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World’s first 3D-printed skyscraper to be built in UAE

3D printing technologies are not only cost effective but also time efficient

Tech Desk March 15, 2017

Dubai skyline, featuring the Burj Khalifa (March 25, 2010). PHOTO: REUTERS

A Dubai-based construction firm Cazza has announced its plans to build the world’ first 3D-printed skyscraper.

According to the company, the skyscraper will be built in the United Arab Emirates.

Cazza uses a 3D printing construction system that combines mobile 3D printing robots with existing construction methods to make construction processes faster and cost-effective. In order to construct the high-rise building, the company will use the ‘crane printing’ technique

The firm will be able to 3D print high rises using a new construction technique called ‘crane printing’. For the process, the company will use cranes with added units designed to build 3D structures of 80m and above. While the cranes will 3D print specific parts of the building, the rest of the construction will be carried out via existing methods.

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Talking to Construction Week Online, CEO of Cazza Chris Kelsey said, “When we first thought of implementing 3D printing technologies, we were mostly thinking of houses and low-rise buildings,” adding that “Developers kept asking us if it was possible to build a 3D printed skyscraper. This led us to begin researching how we could adapt the technologies for taller structures.”

Acknowledging that 3D technologies are not only cost effective but also time efficient, Kelsey said “Through our technologies, we will be able to build architecturally complex buildings at never-before-seen speeds. It is all about economies of scale where the initial high technology costs will reduce as we enter the mass-production phase."

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However, this will not be the first 3D printed in the UAE. Last year, the world’s first-ever 3D printed office building opened in Dubai.

The futuristic building, called the “Office of the Future”, was built in just 17 days using 3D printing technique and is located on the premises of the Emirates Towers.

This article originally appeared on Construction Week Online