3D printing construction is here

3 D printing has become the rave in the technology circles and it is no surprise that focus has been turned to printing of houses and buildings altogether. What is a surprise is that a company in China has been the first to move forward with the technology and has successfully built a villa, 10 houses and even a 6 storey building from 3D printing.
The Chinese company going by the name of Winsun last year announced that they had successfully built 10 houses and all this was done in one day. This is the stuff that developers in Africa can only dream of. No more hustles and months of mind numbing meeting and crises. Winsun further announced this year that it had proceeded to build a Villa and even a 5 storey apartment block.
The benefits have been unbelievable. Cost saving, time saving and even customization will soon be within reach in a few years time when the technology becomes more widely available.
Winsun currently utilize a giant printer that uses a special ‘ink’ that contains recycled concrete, steel and fiberglass. The fabricated parts can then be erected on site. The method allows for construction of designs that present day construction constraints would otherwise be constrained to achieve. For instance since the pieces are hollow it allows for lower material usage and provides space for services in the walls while maintaining strength.
With this new 3D printing technology savings on time, labor and even materials is a whopping 50% allowing for cheaper, faster houses to be built. This would change the future for low cost housing to alleviate slums and even disaster response. In addition the designs would be customizable eliminating the rather dull box-like low cost houses available presently. With 3D printing an architect will have little restraint and will only need to dream up a design, save on a flash and have it printed.