When Walmart recently experimented with 3D printing to expand a few stores, it marked a milestone for commercial real estate. What was once a technology confined to small residential projects is now enabling the construction of large-scale retail centers faster, cheaper and more efficiently than conventional methods.
This week, Walmart tapped Alquist to 3D print a dozen buildings, in what may be the most significant commercial deployment of 3D printing in real estate to date, according to CNBC. Last year, the company completed a nearly 8,000-square-foot addition to Walmart’s Athens, Tennessee, store for online order pickup and delivery services, demonstrating the technology’s commercial viability despite early challenges.
Patrick Callahan, CEO of Alquist, acknowledged that the Athens project took far longer than expected as the team worked out the kinks in materials management and implementing the technology. The second project, a 5,000-square-foot Walmart pickup center in Huntsville, Alabama, was completed in just seven days, showing how quickly the process had been refined.
In addition to Walmart, Alquist has secured projects to build other commercial buildings. Sika, supplier of specialized concrete materials, will provide materials for all future 3D-printed projects and licensees, helping streamline Alquist’s national pipeline, reduce costs and accelerate development of more sustainable mixes.
3D printing holds promise for building residential and commercial structures and infrastructure faster, cheaper, greener and with fewer workers. While still emerging in commercial construction, it has seen wider adoption in residential projects, where smaller building scales fit within printer limitations. Alquist, which designs and builds the printers and software, is scaling the technology nationwide by partnering with a large equipment rental dealer and a full-service general contractor.
While fewer workers are needed on 3D-printed projects, they require more training. Alquist partners with trade schools to introduce robotics and sustainable building materials.
Proof of 3D printing’s viability in commercial real estate is reflected in an increasing number of vendors entering the space. Icon Build, the largest residential 3D printing company, has completed a hotel project and is in talks with commercial partners, including for data centers. Its forthcoming Titan printer will handle larger-scale projects.
“I think once that’s out in the world, showing what it can do, verifying the cost estimations that we’re making to customers, I think that’ll probably open a lot of people’s eyes,” said Jason Ballard, co-founder and CEO of Icon.
“We should expect to see a lot of interest in alternative ways of construction, data centers, and other kinds of commercial things as well.”
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.