The first 3D printed residential building in Germany

The first 3D printed residential building will be erected in Germany, more precisely in the city of Beckum, Westphalia. The two-storey house will offer 80 square meters per floor, with walls built by the concrete 3D printer BOD2 from the Danish manufacturer COBOD. Led by PERI GmbH, a company specializing in manufacturing and distribution of formwork, scaffolding and shoring, the construction project has successfully obtained all regulatory approvals in recent months. Although the completion date has not been communicated yet, the project looks well advanced and it is not unlikely that in the near future, this construction technique will be the preferred one in Germany.

In the concrete 3D printing sector, the aim of the market players is to automate the material extrusion process as much as possible in order to offer fast, reliable and durable solutions. Even if one cannot yet build one’s own house on one’s own land within 24 hours, manufacturers are trying to improve the precision and speed of their machines as much as possible, while at the same time offering an affordable price. This is in any case the mission that COBOD has given itself, which has developed a range of concrete 3D printers mounted on a gantry. One of its shareholders is PERI GmbH, which managed the entire project.

The printing of the two-storey house required a single machine and two operators on site. The concrete 3D printer, with a printing speed of 1m/s, took only about 5 minutes to produce 1m² double wall. Leonhard Braig, Production and Supply Chain Manager at PERI GmbH, explains: “3D printing is fundamentally changing the way we build and the residential construction process. As this is the first building of its kind, we are striving to print at a slower rate than is actually possible. We want to take this opportunity to gain more experience in day-to-day operations, as this will help us further exploit the cost-saving potential of our technology in the next printing project”.

The structure would consist of triple-layer cavity walls, which are filled with an insulating mix. During the 3D printing process, the operator takes into account the conduits and connections for water, electricity, etc. that will be installed at a later date. PERI states that the BOD2 has been certified so that it is possible to carry out work on the construction site in parallel with the printing process. Manual jobs, such as the installation of empty pipes and fittings, could therefore be easily integrated into the printing process, saving valuable operator time.

On the materials side, HeidelbergCement developed “i.tech 3D”, a concrete specifically developed to meet the requirements of 3D printing and construction. The house, commissioned by MENSE-KORTE ingenieure+architekten for Hous3Druck GmbH, is in any case a fine demonstration of the possibilities of concrete additive  manufacturing. Architect Waldemar Korte, partner of the architectural office MENSE-KORTE ingenieure+architekten in Beckum, adds: “The concrete printing process gives us a lot of freedom when designing buildings. With conventional construction methods, this would only be possible at a high financial cost. With our printed residential building in Beckum, we are demonstrating the potential of the printing process. It is a great privilege for our team to realize the first 3D printed residential building project in Germany. We believe in the future viability of printing technology for the construction industry and have already identified other 3D printing projects“.

We will be sure to keep you informed about the inauguration date of this 160 square meter 3D printed residential building! In the meantime, you can find more information HERE. What do you think about this project? Let us know in a comment down below or on our Facebook and Twitter pages! Don’t forget to sign up for our free weekly Newsletter, with all the latest news in 3D printing delivered straight to your inbox!