Earlier this month, Walmart and technology partner Alquist 3D completed a 5,000-square-foot, 3D-printed pickup expansion at the Owens Cross Roads, Alabama Supercenter. The project, finished in just a week, directly addressed persistent challenges of cost and time that commercial real estate construction often faces. This rapid turnaround highlights one of the most significant ways 3D printing could reshape the entire industry: by dramatically reducing building timelines and potentially lowering labor costs.
Walmart’s embrace of this technology is not isolated. Last year, the retailer expanded its Supercenter in Athens, Tennessee, adding 8,000 square feet for an attached warehouse. According to The Wall Street Journal, the expenses for that project were comparable to traditional construction, suggesting that while 3D printing can offer speed, cost savings are not always guaranteed.
The commercial real estate sector is closely watching these developments, as 3D printing, formally known as additive manufacturing, continues to evolve. The technology works by depositing materials in precise, programmed layers, building everything from self-cooling rocket engines to the gloves worn by Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man II. Its application in construction dates back to 2004, when a University of South Carolina professor first attempted to 3D print a building wall. Since then, the innovation has advanced from residential projects, such as the full canal house built in Amsterdam in 2014, to larger-scale commercial structures, including the Dubai Future Foundation’s 2,700-square-foot building, which was completed in just 17 days using a massive printer.
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More recently, Starbucks opened a 3D-printed, drive-through-only store in Brownsville, Texas. The project used a printer to lay concrete lines, resulting in a structure that cost $1.2 million—right in the middle of the typical price range for restaurant construction.
Despite these successes, significant hurdles remain for widespread adoption in commercial real estate. “For the most part 3D printing in construction will be for masonry structures,” Aaron Shavel, a policy fellow at the Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure, told GlobeSt.com. “Depending on the location, this might run into code issues.” Building codes and regulatory standards often lag behind technological innovation, potentially slowing the rollout of 3D-printed buildings.
The technology does offer unique design opportunities. “You can come up with curved walls, pitched ceilings,” Shavel said. “I think there are a lot of opportunities for architectural features.” Amar Hanspal, CEO and Co-founder of Motif, a building information management software vendor, pointed out additional advantages: “Faster building cycles, ability to use sustainable materials, and design flexibility.”
However, the current aesthetics of 3D-printed structures can be underwhelming. “As a building material and construction method the limitations are mostly aesthetic, and this is especially true with printed concrete,” Alex Zilberman, a principal with AZA Design, told GlobeSt.com. “There’s not enough of a ‘design eye’ on this technology yet, so it's hard to achieve beautiful results. Frankly, 3D-printed concrete structures look a bit like mud huts.” While polycarbonate 3D printing is being explored, it is mostly limited to decorative rather than structural uses.
Still, the technology’s ability to integrate functional features is promising. “One great advantage of 3D printing is the ability to create openings, cavities, and conduits for elements like insulation, wiring, and mechanical infrastructure,” Zilberman said. “You can even print ventilation as part of the structure, so there is no need for installation of ductwork.”
To fully realize the potential of 3D printing in commercial construction, the industry must overcome data and modeling challenges. Hanspal noted, “The industry must shift from shape-driven design to data-rich, fabrication-ready models. That means tolerances, material specs, fastener types, and even print-head constraints need to be embedded directly in the model. Without this level of precision, 3D printing efforts—especially those done on-site—run into breakdowns between the digital and physical worlds.”
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