Team DBT: Patrick Bedarf, Anna, Szabo, Prof. Benjamin Dillenburger
Team FenX: Alex Heusi, Aybige, Öztüre, Lex Reiter, Enrico Scoccimarro, Michele Zanini, Etienne Jeoffroy
Technical Support: Tobias Hartmann, Cilgia Salzgeber, Jonathan Leu, Lucas Petrus, Philippe Fleischmann, Michael Lyrenmann, Heinz Richner, Bharath Seshadri, Angela Yoo
Photographs: Hyuk Sung Kwon
Funding: Innosuisse 41905.1 IP-EE
Airlements, a wall system developed by ETH Zürich with FenX AG, uses cement-free mineral foam from recycled waste in large-scale robotic 3D printing. The project creates lightweight, insulated walls that reduce material, labor, and energy use. The mineral foam, applied in varying densities, enhances insulation and strength while being easier to recycle than conventional materials. The Airlements prototype, consisting of four 25 kg 3D-printed segments, hardens in a controlled environment without energy-intensive processing. These hollow walls, reinforced with mineral foam and cementless plaster, can serve as non-structural exteriors, with ongoing research focused on improving load capacity and precision.
Leveraging moldless manufacturing via large-scale robotic 3D printing, research at ETH Zürich, in collaboration with FenX AG, explores the application of cement-free mineral foam made from recycled waste. The aim is to create monolithic, lightweight, and insulated wall systems that reduce material consumption, labor demands, and overall costs.
![YouTube video](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BKyEJtRnXag/hqdefault.jpg)
Cement-free mineral foam, a porous material, can be applied in varying densities to distribute insulation and strength strategically. This method enhances thermal performance and reduces the energy required to heat interior spaces. In addition, using a single material with varying densities simplifies future reuse and recycling of its components, which already have a lower carbon footprint compared to plastic or aerated concrete foams.
![Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls 1 Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls](https://www.architecturelab.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/foam-3d-printing-for-lightweight-and-insulating-wall-elements_1-1140x641.jpg)
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The project, named Airlements, features a 2-meter-high prototype wall composed of four 3D-printed parts. Each hollow segment weighs 25 kg and is printed in under an hour, followed by a week-long hardening process in a controlled environment. Operating at temperatures between 20 to 28°C and relative humidity of 20 to 70%, this method eliminates the need for energy-intensive processing, marking a significant improvement over earlier studies on cement-free mineral foams. The corrugated texture of the segments enhances the overall strength and structural integrity of the wall.
![Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls 3 Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls](https://www.architecturelab.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/airlements-dia01-1-1140x806.jpg)
![Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls 4 Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls](https://www.architecturelab.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/foam-3d-printing-for-lightweight-and-insulating-wall-elements_4-1140x641.jpg)
To create a cohesive monolithic system, the hollow core can be filled with mineral foam and sealed with cementless plaster, allowing it to function as non-structural exterior walls. The casting process also enables seamless integration of reinforcements and infrastructure components, broadening the technology’s potential applications. Future research will focus on enhancing the load capacity of the elements and improving the precision of the 3D printing system.
![Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls 5 Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls](https://www.architecturelab.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/foam-3d-printing-for-lightweight-and-insulating-wall-elements_9-1140x641.jpg)
![Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls 6 Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls](https://www.architecturelab.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/foam-3d-printing-for-lightweight-and-insulating-wall-elements_8-1140x761.jpg)
Gallery
![Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls 2 Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls](https://www.architecturelab.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/foam-3d-printing-for-lightweight-and-insulating-wall-elements_3-1140x760.jpg)
![Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls 1 Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls](https://www.architecturelab.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/foam-3d-printing-for-lightweight-and-insulating-wall-elements_1-1140x641.jpg)
![Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls 9 Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls](https://www.architecturelab.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/foam-3d-printing-for-lightweight-and-insulating-wall-elements_2-1140x760.jpg)
![Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls 4 Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls](https://www.architecturelab.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/foam-3d-printing-for-lightweight-and-insulating-wall-elements_4-1140x641.jpg)
![Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls 6 Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls](https://www.architecturelab.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/foam-3d-printing-for-lightweight-and-insulating-wall-elements_8-1140x761.jpg)
![Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls 5 Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls](https://www.architecturelab.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/foam-3d-printing-for-lightweight-and-insulating-wall-elements_9-1140x641.jpg)
![Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls 13 Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls](https://www.architecturelab.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/foam-3d-printing-for-lightweight-and-insulating-wall-elements_6.jpg)
![Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls 14 Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls](https://www.architecturelab.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/foam-3d-printing-for-lightweight-and-insulating-wall-elements_7-1140x641.jpg)
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![Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls 3 Cement-Free Mineral Foam for 3D Printed, Lightweight Insulated Walls](https://www.architecturelab.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/airlements-dia01-1-1140x806.jpg)