3D printing continues to revolutionize manufacturing and it isn’t just little things like hearing aides, which took under 500 days for the entire industry to switch to 3D, that are using the new manufacturing technique. Plans for the first ever fully workable 3D printed office building have been revealed in Dubai which will be built layer by layer using a 20 foot tall printer.
Plans for the 2000 square foot single story test building were announced by Mohammed Al Gergawi, the United Arab Emirates Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the National Innovation Committee.
No timeline for construction were given although Al Gergawi said the office would house the staff of the Museum of The Future which is to open in 2017.
Chinese 3D-printing firm Winsun Global will carry out most of the work, partnered by other firms including Thornton Tomasetti, Gensler and Syska Hennessy Group.
Winsum Global has used 3D printer technology for large scale buildings previously including a six storey apartment building.
The Dubai office will be assembled from the printer layers onsite and will be reinforced with concrete, plastic and glass fibre. All furniture inside the building will also be 3D printed.
The country hopes to use the information collected during the test to prepare to print a fully 3D printed skyscraper. While pieces of tall building have been 3D printed in the past, Dubai is looking to become the first nation to build a completely 3D printed high-rise sometime in the next five years.
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