3D-printed villas coming to Dubai

Dubai’s first 3D-printed villas will be unveiled within two months, according to Engineer Hussain Nasser Lootah, director-general of the Dubai Municipality, Arabian Business wrote.

The Dubai Municipality has now brought all the necessary tools and equipment to build the villa, Lootah told the Emarat Al Youm newspaper, which is part of the city’s 3D Printing Strategy.

By 2030, 25 percent of the city’s new buildings will be “printed” in an attempt to reduce construction costs and shorten delivery timeframes – which is especially important in the affordable housing sector.

3D printing has increasingly come to the fore as a solution for a number of industries, particularly in the healthcare space, but it’s considered particularly important to the construction sector, with the combination of automation and new materials helping to increase efficiency.

While Dubai-based startup, Cazza, announced in February last year that it would build the world’s first 3D-printed skyscraper, and the now famous plans to build a new city on the moon using 3D technology, might steal the headlines, the villas will offer a clear proof-of-concept in a real-world setting.

“3D printing is a disruptive technology,” Sameer Lakhani, managing director of Global Capital Partners, told the Khaleej Times. “Currently, the process is still more expensive than conventional building methods; moreover it is in its embryonic stages, being able to accommodate only rudimentary designs. However, within a 10 to 15-year time frame, it appears likely that this form of ‘printing’ will start to replace existing methods of construction.”