Ireland unveils 鈥楨urope鈥檚 first鈥� 3D-printed concrete social housing
18 December 2024
A public-private housing development consortium in Ireland consisting of Louth County Council, 3D-printing firm Harcourt Technologies, and materials provider Roadstone was said to have constructed 鈥淓urope鈥檚 first鈥� using a BOD2 3D Construction Printer from Cobod.
A Cobod printer lays concrete walls for the Ireland-based housing development. (Image: Cobod)
The 3D concrete printed (3DCP) dwellings are in Grange Close, Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland. The 330m2 footprint includes three three-bedroom houses.
Designed to meet Eurocode 6 masonry standard, the boundaries of the housing development are composed of cavity walls: two 10cm-thick skins with a 150mm cavity in-between. Cobod, the Denmark-based 3D printer provider, said the walls were constructed without reinforcement and meets EN206, Eurocode 6 for unreinforced masonry construction and ISO/ASTM (52939:2023) standards.
鈥淭he use of the 3DCP technology meant 35% faster construction and completion in just 132 days compared to conventional methods requiring more than 200 days, with the 3D printed superstructure completed in just 12 printing days,鈥� claimed Cobod. 鈥淎pproximately 50% of the time savings came directly from 3D printing the wall system.鈥�
A 3D concrete printed social housing development in Ireland. It鈥檚 said to be Europe鈥檚 鈥渇irst鈥� of its kind. (Image: Cobod)
The printing firm added that remaining savings were achieved alongside what could be called a modular approach. Referring to 鈥渢he precision of 3D construction printing鈥�, Cobod said it was able to employ 鈥渟eamless integration of other building components 鈥� such as partition walls, floor systems, and trusses 鈥� to already be considered during the planning and preparation phases, resulting in a more efficient construction process.鈥�
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