THE FUTURE OF 3D THE PRINTED
BUILDINGS IN AFRICA

Written By Uyanwune, Ordinakachukwu

ABSTRACT – 3D printed buildings is the future the construction industry. The
current world population is about 8.0 billion as of 2022 according to the most
recent United Nations estimates . More people means more housing. 3D printed building is here as a potential problem solver, it is cost-effectiveness (cheaper construction), faster Construction, higher material efficiency, reduced Labor and reduces waste and carbon dioxide emissions, among other benefits one of its biggest is it saves time. 3D printed buildings is already an ongoing project in different parts of the world, it’s being used in Austin, Texas to house homeless people, to build an entire community in Mexico, in Netherland and in India, in Malawi ,in Angola and many other countries.

3D PRINTED BUILDINGS IN AFRICA (MALAWI).

In 2021, the world’s first 3D printed school was built Salima district of Malawi in
Africa. This project was carried out by a company called 14Trees. 14Trees is a
joint venture between Holcim and CDC Group which is focused on building
affordable houses, schools and social infrastructures in Africa. 14Trees benefits
from the expertise of Holcim’s R&D Centre, the world’s leading building materials research Centre, to accelerate the use of environmentally friendly solutions such as Holcim earth brick Durabric and 3D printing. They were able to print the walls of the school in 18 hours. This followed its first 3D-printed prototype house in Lilongwe, Malawi – built with precision in less than 12 hours, which significantly reduces the four days spent building a home with conventional building practices. The children officially began learning in the school in June, 2021. For these two projects the 14Trees used a BOD2 printer from Cobod. Cobod is owned by Henrik Lund-Nielsen a Danish business executive and serial-entrepreneur, they currently one of the top suppliers of 3D construction printers. COBOD’s robotic construction 3D printers have previously been deployed for several high-profile 3D printing projects, including the first 3D printed commercial apartment building in Germany, and the first “record-tall” 10-meter concrete wind turbine tower base alongside LafargeHolcim and GE Renewable Energy. 14Trees aims to accelerate the production and commercialization of environmentally-friendly, affordable construction solutions in Africa. They are partners with Habitat for humanity, LafargeHolcim, CDC investment works in attainment of their goal. They are all committed to build for the home and for the people. They have also moved this technology across the broader region with projects already in the pipeline in Kenya and Zimbabwe. Tenbite Ermias, Managing Director, Africa, at CDC said: “The rollout of 14Trees’ world-class, cutting-edge technology is going to have a massive developmental impact on Malawi and the other region of Africa. It is a wonderful example of how we are investing in businesses that can support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.”

3D PRINTED BUILDING IN AFRICA (MADAGASCAR)

3d as the future is spreading throughout the earth, and rapidly moving to the four corners of Africa. Moving over to Madagascar, which is also one of the first
countries to imbibe this great discovery and move toward the advance of this
technology.

In Madagascar a Non-profit organization Thinking Huts has partnered with
architectural design agency Studio Mortazavi to create the world’s first 3D-printed school on the campus of a university in Fianarantsoa, Madagascar.
This also shows us that this technology is not just creating better houses in lesser time , with fewer resources and no emission, but it’s also creating job opportunities and giving rise for new organizations. In Africa’s project it was overseen by a company called 14Trees but this is overseen by Thinking huts, and there primary
aim is to fix the problem of poor infrastructures in the educational sector, which many countries over look and in return it reduces the chances of children getting good education. Madagascar is the first country Thinking Huts has worked with in building a 3d printed school, the technology that was used was created Using technology developed by Finnish company Hyperion Robotics, As a nonprofit organization focused on their goal, the company decided to teach some citizens of Madagascar how to build infrastructures using a 3d printer, As it was recorded the school was built in just three weeks and the other structures needed for the completion of the building were all said to have been locally provided, example A roof made from galvanised metal covered with native grass will help the buildings blend into their surroundings.

3D PRINTED BUILDING IN AFRICA (MOROCCO)

As it was earlier stated, this advanced technology is moving rapidly across Africa, now 3D printing has reached western North Africa. Morocco builts its first 3D building as a show piece in the first edition of the “Solar Decathlon Africa”, an event that promotes the use of renewable energies in the manufacture of real estate in the city of Benguerir in Morocco. The company who used the 3d technology is called BE MORE 3D. This technology showcased ended up winning the company the prize for the most innovative startup, awarded by Green Africa Innovation Booster of IRESEN, the research institute of the Moroccan Ministry of Energy and
Environment.