World’s first 3-D-printed Apartment Building Debuts in China

Justin Scuiletti | PBS | January 20, 2015

A Chinese company has set another world first in 3-D printing living space.

WinSun, the company that used 3-D printed materials to aid in constructing 10 houses in a period of 24 hours in March 2014, has constructed the world’s first 3-D printed apartment building. The five-story building made its debut in Suzhou Industrial Park in Suzhou, China, alongside a separate, 3-D printed 11,840 square foot villa.

Printing large parts for buildings also calls for a large 3-D printer to accomplish the feat. WinSun used, according to CNET, a proprietary 3-D printer measuring 132 feet long, 33 feet wide, and 20 feet tall to print each part of the mansion. The 3-D printer uses a material created from ground construction and recycled industrial waste to construct the parts. Once the pieces were printed, the assembly of the building occurred at the site, with the addition of steel reinforcements and insulation to meet China’s building codes.

The company, however, does not want to stop there. WinSun, CNET reports, aims to use its 3-D printing technology to tackle even larger projects, including bridges and skyscrapers.

via World’s first 3-D-printed apartment building debuts in China.

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