Friday, March 25, 2016

Massive 3d Concrete Printer Prepares to Print a Village in Italy

Everyone likes to fantasize about a utopia, where everyone gets along, everyone is happy, and there is no war, injustice or suffering. Most religions teach the concept of some sort of ultimate utopia — heaven in the Judeo-Christian tradition, or, in Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism, there’s Shambhala. The hidden kingdom is said to be a place of peace, and its name has been used for countless yoga studios, meditation centers, and retreats all over the world. Now it’s been taken as the name for an entire village. While this Shambhala, which will eventually be constructed in the center of Massa Lombarda, Italy, may not be an actual paradise, it’s certainly going to be unique in that it will be fully sustainable, self-sufficient – and entirely 3D printed.

Back in September, we reported on the world’s largest delta-style 3D printer. The appropriately named BigDelta is twelve meters tall, and when it was unveiled by Italian company WASP in Massa Lombarda, it was introduced as a potential means for 3D printing entire houses out of clay found in local soils. The idea is an incredible one, and no one can be blamed for being a bit hesitant to believe it will work, but WASP and the municipality of Massa Lombarda are getting set to prove it with the construction of their 3D printed village. BigDelta will be the center of Shambhala, which will be built in Massa Lombarda’s industrial district. Shambhala will be a high-tech, eco-friendly village with low energy consumption, a village whose inhabitants will be fully self-sufficient without reliance on outside corporations. The agreement to forge ahead with the project was signed yesterday by WASP owner Massimo Moretti and Massa Lombarda mayor Daniele Bassi.

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