In light of the demographic growth depicted by these numbers and recognizing that the epicenter of human activity will move to urban centers, the urban design and technology needed to reshape the concept of city-living has a long way to go, in addition to a key challenge: to promote sustainability in order to guarantee human survival.
According to a study conducted by the Department of Architecture and Built Environment at the University of Nottingham, more than 80 percent of global-warming potential (GWP) is generated in cities, which is where two-thirds of the world population will live in 30 years. It is essential to redefine urban development and construction processes, and on of the keys to sustainability could be found in technologies based on digital design and 3D printing.
Reducing construction timeframes and minimizing energy consumption, waste, and the carbon footprint across the entire process are some of the key advantages of a construction industry that is truly optimized for 3D printed buildings. The researchers explain how technology suitable for printing 3D buildings would facilitate digital design-based construction, which is then mechanically executed using a printer’s mobile robotic arms, which operate on three axes.
More than “just” environmentally sustainable
Magdalena Gabriel and Ernst Pessl of the Institute of Industrial Management at Austria’s FH Joanneum University of Applied Sciences in Kapfenberg, published an article that claims that 3D printing can be embraced as an environmentally friendly construction technology because it optimizes resource consumption, generates almost no waste, and by decentralizing the process, reduces production and transportation logistics.
