3-D Printing Breaks into Commercial Real Estate

3-D Printing Breaks into Commercial Real Estate

 

Construction of new commercial space is not only time consuming but it is also expensive. From start to finish, building a new space is a very large task to tackle. There is so much between expenses, different firms working together, as well as the actual construction where a mistake or holdup can cost a project valuable time and money. These hang-ups could potentially all be solved with new technology being used in innovative ways.

3-D printing could be the future of how commercial space is constructed. According to CNET, China unveiled the first 3-D printed 1,100 SF office space in 2015 and Dubai following up with a 2,700 SF office building late last year. Dubai’s office building is groundbreaking for commercial construction simply because of the sheer ease of construction. The article by CNET outlined that the  building took a total of 17 days to print using a special cement printing mixture. Only one person was employed to monitor the machine, while another 17 people oversaw engineering, electricity, and other various on-site components. These cutbacks in labor represented a 50% savings in comparison to traditional construction costs. In total, the building cost around $140,000 including interior and exterior additions, according to cnet.com.

While this method of construction is still in the proof of concept phase, this could be a key to future commercial space building. With such extreme savings and time cuts, developers may be quick to consider 3-D printing in the future. This new technology could open many doors for the future of how commercial real estate is built and conducted.

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