Tor Alva Bus Tour

Tor Alva (The White Tower) is the world’s tallest 3D-printed structure. Built deep in the Swiss Alps in the village of Mulegns, Switzerland, the Tor Alva reimagines Mulegns’ cultural legacy of “sugar bakers” through is expressive architectural style. The tower features a small cupola theater at its top, surrounded by a forest of filigree branching which to create a breathtaking venue high above the village rooftops.

The White Tower showcases groundbreaking advancements in computational design, digital fabrication, structural engineering, and material science, all aimed at more sustainable construction. Technical innovations include the structural use of 3D-printed concrete with robotically placed rebar, all post-tensioned for a prefabricated assembly and circularity.

This project was developed jointly by the Origen Cultural Foundation in close collaboration with the chair for Digital Building Technologiess at ETH Zurich, and the NCCR Digital Fabrication. These innovations were made possible by intense collaborative and interdisciplinary work with domain experts in architecture, structural engineering, materials science, and robotics.

This tour will be guided by Prof. Benjamin Dillenburger and members of the Tor Alva team.This bus tour will travel to the town of Mulegns in the eastern Swiss mountains. At the site, participants will have a guided tour of the Tor Alva, have lunch, and visit supporting exhibitions and other local sights of the Origen Foundation. The tour is a full-day excursion with return to Zurich in the early evening.