NEWS A research project, led by Chalmers professor Ergang Wang in cooperation with Umeå School of Architecture, Konkretprint AB and Biofiber Tech Sweden AB on innovative solutions using biomass in cement 3D-printing, has been granted funding by Formas. Julio Diarte Almada, Assistant professor at Umeå School of Architecture will coordinate the design of prototype building parts and structures, as well as digital simulations to assess different material properties.
Image of 3D-printed material samples made from various industrial waste materials by Julio Diarte Almada in BioFormLab
Image Julio Diarte AlmadaThe research project Towards sustainable biobased circularity in digitalized building: pilot scale 3D printing upcycled biomass in cement was submitted to a call titled Research-driven solutions for sustainable transitions 2024, by Formas, a Swedish government research council for sustainable development. Led by Professor Ergang Wang from Applied Chemistry at Chalmers University of Technology in collaboration with Umeå School of Architecture and the business partners Konkretprint AB and Biofiber Tech Sweden AB, the project has been granted 3,9 million kronor in funding.
I investigate how to repurpose natural waste materials from the Swedish industry into new building materials for both building renovation and new buildings
Julio Diarte Almada is Umeå School of Architecture’s participant in the project. Originally from Paraguay, Julio got his PhD in architecture from Penn State University in 2020 with a focus on computational design and building material processes. Since august 2023, Julio’s worked as an assistant professor at Umeå School of Architecture, sharing his time between research and teaching.
Julio Diarte Almada, Assistant Professor, Umeå School of Architecture
Image Stella Karlsson Garonzi– In my research, I investigate how to repurpose natural waste materials from the Swedish industry into new building materials for both building renovation and new buildings. In this process, I collaborate with researchers from architecture, building physics, and material science to design, fabricate, and test prototype building parts and components. As a teacher, I coordinate the architectural technology course for 2nd year students of the Architecture Programme and I’m part of the teaching team for the same course for the Master’s Programme in Architecture and Urban Design, says Julio Diarte Almada.
In recent times, Umeå School of Architecture has expanded its facilities to the second floor of Curiosum at Umeå’s Arts Campus, next doors from school’s main building. Beside a computer lab and lecture areas, a space here is currently dedicated to a research lab for Julio’s experimentation with innovative building materials. Lifting out a box from the shelves, Julio shows a variation of 3D-printed prototype samples and explains:
– The research I do consist of three main parts. Firstly, we take the waste produced by Swedish industries; wood fibres from the forestry industry, cellulose from the textile and packaging industry, and biochar from the energy industry; and investigate appropriate formulations to create 3D printable pastes. For example, we combine these fibres with clay, cement, or mycelium, other additives, and water. Then, we pick the most successful formulations, design building parts, and 3D print to test the material and visual properties. Finally, we fabricate mock-ups at real scale to study how to integrate these new building components into existing or new buildings. For example, if the new components have good thermal insulation properties, we create insulation panels that can be attached to existing buildings.
As Julio tours me around his lab, showing the raw materials, the computer programs used for modelling the prints and the 3D-printer currently running in test mode; a student drops by to get some quick insight into a current experiment where a panel in a full-scale, student-built design project is soon to be printed. As the student leaves the lab, I ask Julio how he got involved in the project with Professor Ergang Wang from Chalmers.
– Collaboration is critical in research, so the first thing I did when I arrived in Sweden was to reach out to people working with similar problems but from different disciplines. That’s how I got in contact with researchers from Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Chalmers University who had experience with repurposing industrial biobased waste material processes. Since then, we have been working together in preliminary experiments and writing applications to explore repurposing biobased waste as resource for building materials. The application then includes academia and industry partners working on 3D-printing with concrete and biofibers technology, Julio explains.
My role in the research team is to coordinate the design of prototype building parts and structures as well as digital simulations to assess different material properties
He continues to explain the call, and the aim of their project, which is set to begin in December 2024 and continue until the end of November 2026.
3D-printed domes made of various materials
Image Julio Diarte Almada– The Formas Research-driven solutions for sustainable transitions 2024 looked for sustainable processes that can achieve real-world impact and can result in economic, environmental, and social benefits. The project that we are part of is titled Towards sustainable biobased circularity in digitalized building: pilot scale 3D printing upcycled biomass in cement and it’s about reducing cement content in 3D-printed buildings with concrete by incorporating a surface coated wood fibre as reinforcement. We hope to achieve a suitable formulation of cement and wood fibre that works for 3D printing large structures and offers beneficial properties such as strength, lightness, and reduced environmental impact. My role in the research team is to coordinate the design of prototype building parts and structures as well as digital simulations to assess different material properties. The research funds allocated to Umeå School of Architecture (Editorial note: around 365,000 SEK) will be used to hire a student research assistant to help in this process, Julio Diarte Almada concludes.