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Aug 1, 2017 | By Benedict

A 3D printed replica of The Tower at Dubai Creek Harbour has been unveiled at Dubai Mall. The 3,000 kg model took more than 4,000 hours to make, and depicts Dubai’s under-construction observation tower that is set to stand at a monstrous 928 m tall.

Dubai is just being greedy now, isn’t it? Not content with having the 828 m Burj Khalifa—the world’s largest structure—sitting pretty on its skyline, the city and emirate is now investing $1 billion into The Tower (elsewhere: Creek Tower), a gargantuan mixed-use building that will stand at 928 m tall. The stupendous building is set to completed by 2020.

Until that time, Dubai residents and tourists will be able to see The Tower in a different form. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, has just unveiled a partially 3D printed replica of The Tower at Dubai Mall.

Located in The Mall’s Grand Atrium, the 3D printed tower weighs 3,000 kg, and took over 4,000 hours to build. It’s a great deal shorter than the real Tower will be, but still occupies around three levels of the shopping facility.

The replica Tower is largely made of aluminum, but also uses 3D printed cladding. The replica is accompanied by several screens displaying facts about the under-construction building.

Though impressive, the model version of The Tower is not the first time we’ve seen a 3D printed version of a Dubai skyscraper! Last year, it was revealed that visitors to the Burj Khalifa could pick up a 3D printed replica of the (current) tallest building in the world from the gift shop.

Dubai is also pretty serious about 3D printing real, habitable buildings. It famously declared that it wants 25% of its buildings to be 3D printed by the year 2030.

The Tower won’t be 3D printed, of course, but it is breaking records before it has even been built, starting with its foundation. End to end, the length of its 145 barrette piles is more than 9 km. The completed tower will also use around 110 km of cables, enough to stretch from Dubai to Abu Dhabi.

The Tower is inspired by the lily flower, and is shaped like a minaret. Situated near the Ras Al Khor National Wildlife Sanctuary, The Tower will contain 360-degree observation decks offering stunning views of the landscape.

But perhaps the most ridiculous thing about the 928 m Tower is that, in 2020, it probably won’t even be the tallest building in the world. That honor is likely to go to the Jeddah Tower, a skyscraper under construction in Saudi Arabia. At 1,008 m, that building will become the first to break the one-kilometer-high mark.

When unveiling the 3D printed replica of The Tower, Sheikh Mohammed was accompanied by Emaar Properties Chairman Mohamed Al Abbar, Dubai Director of Protocol and Hospitality Khalifa Saeed Sulaiman, Chairman of Dubai Holding Abdulla Ahmed Al Habbai, and several officials from Emaar and Dubai Holding.

 

 

Posted in 3D Printing Application

 

 

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