La Sphère is a free-standing guardhouse within a 180-unit social housing district. In addition to providing security to its residents, the construction of the building used one-third less concrete than traditional methods.
The challenge
CyBe Construction printed and developed La Sphère on behalf of Bouygues Bâtiment Grand Ouest, Immobilière Basse Seine, and Archétude. The structure is a central guardhouse that serves the 180 social housing units that surround it. The design was created to improve the comfort and security of the residents. The building also guarantees a 40% reduction in energy consumption over 15 years and has an enhanced architectural strength.
The takeaways
This construction demonstrated how complex architectural shapes could be quickly created at a very competitive rate. Because the exact amount of required concrete was used in precisely the correct place, the construction of La Sphère used one-third less concrete than traditional methods. The project demonstrated a breakthrough in 3D printing techniques, paving the way for new fields of experimentation.
