The 380 square metres complex in Germany will be the largest printed residential building in Europe.

Construction will take six weeks in all on the site in Wallenhausen, Bavaria.

Thomas Imbacher, Managing Director Marketing & Innovation at PERI Group said: “By printing the first apartment building in Germany, we are demonstrating that this new construction technology can also be used to print large-scale dwelling units.

“In terms of 3D construction printing, we are opening up additional areas of application on an entirely new level.”

Materials used to produce the printable concrete are being sourced from HeidelbergCement.

PERI is using the gantry printer BOD2 which has a print head that moves about three axes on a securely installed metallic frame.

The printer takes into account the pipes and connections for water, electricity, etc. that are to be laid at a later time.

The BOD2 has been certified in such a way that it is possible to carry out work within the printing area while printing is in progress.

This means that manual work, such as the installation of empty pipes and connections, can be easily integrated into the printing process.

The “i.tech 3D” material that is being used to print the building was developed by HeidelbergCement specifically for 3D printing.

Dr Jennifer Scheydt, Head of Engineering & Innovation at HeidelbergCement, said: “The properties of i.tech3D are tailored to the specific requirements of 3D construction printing using concrete.

“Our material has excellent pumping and extruding characteristics and works perfectly with the BOD2 printer.”

Two operators are required to run the printer. The print head and the print results are monitored by a camera.

With a speed of 1 m/s, the BOD2 is currently the fastest 3D construction printer available on the market taking around five minutes to complete 1m² of a double-skin wall.