Ep. 9: The Benefits & Challenges of 3D Printing Buildings (Dubai) // The Essential Housing Campaign

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Benjamin Piper
Partner/Design Principal, Killa Design
Located in Dubai, UAE, “The Office of the Future” is the world’s first fully functional and permanently occupied ‘3D-printed’ building, currently acting as temporary home for the Dubai Future Foundation as well as an exhibition space and incubator for future emerging technologies in Dubai. Designed by the Dubai-based architecture firm, Kila Design, the construction of the pavilion is part of a larger strategy launched by the UAE, to become a major incubator of innovation and future technologies for the world.
The entire structure was ‘printed’ in concrete using an additive manufacturing technique by a manufacturing partner in China. Intended to improve energy efficiency in the hot climate of the UAE, the insulated concrete walls are 31 inches (800mm) thick and oriented on the site to shade the inside through projected overhangs above the windows, while also maximizing visibility and natural light with its expansive floor to ceiling windows.
While there are many design benefits to the customized free form 3D-printed structures, Ben Piper, Partner and Design Principal of Killa Design outlines some of the challenges for 3d printed concrete to become a low cost solution for social housing, including the long road towards standardization, prefabrication, and simplicity required for significant cost savings.
Presented as part of The Essential Housing Campaign, a community-building campaign, led by The Housing Innovation Collaborative, to build more housing for our essential workers in the communities they serve, in Los Angeles and beyond.
0:00 Hook
0:59 Introduction / Company Background
1:39 Project Initiation
2:59 Supplier of 3D-printed concrete
3:29 Site layout
4:18 Groundbreaking aspects of project
4:43 Design and construction overview
5:33 Structural challenges
8:10 Physical distortion for windows
8:37 3D printing housing challenges
9:03 Affordability of 3D printing buildings
9:43 Challenges beyond construction
10:40 Other project constraints
10:49 Approving the building design
11:09 The magic of 3D printing
11:29 Advantages of 3D-printing
12:24 Future potential of 3D printing
12:53 Customized building blocks
13:51 3D printing integrated systems
14:25 Architect’s role in 3D printing