{"id":70539,"date":"2026-05-15T00:01:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T22:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/?p=70539"},"modified":"2026-05-13T19:24:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T17:24:48","slug":"incremental3d-concrete-printing-15052026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/incremental3d-concrete-printing-15052026\/","title":{"rendered":"incremental3d and The Challenges of 3D Printing with Concrete for Design and Architecture"},"content":{"rendered":"

Additive manufacturing is expanding into more and more fields, and with it, new materials are being tested. One of the most promising is concrete, especially in residential construction<\/a>. incremental3d has been dedicated to this type of 3D printing since 2017. Its founders, Georg Grasser and Johannes Megens, were already working together on additive manufacturing and concrete at the university before starting the company, and now they\u2019re applying what they\u2019ve learned to some pretty unique pieces. Read our interview with them below!<\/p>\n

3DN: Can you introduce yourselves and tell us how you got into 3D printing?<\/h2>\n

We are incremental3d, and we\u2019ve been in the world of 3D printing with concrete since 2017. In addition to running the company, we are research associates at the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Innsbruck. 3D printing has been around in the industry for some time, although at first it was used almost exclusively for models. Around 2012, the Institute of Experimental Architecture set up a robotic laboratory where automated manufacturing techniques have been researched ever since. Later, we began printing with other materials and in larger sizes; in 2015, we started working with concrete.<\/p>\n

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Johannes Megens (left) and Georg Grasser (right).<\/p><\/div>\n

3DN: How did incremental3d come about, and what is its goal?<\/h2>\n

We founded the company in 2017 as a spin-off from the University of Innsbruck. We had already been researching 3D printing with concrete for over two years as part of a joint project. When we saw that there was demand and that the technology was already yielding decent results, we decided to take the plunge, but without jumping straight into large-scale production: we preferred to start with a few select projects. Yes, we started out more with design objects than with architectural works<\/a>, although our intention is to eventually work on architectural scales; however, those pieces serve as our benchmark for quality, and that standard doesn\u2019t drop when we do something bigger.<\/p>\n

3DN: Which projects have you liked the most, and what are you working on now?<\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve done a few interesting projects, each with its own set of challenges. In 2018, for example, we worked on Philipp Aduatz\u2019s digital chaise longue. We had to do quite a bit of development to get the trajectories right, and it was also the first time we really pushed the kinematic capabilities of industrial robots to their limits.<\/p>\n

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A project created in collaboration with designer Lilian van Daal. (Photo: Marthe Hoet)<\/p><\/div>\n

Cohesion was a project within our own university. It was the first time we had tackled something on that scale, so we ran into logistical challenges we hadn\u2019t faced before.<\/p>\n

The first Striatus Bridge, in Venice, was something of a game-changer for 3D printing with concrete. The best part of the project was collaborating with our partners, especially Zaha Hadid Architects and the Block Research Group. We recently had the opportunity to revisit that work in a second version, the Phoenix Bridge.<\/p>\n

Right now we have two major projects underway. One, a wall system, will go into production soon; the other is still in the testing phase. And we just finished a commission in Belgium for Lilian van Daal: some beautiful pieces for a shared office space.<\/p>\n

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The Cohesion project by incremental3d. (Photo: Rupert Asanger).<\/p><\/div>\n

3DN: What technology do you use, and what challenges does it present?<\/h2>\n

We use extrusion printing with a two-component system. To ensure rapid setting, the mortar is activated at the nozzle with a hardener; this allows us to produce relatively thin parts with smooth surfaces. The material is deposited by a six-axis industrial robot, which enables us to work with non-flat layers.<\/p>\n

There are several challenges. For starters, the weight of the material itself is a major factor: it directly influences what can and cannot be printed. The process itself is complex and does not tolerate inaccuracies. Furthermore, almost everything we make are one-off pieces, so sometimes we have to tweak the parameters between one piece and the next. And that one-off production also complicates logistics, because there is no standard shipping method that works for us.<\/p>\n

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The Phoenix Bridge, designed in collaboration with Block Research Group, ETH Zurich, Zaha Hadid Architects, incremental3d, and Holcim. (Photo: Block Research Group).<\/p><\/div>\n

3DN: What is your workflow like when you collaborate with designers or institutions?<\/h2>\n

Most of our projects come from designers and architects who are curious about the technology. We usually start by talking with them to understand what they want and need, and we explain the scope of the process and its unique aspects. From there, we guide them through the planning phase: we refine the details with them and coordinate with our partners. There\u2019s almost always a testing phase (paths, color), and once all that\u2019s finalized, the rest goes quickly: we choose how to generate the paths, simulate the print, and then print. If you\u2019d like to learn more, check out our website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What do you think of the projects by incremental3d? Let us know in a comment below or on our\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0pages! Plus, don\u2019t forget to sign up for our free weekly\u00a0Newsletter<\/a>\u00a0to get the latest 3D printing news straight to your inbox. You can also find all our videos on our\u00a0YouTube<\/a>\u00a0channel.<\/p>\n

*Cover Photo Credits: naaro<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Additive manufacturing is expanding into more and more fields, and with it, new materials are being tested. One of the most promising is concrete, especially in residential construction. incremental3d has been dedicated to this type of 3D printing since 2017.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6114,"featured_media":70540,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33,4,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-architecture","category-interview","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70539"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70539\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70542,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70539\/revisions\/70542"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}