Dubai wants a quarter of all new buildings to be 3D printed by 2025. By betting on 3D printing, Dubai expects to cut labour costs by 70%, while overall construction costs should be reduced by 90%.
This reports the World Economic Forum. The move is part of a strategy presented in 2016 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and emir of Dubai. As part of this strategy, a roadmap called 'Dubai Future Foundation' was set up, which aims to turn the UAE and Dubai into the world's 3D printing hub by 2030.
Global 3D printing hub
"The Dubai 3D printing strategy will make Dubai a global 3D printing hub. The strategy embraces emerging technology that will help reduce costs in many sectors, especially in healthcare and construction in Dubai. The technology will restructure economies and labour markets and redefine productivity," Dubai Future Foundation's website reads.
In fact, the first building in Dubai to be fully 3D printed was opened back in 2016. It is a building called 'Office of the Future', which was printed using a 3D printer attached to a robotic arm. This machine is 6 metres high, 36 metres long and 12 metres wide.
The Office of the Future is made up of several modules printed using this printer, which took a total of 17 days. These modules were then assembled on site using a crane to create the final building, The assembly took two days. The Dubai Future Foundation is currently located in the Office of the Future.
Project Milestone
3D-printed houses are also being worked on in the Netherlands. Eindhoven municipality, TU Eindhoven and the companies Van Wijnen, Vesteda, Saint Gobain-Weber Beamix and Witteveen+Bos want to create a series of habitable houses printed directly using a 3D printer within 'Project Milestone'. The houses will be located in Eindhoven's new housing estate Meerhoven.
A total of five homes will be created, all printed in concrete. The houses will be built one at a time, each time learning from previous construction projects. For instance, the first house will be a single-storey house printed off-site and then assembled on site. The fifth house is to be a two-storey house printed entirely on-site. Despite continuous learning from lessons learned throughout the project, the parties involved stress that Project Milestone is not an experiment. The parties talk about a comprehensive innovation that could be disruptive for the construction industry, as concrete is the most widely used building material in the world.
3D printing homes on Mars
NASA is also betting on 3D printing homes. The space agency wants to print homes on Mars to house astronauts on the planet. Teams worldwide were invited to participate in the 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge. Within this chalenge, they designed a virtual model of a house suitable for Mars, with the task of using as many recycled materials or materials found locally on Mars as possible.
Five teams - all American - are through to the third phase. This phase of the 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge is aimed at developing the robot that will print the homes on Mars. Participants will be challenged to realise their design in practice, printing the homes in about a third of their actual size.
Source: World Economic Forum
Source: Dubai Future Foundation
Source: Government of Dubai Media Office (pictured)
Source: 3D Printed House
Source: NASA
