A 3-floor apartment building is being built in Germany with a 3D printer - see how it's being done

• A three-floor apartment building is now being 3D printed in Germany by Peri, a Germany-based formwork and scaffolding maker.
• The three-floor, 4,090-square foot apartment building will contain five apartment units of varying sizes — good for both single occupants and families — and a basement.
• The home is being produced by gantry printer BOD2, which Peri says is the fastest available 3D construction printer.
• "We are convinced that 3D house printing will gain in importance and have considerable potential in certain market segments over the next few years, such as certain areas of residential construction," global business development manager of 3D construction printing at Peri Jan Graumann told Business Insider in an email interview.

A three-floor apartment building is being constructed by Peri, a formwork and scaffolding maker, with the help of a 3D construction printer.

Germany-based Peri isn't a newcomer to the ever-growing 3D construction printing segment. The apartment building is currently being printed in Bavaria, Germany, and the project was unveiled only two months after Peri announced it was creating Germany's first 3D printed two-story detached home.

Unlike the first project, this upcoming three-floor apartment building will contain 4,090 square feet of occupiable space in the form of five apartment units and a basement. The units will be available in different sizes, good for both single occupants and families, Peri's global business development manager of 3D construction printing Jan Graumann told Business Insider in an email interview.

The printing project is set to take six weeks to finish with an expected completion time by the end of March or mid-April of next year.

The printing process

BOD2, the gantry printer being used for the project, is currently the fastest 3D construction printer available with its ability to finish an almost 11-square foot double-skin facade in five minutes, according to Peri. Two people are needed to operate the printer, and a camera is being used to track the print head and project.

The printer head can move throughout the printer's frame to any part of the project without requiring additional calibrating, therefore saving both time and money, according to Peri.

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"By printing the first apartment building in Germany, we are demonstrating that this new construction technology can also be used to print large-scale dwelling units," managing director of marketing and innovation at the Peri Group Thomas Imbacher said in a statement on the news release announcing the project. "In terms of 3D construction printing, we are opening up additional areas of application on an entirely new level."

Peri's apartment building will be made of printable concrete and i.tech3D, a dry mortar developed by the concrete supplier, HeidelbergCement. Pipes for water and electricity can't be 3D printed in, and will instead be manually added while the home is being built.

Are 3D printed homes the future?

"We are convinced that 3D house printing will gain in importance and have considerable potential in certain market segments over the next few years, such as certain areas of residential construction," Graumann wrote. "We will see how the market now embraces this young, innovative technology."

Peri isn't the only company in Europe that is actively exploring the 3D construction printing industry. Kamp C is the self-proclaimed first company in the world to use a 3D printer to print a two-story, 968-square foot home in Belgium.

Peri's client on the apartment building project, Michael Rupp Bauunternehmung, also has a focus on 3D printing: next year, the Germany-based construction company will begin specializing in 3D printing with its new subsidiary company, Rupp Gebäudedruck.

Read more: How Marvel is using 3D printers from providers like Formlabs to 'invent the impossible' while also saving time and money on its superheroic movie productions

Peri started working with the construction company for this upcoming apartment building project a year ago, according to Graumann. Upon completion, the endeavor will claim the title of the "largest printed apartment building in Europe," according to the company.

"We believe that this new technology has enormous potential for the future, and we want to help shape that future," co-managing director at Rupp Gebäudedruck Sebastian Rupp, said in a statement on the news release. "Despite the traditional nature of our craft, we are also innovative and do not shy away from new challenges."