CyBe Construction, a Dutch specialist in concrete 3D printing, has been selected as the technology provider for a 3D printed house project in the UAE. The house will be built as part of the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SRTI Park) initiative which aims to 3D print a series of buildings in the area with the goal of transforming the city of Sharjah into an architectural hub.
The first 3D printed house of the SRTI Park project, supported by CyBe and the American University of Sharjah (AUS), is expected to be built by Q3 2019. The house will be constructed using CyBe 3D printing construction technology with the help of students, faculty and researchers from AUS, who will be trained in using the AM platform.
“We are delighted to launch this ambitious project, which translates the vision of the park and its ambitious strategy to introduce all kinds of reliable future technologies to serve and facilitate people,” commented His Excellency Hussain Al Mahmoudi, CEO of SRTI Park. “In order to become a regional development center for 3D printing construction, we aim to create a suitable research and development environment for the private, academic and public sector to benefit.”
The UAE is already something of a leader in construction 3D printing: the world’s first 3D printed office building is, after all, found in Dubai. Famously, Dubai has also set out an ambitious 3D printing strategy that aims to 3D print 25% of every new building constructed by 2025.
In Sharjah, the UAE’s third largest city, the 3D printing construction bug has apparently also been caught. SRTI Park hopes that the construction of 3D printed houses and buildings will create a proactive and supportive environment for experimenting and researching in the field of building and next-gen technologies.
More than just demonstrating its ability to create 3D printed houses, the SRTI Park project also aims to reduce costs associated with construction. CyBe’s concrete 3D printers are developed for flexibility and speed—walls can be 3D printed in a single day—and do away with many of the costs of traditional construction methods. Al Mahmoudi emphasized that as traditional construction costs are increasing, finding new and innovative solutions such as 3D printing, which offer more design freedom and manufacturing flexibility, is key.
The 3D printed house at SRTI Park will be the first major step in establishing the location as a strategic center for the technology and innovation sector and as an attraction for architects and architecture firms around the globe. Though details about its dimensions and build time have not been divulged, the style of the house will be distinctly Middle Eastern.
