An anti-seismic house comes out of the 3D printer in Guatemala
A specialist in the cement industry in Latin America has just inaugurated the first 3D printed building after 26 hours of printing.
What if the 3D printer was a response to time and environmental constraints during the construction of a building? While in the United States, the method seems to have become commonplace, with the first 3D printed house at Uncle Sam's dating from 2018, Guatemala has just seen a first building erected, or rather printed using the technology.
The milestone was reached thanks to the collaboration between Progreso, a specialist in the cement industry in Central and South America, and the Danish group 3DCP, owner of the BOD2 construction 3D printer from COBOD International. More than demonstrating the practicality of such construction, the objective of this achievement was also to meet the needs for adaptation of buildings in this area of the country prone to earthquakes.
The walls having to take a particular shape to resist earthquakes, "a classic construction would prove costly, if not impossible to achieve with concrete blocks, the predominant material in the region" according to the information site Construccion latino americana . Here, it only took 26 hours of printing spread over 7 days to see the 3m high walls go up. The facades were completed with a “Rancho” palm leaf roof, a traditional technique in Latin America for its economical and thermal comfort but also its flexibility and lightness, ideal in seismic regions according to the builders.