Posts tagged: ArchitectureConstruction 3D Printing

While an outdoor swim might seem like a far-off dream to those of us trying to warm up in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s an essential cool-down tactic for Aussies at this time of year, with summertime temperatures in Western Australia soaring above 30°C. Most in the region will be doing their laps in standard in-ground pools, but soon a small number of locals will be able to say they’re swimming in the country’s first 3D printed pool.

Construction 3D printing technologies are being used to build myriad structures, from student housing blocks, to pedestrian bridges, to military bunkers. Soon, we will see 3D printing used to build a new parish church in Czechia. The project, to be the first of its kind, was recently given the blessing of the Archdiocese of Prague, who recognized the potential of the technology to build a place of worship with an innovative design and acoustics, while also bringing down building costs.

Blackwell 3D Construction Corp., a 3D construction printing technology company, has entered a partnership with Stayzation Lifestyle, a prominent player in the luxury vacation real estate market throughout India. The collaboration aims to explore the potential of 3D concrete printing for high-end villa developments – starting with Stayzation Lifestyle’s land parcel in Lonavala.

UCC Holding, a leading construction and infrastructure company in Qatar, has signed a contract with COBOD, Denmark’s top manufacturer of concrete 3D printers, to supply the world’s largest third-generation 3D printers which will be used to build schools in Qatar. The signing ceremony took place in Doha with Mr. Ramez Al Khayyat, President of UCC Holding, and Mr. Henrik Lund-Nielsen, CEO and Founder of COBOD, along with other dignitaries and key stakeholders.

Hotelier Liz Lambert and ICON, a leading construction 3D printing company, have begun building the first 3D printed hotel and residences in Marfa, Texas. Designed by the BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, the relocation, and expansion of El Cosmico to a 60+ acre property will showcase entirely new architectural approaches made possible by large-scale 3D printing including domes, arches, vaults, and parabolic forms. The development will feature El Cosmico guest accommodations, new hospitality programming (including a pool, bathhouse, and restaurant), and private residences.

Czech industrial automation firm ICE, which has developed its own 3D Concrete Printing (3DCP) technology, is reportedly in the process of constructing an upper station for a cable car in the mountainous municipality of Kopřivná. The station, whose design is based on a concept by architecture studio ATELIER3M, will become the largest publicly accessible 3D printed building in Europe.

Construction 3D printing company ICON is building eight new homes in Wimberley Springs, a development just south of Austin, Texas. The single-family homes, which are currently being constructed using ICON’s robotic construction 3D printing process, are now on the market for purchase in the range of $800,000.

The Dubai Municipality has recently installed 40 3D printed public seats in Uptown Mirdiff and Al Khazzan Parks. The move is in line with the Municiplaity’s approach to delivering its services in Dubai by leveraging advanced technologies and employing innovative solutions. It also aligns with the city’s efforts to promote sustainability, while reducing carbon footprint and natural resource consumption – further boosting Dubai’s pioneering position and its competitiveness in this realm.

The R. Buckminster Fuller Dome Home Not-For-Profit and Mighty Buildings, a 3D printing construction technology company, are set to jointly design and develop a new visitor center and museum at the site of the legendary architect’s iconic “Bucky Dome” home. Located in Carbondale, IL, this holds its place on the National Register of Historic Places, and has captivated visitors for decades. The joint project is intended to connect Fuller’s impressive legacy to innovations that represent the future of sustainable building, thanks to Mighty Buildings’ new materials and offsite 3D printing construction methodologies.

Apsuja Infratech, a Hyderabad-based leading construction company, has partnered with Simpliforge Creations, a 3D printing construction company, to create the world’s first 3D printed place of worship – more than a year ahead of Dubai’s plan to 3D print a mosque – in the form of a Hindu temple. Situated within Charvitha Meadows, at Burugupally, Siddipet, Telangana, India, the 3D printed temple serves as a testament to the harmonious integration of technology and nature with sustainability.

PERI 3D Construction, a pioneer in 3D construction printing, is currently using a COBOD BOD2 3D construction printer to print the walls of Europe’s largest 3D printed building. The project was initiated by KRAUSGRUPPE, a project developer, builder, investor, real estate manager, and broker in Heidelberg, Germany. The building is being built for Heidelberg IT Management GmbH & Co. KG, a cloud and data center provider.

It has been a busy month for Austin-based 3D printing construction firm ICON. Not only did it raise $207 million in Series B funding and unveil a 3,800-square-foot training barracks for the Texas Military Department, it has now brought four 3D printed homes to market in Austin, Texas, in collaboration with Kansas City developer 3Strands. Two of the four 3D printed homes have already been sold, while the remaining two are hitting the market today, August 31, 2021.

The Netherlands has proven to be a fertile environment for construction 3D printing, with established construction companies like Bruil and BAM embracing concrete 3D printing as a building method, and technology developers like CyBe and Vertico paving the way to new applications and more adoption. Vertico, a young Dutch company specializing in robotic concrete 3D printing, is now expanding its footprint, with the opening of a new 3D printing facility in the city of Eindhoven.

Bridges have become a popular way for research groups and additive manufacturing companies to demonstrate their technologies. It makes sense. Bridges combine architecture and performance while also engaging directly with people. While not every person may recognize the ingenious nature of a topologically optimized engine component, a state-of-the art bridge can appeal to all.

One of the moments that will likely stand out when we look back at the history of construction 3D printing is the construction of Europe’s first 3D printed building in 2017 by 3D Printhuset (now COBOD). As a call back to this original structure, which still stands in Copenhagen, and to show how far its come with its construction 3D printing technology since 2017, COBOD recently reprinted The BOD building.

Inspired by its successful run in the NASA 3D Printed Habitat Challenge, AI SpaceFactory has decided to apply its construction 3D printing know-how to develop an eco-friendly home here on Earth. The sustainable housing project, called TERA, will be built in the heart of nature, just a couple of hours outside of New York City.

Concr3de, a Dutch company specializing in 3D printing stone, is offering up its additive technology for the restoration of Paris’ Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral. In fact, the company has proposed using its technology to quite literally rebuild damaged parts of the cathedral from the ashes of Notre-Dame.

Digital manufacturing company 3Diligent was selected by commercial cladding company Walters & Wolf to 3D print a series of exterior curtain wall nodes for the new Rainier Square Tower in Seattle. The building, which is expected to be complete in 2020, will be Seattle’s second tallest building, following the 76-story Columbia Center.

German design firm Studio 7.5 recently teamed up with French concrete 3D printing company XTreeE to construct a series of 3D printed benches. The benches, notable for their woven textures, demonstrate how additive manufacturing can be employed to produce architectural concrete structures.

Branch Technology, the Chattanooga, Tennessee company behind the C-FAB construction 3D printing technique, recently presented what it is calling the world’s largest 3D printed structure. The structure, unveiled as part of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures last week, is located at Nashville’s OneC1TY business center.

Our friends and media partners at 3D Today, the leading 3D printing news website in Russia, are exclusively reporting on the first residential house in Europe and the CIS, that was just built in Yaroslavl (Russia) using AMT-SPECAVIA’s 3D construction printing technology. 3D construction printing consists of creating the 3D model on the computer, dividing the model into layers in cross section, layer-by-layer extrusion of the cement-based mixture in accordance with the model, solidifying of the material until the completion of the object.