has pix
https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2021/08/texas-national-guard-just-unveiled-largest-3d-printed-structure-north-america/184663/
All these articles make me think we're still in the phase where mostly it doesn't make sense.
The thing is, squeezing another 10% efficiency gain out of existing construction techniques is hard. It's down to minor tweaks mostly. Squeezing another 100% out of next-gen construction techniques is almost inevitable. Sort of like film vs digital photography in the early days. Film was still getting better, but there was no way to make a 500% improvement in the chemistry.
I think it is not the idea that the building techniques are more efficient.
I think it is because they want to build something without using people to do it. A robot works all day and night and isn't part of a union.
>still in the phase where mostly it doesn't make sense.
Printed concrete walls are still in their infancy. One of the first residential projects is about a mile from me. The printed walls were limited in scope and rough. Very cool tech, but the pours are still somewhat inconsistent. I'm sure they'll improve quickly.
> without using people
This is it. The whole massive trend in corporate America has been to eliminate as many workers as they can. Combine Covid and keeping out immigrants for a cheap labor pool and you get robots and 3D print buildings.
>>people
Right, but I'm just saying that right now, looking at the machines that do this, it looks like it probably requires at least as much labor as setting forms and pumping concrete into them. However, since it's new tech, it requires highly trained and expensive labor