Column formwork for the Aubervilliers Olympic swimming pool

Twenty-nine custom-made 3D-printed concrete columns were commissioned to support the roof structure of the new Olympic Aquatic Center in Aubervilliers, in the Paris region. Each column is hollow and made-to-measure, with lengths up to 4.80 m. They were produced at Spie batignolles' first additive manufacturing workshop in Ollainville (Essonne), using XtreeE's patented 3D concrete printing technology.

Beyond the symbolic Olympic destination, this project marks a turning point for industrial 3D concrete printing in French civil engineering. The faceted, hollow geometry — impossible to achieve with traditional formwork — saves material and weight, while the print process eliminates the manual demoulding step of conventional 4-meter columns, removing one of the more hazardous on-site operations. Each column is printed in roughly 78 minutes with industrial-grade repeatability.

The columns are non-reinforced and are designed to cap a waiting steel armature, lifted into final position using a dedicated piece of equipment developed by Spie batignolles before the in-situ concrete pouring. Future iterations will be supported by Technical Experimental Assessments (ATEx) from the CSTB, opening the path to fully structural 3D-printed columns for public infrastructure.