3D Printing and Construction

By Penny Munoz

According to architect Adrian Priestman, he is the first one to implement 3D printed construction elements into an actual building. The rooftop canopy of the Bevis Marks development in London is fabricated from pieces that were individually printed and pieced together.

Priestman says that his firm has taken 3D printing to the next level, where most companies use 3D printing simply as a modeling tool. Consideration for 3D printing as a possible method for construction became real after project consultant Vector Foiltec deemed conventional steel nodes aesthetically unsuitable for the design. Using a selective laser sintering process, the new 3D computer software developed by Priestman and his team printed the models in sections, manufacturing steel nodes in pieces as opposed to using a traditional cast. These parts underwent testing in 1,000 miles per hour winds and extreme weather prior to being approved by the client and building contractor, Skanska.

This is the first step in a new method of construction, but it certainly isn’t the first time it’s being talked about in the industry. Students at the Loughborough University in the UK have been working on similar projects for computer generated models. According to developments made in their studies, concrete printing has the capacity to create architecture that is more unique in form because of the fact that the pieces do not need to be made from solid materials. The printer analyzes the data for the computer generated model and precisely positions cement in a technique that can incorporate all the service requirements of a building (like pipes and cables). This use of resources could prove to be more efficient than conventional techniques in the long run, which would end up reducing the costs of development while enhancing the accuracy of design.

“This process is capable of producing building components with a degree of customization that has not yet been seen,” says Dr. Richard Buswell, the Principle Investigator at the university. “It could create an era of architecture that’s adaptive to the environment and fully integrated with engineering function.”

The future of 3D printing in construction is still uncertain, but the idea behind the scheme is to be able to eventually print entire sections of a building and assemble it on site with service provisions already installed. The magnitude of the scale and intricacy of building designs would then become endless and architecture would be able to take on a new creative scope that is more efficient than ever before.

Watch the video below to learn more!