From the world’s first 3D-printed footbridge to this wavy steel span, funky pedestrian bridges are totally in right now. The latest addition to the trend is a smokin’ 46-foot-long footbridge made with cannabis hemp. Designed and built by a team of researchers and students in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, the structure is made of hemp and flax fibers embedded in resin and covering a bio-based polymer core.
The bridge’s creators believe it’s the first man-made footbridge built entirely out of biocomposite materials. But now that it’s built, their research is only beginning. Over the next year, 28 sensors embedded in the bridge will monitor its bounce and structural integrity, gathering data about how these construction materials could fare on a larger scale and over a longer term.
“Using biocomposite in constructions reduces our dependence on finite fossil resources and brings us a step closer to the circular economy in which products and resources are reused,” said Eindhoven University of Technology researcher and project leader Rijk Blok in a press release. “In time, I expect that we will see more of these materials in our buildings."
Via: Reuters