Europe’s first 3D-printed building has been completed

3D Printhuset’s The BOD (Building On Demand) is a demonstration project in Copenhagen that recently became the first 3D-printed building in Europe. The printing began on Sept. 11 and was expected to take a few weeks to complete but ended up taking almost twice the scheduled time.

The 3D printing was not the issue that caused the delay, however. The problems were encountered in other areas that the 3D printing was dependent upon. "Realizing the delay we have had, perhaps we were too optimistic with our planning. However, it is very difficult to plan for problems that you have never tried before. This was the first time anybody applied this technology in Europe,” says Henrik Lund-Nielsen, CEO at 3D Printhuset, the company behind the project.

Photo courtesy 3D Printhuset.

The entirety of the project took twice as long as expected, but the actual time spent 3D printing the walls took the planned 50 hours. The difficulties that led to the delay had to do with the material handling prior to printing. Faulty material deliveries and equipment failures related to the material handling were the biggest issues.

Detailed information regarding the construction process of The BOD will be presented in detail during a 3D construction printing conference in Copenhagen on Nov. 30.