Forget 3D-printed food and 3D-printed cars. A hotel owner in the Philippines is 3D-printing an entire hotel suite, and unlike other 3D-printed buildings done before, this one will be completely and entirely operational, which means, if you're thinking of vacationing in the country soon, you'll be able to book a night at the 3D-printed suite.
The Lewis Grand Hotel in Angeles City, Pampanga in the Philippines will soon have the very first 3D-printed hotel suite in the world. The idea to 3D print an entire room was proposed to hotel owner Lewis Yakich, materials science engineer and home builder from California, by none other than 3D printing specialist Anthony Rudenko, famed for 3D-printing an entire castle that is unfortunately unlivable.
"The Philippines is actually a great place for concrete printing because of the weather," Yakich tells 3DPrint. "Currently everything is made out of concrete, and it's a third-world country so it can do a lot of good in disaster zones, etc."
Yakich says he spent several hours creating the design for the building, which should meet engineering standards to allow the suite to be commercially operational when it's completed. He also worked with Rudenko in designing the massive 3D printer that spews out the material made from sand and volcanic ash to build the suite. Yakich says the first printer was developed in two months, but the method can now be replicated to build it in two weeks. He also spent an entire month creating the right mix of material to allow for stronger construction than the use of hollow blocks.
The result is a 3D-printed hotel suite with an area of around 34.5 feet by 41 feet and a height reaching up to approximately 10 feet. The suite houses two separate bedrooms, a living room and a spa, complete with its very own 3D-printed Jacuzzi. All in all, Yakich spent more than a hundred hours 3D printing the suite, including the time it took to manually install plumbing, wiring and rebars. In the future, he plans to have those components 3D-printed as well, but the process for doing so is still currently undergoing testing.
Construction for the 3D-printed addition to the Lewis Grand Hotel has been completed, but it is still unknown when it will become open to the public or how much it will cost for a night.
Yakich says this is only the first of his plans to introduce 3D-printed operational buildings in the Philippines. He has, in fact, secured permission from the government to build 200 3D-printed projects for low-income families, which is made possible by the huge 60 percent cost savings he makes by 3D printing instead of using traditional methods of construction. He plans to expand to 2,000 houses in the coming years.
"I plan to roll over some of the cost savings of using a 3D printer to give a more quality house for the low-income homes," he says. "It would be great if I could give them all mini mansions! The people here would go nuts over my homes."
Watch the 3D printer that constructed the new addition to Yakich's hotel in action below.
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