Milan Bergamo Airport Welcomes Its First 3D-Printed Building

Milan Bergamo Airport may not be the closest airport to the city center (50 km west of Milan), but it can now boast something else: a 3D-printed structure, a first for the Italian aviation sector. Named “Ol Casél,” the building is a small service facility equipped with restrooms for airport staff, specifically in the customs area. The structure was erected in just 7 days, with the entire project completed in 19 days.

The building was produced using WASP’s 3D concrete printing technology, specifically the Crane WASP 3D printer, the first machine of its kind to be commercialized in Italy. All the walls were 3D printed, while the windows, roof and doors were added using conventional construction methods once the printing process was complete. According to the project leaders, the two approaches worked perfectly together. The aim was to integrate the necessary openings directly into the printed structure to avoid additional work later on.

Ol Casél: Where Sustainability Meets Aesthetics

The structure was printed using a lime-based material deposited layer by layer, with the goal of reducing the project’s carbon footprint as much as possible. This is a major challenge, given that construction is one of the most polluting industries in the world.