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This apartment building is being 3D printed in Europe and rent won't be more than $530 a month for a 872-square-foot unit

This apartment building is being 3D printed in Europe — and rent won't be more than $530 a month for a 872-square-foot unit
Peri 3D Construction is now printing part of an affordable apartment building in Germany, as seen in a rendering.Peri 3D Construction
  • Peri 3D Construction is 3D-printing part of a three-floor, six-unit affordable apartment building in Germany.
  • The max rent could range between $398 to $528 depending on the size of the unit.

German residents will soon have the opportunity to move into an affordable apartment building with a futuristic twist — 3D-printed walls.

Peri 3D Construction, a prolific player in this burgeoning construction-tech industry, has a resume filled with projects like a two-story printed home currently underway in Houston.

Now, it's taking its concrete mix and BOD2 3D printer to the former coal-mining city of Lünen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, to print a six-unit apartment building where rent could be capped at $528.

This project is on track to become Europe’s first publicly funded 3D-printed apartment building, according to the company.

This project is on track to become Europe’s first publicly funded 3D-printed apartment building, according to the company.
Construction 3D printers create a distinct layered appearance.      Peri 3D Construction

Peri 3D Construction is a subsidiary of scaffolding and formwork manufacturing giant Peri Group. These days, its construction-tech arm has a packed schedule: The company is also printing a soccer clubhouse and data center in Germany.

The three-floor, six-unit building will span about 7,007 square-feet.

The three-floor, six-unit building will span about 7,007 square-feet.
There will be two apartments on each of the building's three floors, as shown in a rendering.      Peri 3D Construction

The individual apartments could range from about 657 square feet to 872 square feet.

As a publicly funded building, rent must be capped at 6 euros per square meter, or about $6.50 per 10.8 square feet.

As a publicly funded building, rent must be capped at 6 euros per square meter, or about $6.50 per 10.8 square feet.
The building, as shown in a rendering, will be move-in ready next year.      Peri 3D Construction

This means renters could pay a maximum of 366 to 486 euros, or about $398 to $528.

Peri expects to complete its printing work by the end of November.

Peri expects to complete its printing work by the end of November.
The interior walls will be automatically smoothed to ease the plastering process, according to the company.      Peri 3D Construction

The team began construction in September and is predicting a total print time of less than 100 hours.

But that doesn’t mean the homes will be move-in ready next week: Only the walls of the first and second floor are being 3D-printed.

But that doesn’t mean the homes will be move-in ready next week: Only the walls of the first and second floor are being 3D-printed.
The bottom two floors will keep their exterior printed facade, according to Peri 3D Construction.      Peri 3D Construction

The top floor will be constructed using a "hybrid timber construction method," according to a release from COBOD, the maker of Peri's 3D printer.

Everything else, including the building's foundation, will be built traditionally, which is still common practice for the nascent 3D printing construction-tech.

The building could welcome its first residents in October 2024.

The North Rhine-Westphalia government is tapping into two investment pools to fund this project, which costs 1.9 million euros, or a little over $2 million.

The North Rhine-Westphalia government is tapping into two investment pools to fund this project, which costs 1.9 million euros, or a little over $2 million.
Peri 3D Construction uses COBOD's popular BOD2 3D printer.      Peri 3D Construction

According to a spokesperson for Peri, the state's "innovations in construction" and "public funding for living space" programs will pitch in 1.7 million euros, almost $1.85 million.

The final 200,000 euros (about $217,580) will come from the project's manager, real estate company WBG Lünen.

Peri 3D Construction’s managing director, Fabian Meyer-Brötz, believes the tech can already be used across “modern construction sites, and especially for social housing projects.”

Peri 3D Construction’s managing director, Fabian Meyer-Brötz, believes the tech can already be used across “modern construction sites, and especially for social housing projects.”
Fans of the construction-tech say it can reduce construction labor and waste.      Peri 3D Construction

In the face of a global crisis in affordable and safe housing, 3D-printing proponents believe the construction tech could build more natural disaster-resistant homes while decreasing the speed and cost of homebuilding.

But because this tech is still relatively new, COBOD cofounder Philip Lund-Nielsen says the price of using printers is currently "on par or a bit more expensive" than conventional construction methods.


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