3D printed office consultants to lead free panel session at Middle East Concrete today

24 November, Dubai – The consultants behind the world’s first 3D printed office will be a part of a panel session on the opportunities, challenges, and future of 3D technology within the construction industry at Middle East Concrete today.
Speaking ahead of the workshop, which will take place at the seminar theatre in Sheikh Zayed Hall between 3-4pm at Dubai World Trade Centre, Nicholas Billotti from WinSun Global said:
“When you have a government as visionary as Dubai you will certainly see not just this technology but any technology adopted and encouraged more rapidly than you might have in any other market.”
WinSun Global — a joint venture between Chinese 3D printing company WinSun and architecture and engineering firms Gensler, Thornton Tomasetti, and Syska Hennessy – was appointed to lead the production of the world’s first 3D printed office in Dubai, and Billotti said the project has been a terrific learning experience.
“This is a first-ever project of this nature so we are naturally very grateful for the support we have had from the client to have engaged us on this endeavour, and for the support of our team in getting across the line,” he said.
Billotti also spoke of the potential for 3D printing to be used in production of large scale projects, though he suggested the skyscrapers that have become synonymous with the iconic Dubai skyline might not be the best use for the technology.
“Using 3D printed technology for large scale projects would depend on the construction materials you use, it could get very big in terms of area, it could get very big in terms of having entire towns printed. I don’t know that 3D printing in its current form would be the best route for going tall and building skyscrapers, where you localise the printer.”
“What we are trying to do is merge manufacturing with construction. If you had a factory in close proximity to where you are building homes then you could see large scale development.”
Interested visitors and media can register to attend the panel session on the Middle East Concrete website right up until the start of the discussion.