3D printing has brought a paradigm shift in nearly all domains. Architecture has also been revolutionized as the cost of construction and labor is reduced with the adoption of the 3D technology. Now, Dubai has unveiled the world’s first 3D printed office building, bringing the future closer to realization.
The world’s first 3D-printed office building is a part of the plan laid out by the Government of Dubai in a bid to employ technological solutions to make construction more time-efficient and cost-effective.
The single story office building covers an area of 250 square meters within the Emirates Towers complex, Dubai. The basic building for the 3D-printed office was printed in 17 days. A huge, industrial-size 3D printer measuring 6 x 36 x 12 m was used to complete most of the construction work.
The printer extruded a cement mixture in layers to print the building. The same technique was employed by the WinSun to build their 3D-printed homes. The smaller, portable 3D-printers were also used in this project.
The sections of the 3D-printed office building were printed off-site and were later assembled in the Emirates Tower complex in a mere two days.
The workforce for this project comprised of one person to keep a check on the progress of the printer while seven people installed different parts of the building. A team of ten electricians took care of the wiring and other such issues.
The reliability tests on the mixture being used in the construction of this building were carried out in Britain and China.
The United Arab Emirates Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Mohamed Al Gergawi inaugurated the building and said:
“This is the first 3D-printed building in the world, and it’s not just a building, it has fully functional offices and staff. We believe this is just the beginning. The world will change.”
The arc-shaped office building accumulated a cost of around $140,000 and will serve as temporary headquarters for the Dubai Future Foundation.
The minister revealed that the 3D-printing reduced the construction time by 50 to 70 percent while the labor costs can be decreased up to 80 percent. By 2030, Dubai aims to construct 25 percent buildings in the country via the 3D printing technology.
