3D technology has improved significantly since it was first used. Dubai, as the home of many modern architectural wonders, has wasted no time in finding a way to use this technology in order to create the first building that has the exterior, the interior and even the furniture made using only 3D printing technology. The building is the new office for the Dubai Future Foundation and has been a test for the creativity and versatility of 3D printing. Dubai aims to continue using their 3D printing innovations to become a world leading technological center of architecture and design.

The building was made using special reinforced concrete, fiber reinforced plastic and glass fiber reinforced gypsum. It has been described as an elaborate, modernized version of the Flintsone’s house in Bedrock. The structure was designed by the architectural firm Gensler and commissioned out to WinSun, because of their experience in making 3D buildings. This was the first building that they have actually constructed on site and they did so using a 20ft tall, 120ft long 3D printer. The building’s final measurement is 2600ft and its construction was completed in a slightly longer time period than two weeks. It is estimated that using 3D printing instead of traditional construction methods resulted in a savings of 80% in labor costs, and as much as 60% less material was wasted.

Dubai is one of the most expensive places in the world to live, and the world’s second largest oil supplier. The country has still made it a priority to limit the ways in which it uses oil and is increasingly relying on cleaner energy sources, such as solar panels. There is a long term plan in place for them to become the cleanest city in the world by 2050. Dubai’s aim is to preserve the environment for future generations, and the country intends to do this using a combination of cleaner energy sources and 3D printing.

Plans are already being made to develop an innovative center, which will rely on 3D printing, as a base for research and development for other energy sources that will create a safer, healthier environment for us to live in. This is research that the entire world would be able to benefit from, when new ways and means of producing energy is found.

Dubai is currently working on other projects that will feature buildings made from 3D printing. This includes a ‘Museum of the Future’ which will have items that are all formed using 3D printing technology, and will show designs expected to be used 10 years in the future. The displays will be changed at least every six months in order to reflect the constant projection of being one decade ahead.

Dubai has proven that it is not only ahead of the majority of other nations, in the way that their technology is advancing but also in the way they are creating the future. Other countries can also benefit from following their example wherever possible.

Dubai’s advances in 3D printing for construction and other product manufacturing provided examples for the construction of the seasteaded city of Venus in the science based fiction Endless Fire Future Furies.

Additional information concerning 3D construction is available at http://www.sculpteo.com/blog/2015/10/07/3d-printing-construction/