Photo by David Rodrigo on Unsplash

We’ve seen 3D printed clothes, 3D printed car parts, and 3D printed organs. Even small establishments have been made using this technique. But erecting an entire building, complete with the furniture inside it, using a 3D printer isn’t something you see every day.

The United Arab Emirates National Innovation Committee has teamed up with WinSun Global to build a 2,000 square foot ‘office building’ in the scorching hot Dubai using a 20-foot tall 3D printer. Among the materials used for the construction, 3DPrint.com mentions Special Reinforced Concrete (SRC), Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP), and Glass Fiber Reinforced Gypsum (GRG).

The new method will not only reduce labor costs by up to 80%, it will also allow the project to be completed in a matter of weeks. The team also expects to a 30-60 percent reduction in construction waste. When it’s finished, the building will be used for a plurality of purposes, according to its makers. It will even sport its own 3D printing exhibition inside.

Such news may sound futuristic – and in many ways it is – but those who’ve been keeping tabs on The Venus Project will undoubtedly consider this too little, too late.