This River Revetment Is The Largest In The World To Be Built By 3D Printing

Suzhou, a town in China, is now home to a one-of-a-kind wall. According to the 3D Printing Media Network, Winsun, a China-based construction company, has just built a 500-meter long wall in Suzhou by 3D printing, making it the largest ever construction of this kind in the world.

The wall acts as a river revetment, which is a sloping structure built on river banks of cliffs to absorb the force of incoming water, thus cushioning the erosion effect and protecting the shorelines.

These river revetments play an important part in keeping the habitats of coastal areas intact. However, the construction of these walls calls for the creation of foundation and excavation that can pollute the water or cause some other severe environmental problems.

Building river banks in the traditional way calls for expensive materials and bricks which need to be designed for the job. The protection is ensured with this method but the cost is high and the process to implement these walls take a long time to execute.

To add to the cost problem, the traditional method of construction usually fails to take protecting the ecosystem into consideration. 3D printing can solve this issue as it allows for the creation of artificial river walls that model the original and natural shape of the river banks, thus preserving the natural habitats for local fauna and flora.

To lessen the impact on the environment, Winsun chose to 3D print the wall. The cost of construction is also reduced with this technology, so is the labor requirement and the time needed to finish the structure. For these benefits, Winsun said that the river revetment in Suzhou would not be the last.