UAE: SRTI Park, home to first 3D printed house, explores extending the concept to street furniture – News

Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park hosts workshop on using 3D concrete to print innovative street furniture

Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SRTP), home to the region’s first 3D printed house, is exploring new applications for the technology, including in street furniture.

To disseminate knowledge of the latest construction and digital fabrication technologies, Middle East Engineering Technologies (MEET) and SRTIP held a workshop entitled “Using 3D Concrete to Print Innovative Street Furniture” at the 3D Printed House in SRTI Park.

Commenting on SRTI’s plans to drive 3D printing innovation, SRTIP CEO Hussain Al Mahmoudi said: “3D printing is a technology whose time is ripe. We believe 3D printing will revolutionize the construction industry. The architectural heritage home of (3D) printing technology is a testament to our mission to advance the adoption of 3D printing. We are delighted to host this symposium, which will help shed new light on the application of the emerging technology.”

Haidar Alhaidary, program director at MEET, presented various insights into the new technology and explained the unique features of 3D printed villas, as well as the possibilities for innovative concrete street furniture.

Subsequent discussions with present professors, young engineers, and students explored public perception of the technology and the various pathways it is expected to take as it enters university future engineering courses.

Attendees also toured 3D House’s 3D concrete printing facility and saw the robotic printer in action.

As one of the first organizations regionally and globally to adopt 3D concrete printing, and having built the first 3D printed villa in the UAE, MEET is committed to working and contributing with its key partners to advance the technology.

Global interest in 3D concrete printing has grown exponentially since 2016, and a plethora of applications are being explored in an attempt to maximize the benefits of the technology.

The 3D printed house at SRTI Park is an architectural marvel. Built using cutting-edge technology, the entire house incorporates Emirati heritage and symbolizes Sharjah’s vision to become a hub for 3D printing technology.

By introducing 3D printing, the SRTI campus creates a vibrant and supportive environment for experimentation and research in the fields of future construction technologies and fourth generation technologies. The technology is considered to be one of the most innovative ways to construct composite housing units through the use of digital machinery.

3D printing fabrication is the process of making three-dimensional solid objects from digital files. The creation of 3D printed objects is achieved using additive processes. During additive, objects are created by placing successive layers of material until the object is created. Dimensioning is often faster, more affordable, and easier to use than other manufacturing techniques. 3D printers allow developers to print complex interlocking parts, and can make parts out of different materials with different mechanical and physical properties, and then assemble them together.