3D Printing and Mass Timber Join Forces to Create Apartment Building in Germany

Archinect recently profiled PERI 3D Construction, a German company that is collaborating with construction printer-manufacturer COBOD on what the team describes as the “first 3D-printed social housing apartment building in Germany and Europe.” The three-floor building will contain six apartment units ranging from 670 to 890 square feet.

The first two floors of the apartment building will be 3D printed using concrete, while the top floor will be built using a timber hybrid construction method. The foundation, base, and horizontal slabs will be built from conventional methods, while the facade finish will comprise the 3D printed surface on the bottom two floors and facade panels to the top floor.

“We are pleased to be able to demonstrate once again how quickly, efficiently, and in a resource-saving manner the 3D printer can create living space and what potential is also opening up in the multi-family house segment,” PERI’s managing director Fabian Meyer-Brötz told Archinect. “We are convinced that the technology is already ready for widespread use on modern construction sites, and especially for social housing projects.”