The largest 3D printed building in Europe is set to be used as a data centre by cloud and data center provider Heidelberg iT Management.
The building, located in Heidelberg, Germany, is being delivered via a BOD2 3D construction printer.
Work on the project began in late March and is expected to complete at the end of July, after which internal fit-out of the data center will begin.
Real estate developer and investor Kraus Group, 3D printing construction firm Peri 3D Construction, and building materials firm Heidelberg Materials are leading the project – along with SSV Architekten Heidelberg and Mense-Korte ingenieure+architekten.
Known as Baufeld 5 and located at Billie-Holiday-Strasse 7 in Baden-Württemberg, the building will measure just under 600 sq. m.
Matthias Blatz, managing director of Heidelberg iT, said: “We are experiencing an increasing demand for data center capacity and cloud infrastructure.
“Therefore, the decision to go with the project with the Kraus Group and a server hotel using innovative 3D printing technology on the commercial site in the south of Heidelberg was an obvious one.
“We are very proud that our server hotel is being built in the largest 3D-printed building in Europe.”
Peri 3D is part of the scaffolding firm Peri Group; while Cobod manufactures the BOD2 construction printers.
The printing is estimated to require around 140 hours, equivalent to printing four square meters of building per hour.
Fabian Meyer-Brötz, managing director of Peri 3D Construction, said: “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 realise our largest building to date with this project.”
Henrik Lund-Nielsen, founder and general manager of Cobod, added: “In this unique project Peri is emphasising two of the key benefits of 3D construction printing: speed of execution and design freedom.”
The facility will be 3D printed using around 450 tons of printing concrete from Heidelberg Materials.
The concrete is 100% recyclable and contains a binder that can reportedly achieve a 55% CO2 reduction rate, compared with pure Portland cement.
Nicola Kimm, Heidelberg Materials’ chief sustainability officer, said: ”We are pleased to be part of this innovative project and to further develop 3D concrete printing as a particularly resource-efficient construction method with our partners.
“Together we show that sustainability and digitalisation go hand in hand. At Heidelberg Materials, innovative and sustainable products like i.tech 3D and the development of digital business models are essential elements of our sustainability strategy.”
Image: An in-progress shot of Europe’s largest 3D printed building, to be used as a data centre in Heidelberg, Germany. Credit: Kraus Gruppe
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