 3D printed in 36 hours
So Concrete, construction company firm based in Czech Republic, created a tram shelter for Prague. Described as a full-fledged building of urban amenities, its fabrication combines the use of high-strength concrete and robotic 3D printing.
Unlike traditional manufacturing methods, 3D printing uses about 60% less materials and employs a minimum of human labor. So Concrete printed the shelter at their Prague 7 factory and transported it in parts to the tram stop to be assembled.
The shelter is covered with plexiglass, which protects passengers not only from the weather, but also from direct sunlight thanks to its gradient surface. The length of eight meters provides shelter for four times more passengers than a standard-sized bus stop.
At night, the stop is illuminated by several light sources, located both on the soffit of the rib structure and on a free-standing lamp. The stop is complemented by other functional elements – a bicycle stand, a bench and a digital panel.
The structure of the stop uses natural principles of distribution of internal forces or pressures and thrusts in the structure, and the resulting design is not only unique, but above all maximally efficient. Already during the design, the structure was analyzed from a static point of view, and with the help of topological optimization, the volume of material used was reduced while maintaining aesthetic qualities and static requirements. The resulting morphology of the ribs reflects the actual behavior of the structure under load and thus directly shows the forces that take place in it, the company explains.
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