Anicet Mbida 07:00, May 02, 2022

Anicet Mbida delivers to us every morning what is best in terms of innovation.

This morning, you arrive with something new in construction.

We have just inaugurated the first 100% plant-based bridge.

A bridge made entirely of flax fibres.

It has just been opened to traffic in Almere in the Netherlands.

We are talking about a real bridge 15 meters long, modern, hard… Not a monkey bridge with ropes like in the movies.

Whether it is the structure, the slab or the edges, everything is made with flax fibres.

And yet it is as strong as steel or stone.

It should be known: in the next few years, tens of thousands of bridges will have to be replaced in Europe, because they will be too old or because they are no longer safe enough.

So it's rather a good thing to have an ecological alternative.

It should be remembered that the construction sector represents close to 20% of global CO2 emissions.

But how do you manage to make a green bridge as resistant as if it were made of steel or stone?

First, remember that flax fiber is very resistant.

This is why it is used for boat ropes.

With the bridges, we start with large blocks of vegetable foam, we wrap them with flax fibers.

This creates large bricks which are assembled and again covered with several layers of linen.

At the end, everything is bathed in a resin to solidify the whole.

We obtain an ultra-light, ultra-resistant composite material with the same properties as aluminium.

This is a European project called Smart Circular Bridge.

Two other bridges are under construction in Ulm, Germany and Bergen in the Netherlands.

Why Smart Circular Bridge?

Is there intelligence in the bridge?

Yes.

It is full of sensors to know how it behaves when it freezes, during storms, when 200 people start dancing on it… We also want to check how the material ages to possibly revise the design in the event of a problem.

This is why the three bridges will be restricted to cyclists and pedestrians.

If all goes well, we will switch to larger buildings capable of accommodating trucks and cars.

It is a sign of the times.

Whether with wood or today with linen, we revisit the materials of the past to invent the construction of the future.