Heidelberg: 3D printer constructs 600 m² building in 7 days

A real breakthrough for the construction industry? In Heidelberg, a 600 m² building has now been successfully constructed using a 3D printer. The so-called Wave House took just over a week to complete.

A European record

The Wave House is not the first building to be built by a 3D printer. But with an area of 600 m², it is the largest in the whole of Europe. The construction project was set up by Heidelberg Materials. The company entrusted the construction of the building, which will house the local data center in the future, to real experts.

Three different architectural firms, SSV Architekten, Beckum and Mense-Korte, were involved in the development. Peri 3D Construction and the property developer Kraus Group were then responsible for the implementation. The planning probably took much longer than the implementation. After 170 hours, the Wave House was already standing there in all its glory.

3D printers to save the housing shortage?

The short construction time will certainly make some property developers’ ears prick up. After all, no bricklayer can keep up here. However, the project also used state-of-the-art machines in the form of Peri 3D printers and the Cobod Bod2. The two large-format 3D printers layered 4 m² of construction material per hour, creating the outer walls of the building at lightning speed. A total of 333 tons of a recyclable cement-like mass was used. During the construction itself, the people in charge saw the undulating lines that gave the building its name as a major challenge.

With the help of the well-known advantages of the 3D printer, however, this was probably not a problem to implement. However, even the most modern technology still has its limits. Human labor was still used for tasks such as electrics, door installation and roof construction. Painting, on the other hand, was a different story. A painting robot was used here. However, 3D printers could be a real game changer in the future, at least when it comes to building shells. In view of the current shortage of housing, increased use could be an obvious solution to speed up construction.