A consortium of engineering firms has come together to build Europe's largest 3D-printed building. Expected to be completed by July, the building will house a data center, Kraus Gruppe announced. [1]

3D printing has quickly moved from research laboratories to real-world projects. Interesting Engineering has previously reported how the technology has been deployed to build schools and bridges worldwide. 3D printing is also expected to help develop the first habitats on Mars, but while we wait for that to happen, a company plans to erect the largest 3D printed building in Europe, and that too at record speed. [1]

Figure 1. Europe’s Largest 3D-Printed Building

Europe's largest 3D-printed building

Figure 1 shows Europe’s Largest 3D-Printed Building. Construction is underway for what is being billed as “Europe’s largest 3D-printed building in the southern German city of Heidelberg. [2]

Once completed, it will be 55 meters long, 11 meters wide, and 9 meters high and will house a data center. [2]

The construction work normally carried out by dozens of human workers is done by a gigantic robot that prints layers and layers of concrete on top of each other. The entire process is expected to take just 140 working hours. [2]

“It’s very innovative. At a later stage it’s imaginable that there is just one person at the construction site to make sure nothing goes wrong,” said the developer, Hans-Joerg Kraus. [2]

His company, the Kraus Gruppe, says the concrete used is made of 100 percent recycled materials and will reduce the emission of CO2 by 55 percent compared to pure Portland cement, the type of cement most commonly used around the world. [2]

The technology for 3D printing comes from COBOD, which was also involved in making the world's largest 3D-printed building in 2021. The report said that its COBOD BOD 2 was used to 3D print a two-story house in Antwerp. [1]

The project is expected to be completed sometime in July. It involves Kraus Gruppe, Peri 3D Construction, SSV Architekten, Mense-Korte Ingenieure + Architekten and DAW (Caparol, Alpina), and is being commissioned by Heidelberg IT Management. [3]

References:

1. https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/europes-largest-3d-printed-building
2. https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/05/11/only-140-hours-needed-to-put-together-europes-largest-3d-printed-building
3. https://newatlas.com/architecture/europe-largest-3d-printed-building-cobod/

Cite this article:

Hana M (2023), Europe’s Largest 3D-Printed Building in Germany, AnaTechmaz, pp.198