europe's largest 3D-printed building to complete in germany

construction began for europe’s largest 3D-printed building

Dubbed Germany’s city of science, Heidelberg will soon host the largest 3D-printed building in Europe — a cloud & data center for Heidelberg IT Management. Construction for this groundbreaking project kickstarted on March 31, 2023, and is expected to complete by the end of July 2023. PERI 3D Construction is providing the know-how for the 3D printing process and is using Denmark-based COBOD’s BOD2 3D construction printer to shape the walls of the building. PERI is taking advantage of the high printing speeds and plans to complete the walls in just 140 hours — using only 100% recycled materials — equivalent to printing 4 square meters per hour.

render © SVV Architekten | all courtesy COBOD

using high-speed printers to shape all walls in about 140 hours

Initiated by builder and developer KRAUSGRUPPE, the Heidelberg IT Server Hotel / Cloud & Data Center will rise as a curving volume with wavy façades, typical of a 3D-printing finishing. The architects from SSV Architekten (see more here) and Mense-Korte (and here), who collaborated on the project, devoted much attention to the unique design of the wall. ‘Based on parametric design, the special wall design used in the building documents the immense design freedom that the COBOD BOD2 3D printer enables. We are very proud to be able to realize our largest building to date with this project,’ shares Dr. Fabian Meyer-Brötz, Managing Director of PERI 3D Construction GmbH.

Dimensions-wise, the structure is about 54 meters long, 11 meters wide, and 9 meters high — making it indeed Europe’s largest 3D-printed building so far. With that, unlike traditional cement buildings, the project’s carbon emission is expected to be reduced by 55% — a testament to the sustainable essence of 3D-printing architecture. ‘In this unique project, PERI is emphasizing two of the key benefits of 3D construction printing; speed of execution and design freedom. Because of this, our technology is capable of carrying out everything from materials savings windmill towers over low-cost residential housing in Africa to architectural office-type buildings in Germany,’ concludes Henrik Lund-Nielsen, Founder & General Manager of COBOD.