The German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech) along with Danish 3D printer producer COBOD and Mexican cement company Cemex has completed the largest 3D printed building in the world made with real concrete. 

Located in the Omani capital of Muscat, the 2,100-square-foot structure was designed as a typical social housing unit in Oman. It includes three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a living room, kitchen, and a guest reception area. The house was printed in two stages. The first stage included the training of the Omani building crew while the materials recipe was being adjusted, which was followed by the five-day construction process.

Rather than using traditional dry mix mortars used in most other 3D printed structures, GUtech employed a D.fab solution developed by COBOC and CEMEX that consists of locally sourced cement, sand, and gravel — a mix that is, according to the development team, easier to deposit. The team tested the solution in Angola, resulting in the country’s first 3D printed building. In addition, they found that using local aggregate allowed the housing construction costs to reduce dramatically, down to less than $1,000 USD for the 575-square-foot home. 

For the Omani project, more than 99.5% of the materials used were local, with less than 0.5% coming from Europe. The material cost came down to less than 1,600 Euros ($1,800 USD). According to COBOD, if a printable dry mix mortar had been used, the cost of the materials would have been more than 20,000 Euros ($22,800 USD). 

Following the completion of the home in mid-December, it was presented at an event in Muscat, attended by more than 200 dignitaries including Sultan Al-Habsi, Minister of Finance of Oman. It is hoped that this project will support the nation’s efforts to achieve its Vision 2040 initiative to develop a more diversified and sustainable national economy. 

“Today’s display of the first 3D printed building is perhaps the first step in the 1,000-mile journey,” said Acting Rector of GUtech, Dr. Hussain Al Sami. “We hope that this center will play its part in supporting Oman’s efforts to achieve Oman’s Vision 2040.” 

“While we have been happy to help various cement and concrete manufacturers develop dry mix 3D printable mortars, we have also insisted on that a solution for making real concrete made from local available materials would be needed for mass application of our technology,” added Founder and General Manager of COBOD, Henrik Lund-Nielsen. “With the low cost for the printed materials, on top of the savings from not needing formwork and the minimal crew needed to operate our printers, our disruptive technology is now more competitive than ever before in Oman and everywhere in the world.”