World’s largest 3D-printed building completed in Dubai

The world of architectural 3D printing is in its superlative phase. Companies are competing to build the biggest, best, and most impactful 3D-printed structures with constantly advancing technology.

Dubai, home to the world’s tallest building, is unsurprisingly laying claim to the world’s largest 3D-printed building. At least for now. The city tapped Nasa-award-winning 3D-printing company Apis Cor to build a two-story municipal administrative building that stretches 31 feet high and across 6,900 square feet.

Apis Cor

A single machine extruded a concrete mixture into layers that serve as the building’s walls. Given the size of the project, a crane repositioned the multi-axis machine throughout the process to finish different areas of the building.

Though there’s no doubt the building is a technological feat, it also required a bit of teamwork from humans. The 3D-printed walls sit atop pre-cast slabs of concrete foundation and are reinforced with concrete and rebar. Contractors installed window and roofs after the 3D-printed form work was finished. It’s a good reminder that no one—machine or human—can do the work alone.

Apis Cor