ViliaSprint²: the first French collective building with in situ 3D printing will see the light of day in Champagne-Ardenne following its ATEx certification

The final ATEx committee chaired by the CSTB met on May 28, 2024 and heard from the entire project team led by Plurial Novilia.

This project aims – for the first time in France – to build a three-storey apartment building using 3D printing. It will be built in the Bezannes ZAC (Champagne-Ardenne), which has already hosted several innovative projects by Plurial Novilia in recent years.

ATEx certification: a crucial step in the advancement of ViliaSprint²

Indeed, building on the success of Viliaprint©, Plurial Novilia has taken on a new challenge: printing in high-performance 3D concrete – directly on site – the walls of a building with 12 apartments spread over three floors. Wall prototypes measuring 3 metres high by 4 metres long have undergone numerous mechanical, impact and fire resistance tests, as well as structural tests.

Conclusive tests that made it possible to provide the evidence file needed to obtain the ATEx from the CSTB. The certification of this new construction process was the essential and unavoidable phase of ViliaSprint² in order to guarantee the insurability of the real estate project and the rental of the accommodation.

Thus, ViliaSprint² – both winner and distinguished “Alinov 2022 Favorite Prize” – is preparing to enter the fully operational phase. This essential step – which mobilized the entire project team – is taking place within the initially planned timeframe and confirms the schedule set by the Reims lessor.

The year 2023 was devoted on the one hand to obtaining the building permit in April, and on the other hand, to the study of the concrete structure with a view to obtaining the present ATEx.

The preparatory work on the construction site, a phase prior to the printing work, is currently underway. The printing work will begin at the end of 2024 depending on the site's hazards, particularly those related to weather conditions, for a total duration of 18 months. This period includes a reduction of 2 months on the superstructure of the printed building.

Indeed, this construction method, requiring the installation of a mobile gantry system at the heart of the construction site, is faster compared to traditional methods.

Obtaining this certification specifies the conditions of the execution techniques and will allow the building to be insured.

A new innovation, partnership and multidisciplinary project

Unveiled in September 2022 and designed by HOBO Architecture, ViliaSprint² reached a first key milestone in October 2023: the successful printing of 4 prototype walls. This was planned by PERI 3D Construction, a leading company in 3D concrete printing, and carried out in real conditions. This full-scale test took place at Holcim's premises in Switzerland and complemented various tests previously carried out between April and August. The latter aimed to perfect the low-carbon concrete "TectorPrint" specifically developed by Holcim, and therefore to validate its printability on the one hand, and on the other hand, to test them mechanically by subjecting them to different loads and tests (compression, bending, impacts, etc.).

Since then, Plurial Novilia and all of its partners have not only actively worked to obtain the ATEx, but also continued to carry out multiple tests in a necessary preparatory phase for the construction site.

To supervise and facilitate the implementation of this innovative process, our experts, manufacturers and design offices have, among other things, ensured the thermal performance of the concrete and carried out optimizations so that the buildings have very good inertia, in line with the RE2020 objectives. This role will continue on the construction site, monitoring and validating the proper implementation of the process and the performance of the building as it is executed.

Always keen to make 3D printing a truly disruptive innovation in the construction of social housing in France, Plurial Novilia has chosen to build a second building in the traditional way on the same plot. In addition to strengthening the city's rental offer, this second building will make it possible to compare the performance of the new 3D construction process, both during the construction phase (deadlines, nuisances, ergonomics/arduousness for teams, etc.) and during the operating phase (building performance, costs, etc.).