COBOD International A/S

The goal of this project was to demonstrate how 3D printing technology could be applied in the traditional construction industry in Europe.

The idea for the project came from ourparticipation in the Danish government-funded project “3D Construction Printing”, during which we visited more than 35 3D construction printing projects worldwide. We realized that Europe was falling behind, and we took on the challenge to be the first in Europe to 3D print a building fulfilling the strict building codes of Europe.

The BOD, which is short for“Building on Demand”is named precisely so to underline that with 3D printing technology applied for building projects, the building process is automatized and the borders for what can be made are hereby expanded. Even if the BOD is less than a 50 sqm building, it is still large enough to illustrate some of the economic and architectural advantages of applying 3D printing technology to constructions. With traditional building techniques, any shape that is organic or not straight is a challenge, technically as well as with respect to costs.

The BOD does not contain any straight walls, the only straight elements being the windows and doors. Even when making the foundation, a non-straight shape provides expensive and difficult challenges when using the traditional methods, which is why for The BOD building we not only are 3D printing the walls, but also part of the foundation.