DRK headquarters in Neubeckum partly built using 3D printing process
The German Red Cross is using the robot-assisted 3D printing process with sustainable building materials to construct one of its buildings.
The 3D printing robot prints a section of the exterior façade of the DRK building.
(Image: Sika Deutschland (Screenshot))
The Warendorf Beckum district association of the German Red Cross (DRK) is relying on modern building materials and innovative construction techniques, including robot-assisted 3D printing, to build its new administrative headquarters. Parts of the building's façade and interior walls are being created by a 3D printing robot.
The DRK's new building was to be innovative, future-oriented, and climate-friendly as an addition to an existing vehicle hall on 450 m² of a 900 m² site, according to the DRK Warendorf Beckum's target definition for the construction. The building comprises 20 offices, training rooms and sanitary facilities.
New sustainable materials such as composite materials made of wood, cement and stone, geo-polymer cement and carbon are being used. Foam cement is used for insulation. Recycled materials are also used. The building consists of a combination of prefabricated elements, cast walls as well as 130 m² of exterior façades and 150 m² of interior walls, which were created using a robot-assisted 3D printing process.
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An IRB 6700 articulated arm robot with six degrees of freedom from robotics company ABB is used for the printing. The robot arm is mounted on a height-adjustable platform and also runs on rails so that the robot is more mobile and can also print larger construction sections without having to be moved. The robot arm guides a spray nozzle that applies the building material evenly. This is essentially a material made from recycled construction waste and other resource-saving materials. Around 90 tons of the viscous building material were used for the work on the building.
When creating the building, the 3D printing robot follows a predetermined plan that has previously been defined in a digital version. This version is transferred on site to the 3D printing robot, which then begins printing. The building parts are created layer by layer. And in any weather. The advantages of this process are the flexibility in the shape and structure of the walls, as well as the short construction time. It took around 100 hours to build the interior walls and parts of the exterior façade. Overall, the construction time of the building was reduced to a quarter of the time compared to conventional construction methods.
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The project was implemented by building contractor Gorgios Staikos with Staikos 3D GmbH, a pioneer in the use of robot-assisted 3D printing processes in the German construction industry. Staikos had already built Germany's first two-storey residential building in Beckum in 2021 using the 3D printing process. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) had already funded the construction back then. The DRK building is also receiving funding. This time as part of the “Digitalization of the construction industry and innovative building” program. The total cost of the building is expected to be around 2.7 million euros.
(olb)
