May 24, 2025, 1:06 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
With some delay, the “White Tower of Mulegns,” also known as “Tor Alva,” has finally opened. Standing at 30 meters tall, it is the world’s tallest 3D-printed structure. TRAVELBOOK presents this extraordinary construction project.
The small mountain village of Mulegns in Switzerland has only twelve residents—yet it is currently in the spotlight. On May 19, 2025, the “White Tower of Mulegns,” also known as “Tor Alva,” was unveiled with a spectacular light show and officially opened the following morning. This architectural highlight was created through a roughly seven-year collaboration between the Origen Cultural Foundation and ETH Zurich. The tower not only embodies the progress of digital and aesthetically sophisticated architecture but is also intended to provide new impulses for tourism and breathe new life into the remote village. It was originally scheduled to open at the end of June 2024, but the date was postponed several times. “We underestimated the complexity of this project as builders,” said Giovanni Netzer, theater director and founder of the Origen Cultural Foundation.
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World’s Tallest 3D-Printed Tower Won’t Stay in Mulegns Forever
But now the time has finally come, and the “White Tower of Mulegns” is accessible to everyone. The world’s tallest 3D-printed tower will stand in the Swiss canton of Graubünden for a total of five years. Afterward, it will be dismantled and rebuilt at another location. Until then, starting May 23, daily tours of the “Tor Alva” will be available. From July, the structure will also be used as a stage for events.
According to ETH, Giovanni Netzer praised the “interaction between digital technology, experienced craftsmanship, cultural-historical relevance, and artistic form-seeking” at the tower’s opening. Additionally, the “Tor Alva” is not only a technical achievement but also inspires “the construction world, promotes sustainable action, encourages sustainable tourism, creates new cultural space, and helps a dying village survive.”
How the Tower Was Created
The world’s tallest 3D-printed tower spans four floors, supported by a total of 32 sculpturally designed columns. These taper upwards and branch out elegantly in the dome area. With its playful, multi-layered design, the tower resembles an intricately decorated confectioner’s cake—a deliberate nod to the history of the Graubünden confectioners who once traveled across Europe from this region.
The structure was designed by architect Michael Hansmeyer and ETH Professor of Digital Building Technologies Benjamin Dillenburger. Instead of pouring concrete into wooden molds as usual, they used a special process: An industrial robot applied the concrete layer by layer—without any prefabricated molds. This allowed them to implement the design freely and creatively. The tower’s unique shape was created with the help of computer programs that calculated both the appearance and stability of the structure. To make the new printing technique work, a special concrete was developed at ETH.