alt.hn

4/2/2026 at 11:26:01 PM

Tor Alva: The Tallest 3D-Printed Building in the World

https://cacm.acm.org/blogcacm/tor-alva-the-tallest-3d-printed-building-in-the-world/

by sohkamyung

4/3/2026 at 7:56:26 AM

What I'm seeing is the organic design that 3d printing offers and the scaling strength of whatever material they have to use makes one ugly structure. If they could have made it finely detailed and "lacey" like small 3d models can achieve it would have looked really cool.

by KevinMS

4/3/2026 at 4:46:56 PM

I think it's gorgeous and reminiscent of the Sagrada Familia

by pants2

4/3/2026 at 1:26:47 AM

Printed in smaller pieces then assembled. Still cool, but not what the headline implies. Ikon has printed structures taller than the pieces of this building.

by xnx

4/3/2026 at 3:10:15 AM

I think the headline is fine tbh.

Ikon is doing some pretty cool things and perhaps there's a different nomenclature for 3D printing something as one piece (without any seams or assembly) but is something any less 3D-printed because it was printed in multiple pieces versus a single piece?

by giwook

4/3/2026 at 4:35:04 AM

I think yes it is less 3d-printed if it is assembled out of multiple pieces.

How small would the pieces have to be before you say it's not a 3d-printed building? Is a building made out of 3d-printed bricks a 3d-printed building or are the bricks 3d-printed but the building not?

The limit as piece size tends to zero is that 3d-printed-ness tends to 0.

by jstanley

4/3/2026 at 6:56:52 AM

I wonder what happens if we go in the other direction.

Instead of printing a single building as one piece, what if we print a whole city block as a single piece. Are those buildings 3d-printed then, or are they just part of a 3d-printed bigger whole? Asking seriously btw.

by QuantumNomad_

4/3/2026 at 7:13:19 AM

"how complex is your apartment complex?"

by NooneAtAll3

4/4/2026 at 6:21:02 PM

I disagree.

You're using a 3D printer in both cases. 3D printers print three-dimensionally, as they do.

Requiring assembly is more of a qualifier. It isn't just set-it-and-forget-it the way a single piece is.

by giwook

4/2/2026 at 11:48:21 PM

Inside this building is a portal to other important areas. I’m sure of it.

by turbostar

4/3/2026 at 6:30:51 AM

Would be really interested to know what the building is actually for. just a tech demo? or does it have a real use?

by swiftcoder

4/3/2026 at 7:46:17 AM

The website talks about it being a tech demo and art. It's something designed to be an attraction.

https://www.tor-alva.ch/en/

by BadBadJellyBean

4/3/2026 at 7:34:14 PM

The dust and dirt that will collect in all those aesthetic grooves that look like layer lines will be epic.

by rkagerer

4/3/2026 at 12:04:50 PM

"A building or edifice is an enclosed structure with a roof, walls and often windows, usually standing permanently in one place."

by SirFatty

4/3/2026 at 10:30:39 AM

spectyuckulary bad. boooooo. the only boundrys it pushes are crudulity and belief.

by metalman