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Oil & gas? Pah. We’ve got a MASSIVE 3D printer, beams Dubai

And as soon as we order some toner we’ll print you a fully functional office

Dubai has announced it will erect "the world’s first fully functional 3D printed building", hoping to establish the United Arab Emirates "as the global centre of technology in architecture, construction and design".

The "approximately 2,000 square feet" structure "will be will be printed layer-by-layer using a 20-foot tall 3D printer", then put together at a site close to Dubai's Museum of the Future.

The announcement added: "All interior furniture, detailing, and structural components will also be built using 3D printing technology".

The firm providing the monster printer required for the job is WinSun Global, the international tentacle of Chinese specialist WinSun. The company is well advanced in the art of 3D printed buildings, and earlier this year it knocked up a five-storey apartment block and a mansion, using a mixture of "glass fibre, steel, cement, hardening agents and recycled construction waste".

There's more on that here, although don't expect pictures of the printing behemoth itself. WinSun apparently keeps its tech tightly under wraps.

The advantages of 3D printing buildings are that the process can "reduce production times by 50 to 70 per cent, reduce labour costs by 50 to 80 per cent, and can save between 30 and 60 per cent of construction waste", according to WinSun.

The Dubai structure will act as a temporary HQ for the Museum of the Future's staff. Its design is "based on in-depth research about the requirements of future work and represents the latest thinking in workplace design". ®

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