Dar Al Arkan completes first 3D-printed villa in Saudi Arabia

The first floor took eight days to build, the developer said

Dar Al Arkan's 3D villa in the Shams Al Riyadh residential development. Photo: Dar Al Arkan

Saudi Arabia property developer Dar Al Arkan said it has completed the first 3D construction printed (3DCP) villa in the kingdom.

The two-storey, 9.9 metre-high building is located in the Shams Al Riyadh residential development, and the process will accelerate construction while enhancing safety and reducing wastage and errors, the company said in a statement.

The villa was printed on site, without any cooling equipment in an indication that the technology is capable of printing homes year-round in a desert climate.

The developer is building the second villa, which will typically take a month to complete, but it has finished the first floor in eight days, according to Wael Al Hagan, project manager, 3DCP, at Dar Al Arkan.

“This 3D printed villa has additional insulation layers and features that ensure energy conservation, saving up to 30 per cent in energy consumption,” he said.

“The introduction of 3D construction printing enables us to focus on greater flexibility of design, strengthen productivity and achieve higher cost efficiency.”

3D construction printing requires three workers to build one house.

For the consumer, the requirement of less manpower and concrete and more sustainability ensures lower costs and more affordability, Dar Al Arkan said, although it did not say how much the villa would be sold for.

The first villa constructed in Shams Al Riyadh utilised locally sourced materials including cement, sand, rocks and stones, with varying degrees of concentration, to ensure the structure is up to four times stronger than traditional construction, Dar Al Arkan said.

In the UAE, a property in Sharjah became the Middle East’s first fully functioning 3D-printed villa last year.

Made of sustainable eco-friendly cement, it was built in almost two weeks.

American University of Sharjah and University of Sharjah scientists found that constructing the 3D-printed house created little more than half the carbon emissions from building a conventional one.

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  The house, made of sustainable eco-friendly cement, was built in about two weeks. All photos: Wam

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  Only four skilled workers were required for the construction of the two-bedroom house.

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  The technology was imported from the Netherlands to print the walls of the traditional Emirati home.

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  The biggest challenge now facing the project’s developers is to convince people that 3D mortar is a viable alternative to bricks, steel and timber.

In 2019, Dubai unveiled the largest 3D printed building in the world.

The project in Warsan stands 9.5 metres tall and has a total area of 640 square metres. It was built using on-site 3D printing equipment with locally sourced components.