Dutch architectural firm Dus is constructing a canal house in northern Amsterdam using 3D printed fabricated pieces of plastic, which are then placed as same as giant Lego blocks.
The project uses a giant version of the in-home 3D printer made by Ultimaker, the 6m-tall Kamermaker, or ‘room-builder’ to print each massive, honeycomb-structured block, layer by layer.
The blocks will be stuffed with a foam material, which are still being developed, would solidify similar to concrete and allow adding more weight and fasten the blocks together.
Under the project, parts of the canal house would be built and re-built several times during the three-year period as 3-D printing technology matures.
Architect bureau Dus’ Hedwig Heinsman told the Associated Press that the company would work to find out and share the potential deployments of 3-D printing in construction field through the development of new materials, run through designs as well trial building techniques.
"There’s only one way to find out," Heinsman added.
"By doing it."
The architectural firm is working jointly with Dutch construction firm Heijmans, German chemicals maker Henkel, in a bid to add more printers and alter designs along the way.
"We can recycle waste materials into useable materials, and eliminate the transportation costs of moving building materials," Heinsman said.
