The largest 3D-printed building in Europe (600m2) is being constructed in Heidelberg, a town in the southwest of Germany; it is 11m wide x 55m long and 9m high (36ft x 180ft x 29ft in old money) and the construction was overseen by just 2 people.

Heidelberg iT Management have stated that this will become a server hotel. The giant machine a “BOD2 3D construction printer” prints layers and layers of material on top of each other. An online article asserts that the developer “Kraus Gruppe”, states “the concrete used is made of 100 per cent recycled materials and will reduce the emission of CO2 by 55 per cent, compared to pure Portland cement, the type of cement most commonly used around the world.”

The printing process lasted a mere 140 hours, which is equal to producing 4 square meters of the structure per hour, but the internal fitting, to house servers for the cloud infrastructure and a data centre, will take a lot longer. No date has yet to be  given for the opening of the facility.

3D printed structures are still a relatively new product that has yet to stand the test of time, although conservative estimates of their lifespan are between a minimum of 100 years, to in excess of 300. The 3d printed construction method that sees no delamination between the printed layers, and the dense consistency of the product, means fewer microscopic voids that will allow water from the environment to enter. Timing is of the essence when printing these layers, as there must be enough time left for the layer to set and support the subsequent layers above it, but not too much time, because the adhesion of one layer to another is important, as a bond to create the overall strength.

The concrete blocks that are still made and used today, were created in the 1890’s, and are given a lifespan of between 60 and 100 years The main problem causing structures to degrade in current construction, is the rusting and expansion of the internal rebar element. However, high rise 3d buildings are unlikely, as the materials they are made from will not stand the pressure on the walls, once they attain a certain height.

The tallest 3d building in the world at 9.9m is a 3-storey home constructed in Saudi Arabia, where less than 10,000€ was spent on the materials used in the printing process.