Plans are underway to add the world’s first office building made using three-dimensional printer technology to its collection of eye-catching buildings. Mohammed Al-Gergawi, the United Arab Emirates’ minister of Cabinet affairs, said the project is part of a broader effort by the seven-state federation to embrace cutting-edge technology and make it a global hub for innovation.
He added that 3-D printing technology has the potential to cut building construction time and labor costs by at least half and reduce construction waste by 30 to 60 percent. He described the proposed Dubai office as “the most advanced 3D printed structure ever built at this scale” and the first to be put into actual use. Dubai is already home to a number of fanciful man-made islands, including one archipelago depicting a map of the world, as well as the world’s tallest building, the 828-meter (2,717-foot) tall Burj Khalifa and another in the pipeline, the tallest commercial building on the planet, to be known as Burj 2020.
