One of the latest 3D concrete printing applications is seen in New Zealand in the Destination Skatepark, located in Tauranga. It is not a house but rather a skateable sculpture with various 3D printed elements, including quarterpipes, ledges, and supports, all printed by the country’s 3D concrete printing company QOROX.
“The Wave” is 12-meter-long, 3-meter-high skateable with the aesthetics of curling water. According to CyBe Construction whose technology was used to build it, it consists of seven different elements, all printed in under five hours in total, and was recognized as the largest known 3D printed skate sculpture across the globe.
Peter Fraser, the council’s design lead for the project, highlights that “there are only a small handful of skateparks we know of internationally.” These other 3D printed skateparks, however, are on a much smaller scale, featuring fewer and less intricate 3D printed elements. Another noteworthy aspect of the park, according to Fraser, is that the “Destination Skatepark has been designed with the community in mind.”
The skateable features were co-designed with the local community and further refined by design specialist Rich Landscapes and the Hamilton-based QOROX. This flexibility in design was enabled by QOROX’s 3D printing capabilities.
From a technology standpoint, 3D concrete printing enables to remove the use of molds, which constitute a complicated and expensive aspect of traditional concrete construction. QOROX director Wafaey Swelim also shared that they use a special, sustainable mortar for their 3D printing called Q-Ink. The mortar is a blend of printable material essentials mixed with local low-carbon materials, enabling production with a 30% carbon reduction compared to traditional concrete.
This blend of essential printing materials makes up a part of the printable mix and can be supplemented with local aggregates. QOROX’s Q-Ink uses the properties of the CyBe Power Pack, allowing almost 80% of the material used to be locally sourced. This sustainable and affordable skatepark was far from the first project QOROX delivered. They were the first to introduce 3D concrete printing to New Zealand in 2018 and have since completed numerous successful projects. Drawing on the decade of experience of their technology provider and their own expertise in the country’s industry, they can bring cheaper, faster, and more sustainable building to the Kiwi construction landscape. And with yet another innovative application of 3D concrete printing successfully implemented, QOROX is certain to continue their journey of bringing future-proof construction to New Zealand.
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