Dubai is constructing the world’s first fully functional 3D printed building as part of plans to become a global hub for innovation. The office will be approximately 2,000 square feet in size and printed layer-by-layer using a 20-foot tall 3D printer assembled on site in Dubai in a few weeks. All interior furnishing, detailing and structural components will also be built using 3D printing technology, with a combination of special reinforced concrete, glass fiber reinforced gypsum and fiber reinforced plastic. Dubai’s Ministry of Cabinet Affairs claimed this would make it the most advanced 3D printed structure ever built at this scale, and the first to be put into actual use. The building is a result of a partnership between Dubai and WinSun Global, along with architecture and engineering firms Gensler, Thornton Tomasetti and Syska Hennessy. UAE National Innovation Committee chairman Mohamed Al Gergawi said the move was part of plans to make the UAE a global centre of technology in architecture construction and design. “We are keen to use the latest technologies to simplify people’s lives and to serve them better. This project is part of our overall innovation strategy to create new designs and new solutions in education, healthcare and cities. Our goal is to increase the happiness and wellbeing of our residents and to pioneer new solutions for the world,” Al Gergawi said.
