What began as a project to replace aging wooden planter boxes along an Atlanta trail became an opportunity for University of Miami College of Engineering students to bring emerging construction technology into a highly visible public space.
Montale Tuen and Iman Aghajanzadeh, civil engineering doctoral students advised by Prannoy Suraneni, helped lead the design and fabrication of a series of large-scale 3D printed concrete planter frames now installed along PATH400, a multiuse greenway in Atlanta's Buckhead neighborhood.
The structures spell out "PATH400" and serve as raised garden beds maintained by local community volunteers. For Tuen and Aghajanzadeh, the project was an opportunity to contribute to a public installation that moved from concept and fabrication to permanent use in a major U.S. city.
"Seeing the finished installation in its final location was incredibly rewarding,” said Aghajanzadeh. “Having contributed to the entire project, from early preparation to final shipment, it was thrilling to see these printed structures activate a public space."
The project originated through conversations at an American Concrete Institute conference and grew into a collaboration among Livable Buckhead, Belter Tech, Quikrete and others.
Printing took place at the University of Miami School of Architecture using a COBOD BOD2 large-scale 3D concrete printer and a ready-to-print concrete mixture supplied by Quikrete. Working with Maxwell Jarosz, a research assistant professor in the School of Architecture, and Kevin Shepherd from BelterTech, the team used the school's fabrication facilities to produce the planter frames before they were shipped to Atlanta for installation.
The project helps showcase the University's role in advancing construction technology. The students say that 3D printing the concrete offers several advantages over traditional casting methods.
"3D concrete printing helps address several challenges compared to traditional casting,” said Tuen. “It reduces the need for formwork, which lowers material waste, labor and time. It also makes it easier to produce complex geometries that would be difficult or expensive to build using conventional methods.”
The technology also enabled rapid production. Structures that would traditionally require extensive formwork and multiple construction steps were fabricated in just two days, allowing the team to move quickly from design to installation.
The project shows how large-scale 3D concrete printing can be applied beyond residential construction. While the technology is often associated with printed homes, the PATH400 installation shows how it can be used to create customized elements.
"Ultimately, bringing an emerging technology like 3D concrete printing into the public eye, rather than confining it to private residential builds, felt like a true fulfillment of our University's resources, using innovation to directly give back to the community,” said Tuen.
