Introducing the World’s first 3D-printed school and it is in Malawi

The world’s first 3D-printed school has been built in Malawi by 14Trees, a CDC joint venture with construction company Holcim. 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. A material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer control to create a three-dimensional object.

The school walls were printed in just 18 hours, compared to several days with conventional building materials and built Malawi’s Salima district with a population of 38,000.

14Trees is a joint venture between Holcim and CDC Group which is focused on building affordable houses, schools and social infrastructures in Africa. It was set up with the aim to accelerate the production and commercialization of environmentally-friendly, affordable construction solutions in Africa.

In Malawi alone, UNICEF estimates a shortage of 36,000 classrooms which would take 70 years to build using conventional methods. According to 14Trees, this infrastructure gap could be bridged in just ten years with 3D printing.

According to Miljan Gutovic, Region Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa at Holcim Group: “I am very proud of how our colleagues at 14Trees have deployed cutting-edge 3D printing technology to solve such an essential infrastructure need. Now that we’ve proven the concept in Malawi, we look forward to scaling up this technology across the broader region, with projects already in the pipeline in Kenya and Zimbabwe.”

Tenbite Ermias, Managing Director, Africa, at CDC, said: “The rollout of 14Trees’ world-class, cutting-edge technology is going to have a tremendous developmental impact on Malawi and the wider region. It is a wonderful example of how we are investing in businesses that can support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.”

Juliana Kuphanga Chikandila, Primary Education Advisor, representing the Director of Education, Youth and Sports in Malawi: “Before, we had 12 schools in the Yambe zone; we now have 13 – with this new 3D printed school. To increase our supply of education to children, we need a total of four more primary schools in the Yambe zone, but as a district, we need approximately 50 more schools to serve those in need. I am very impressed by the new building – its durability and design provide the space and facilities that students did not have before; teaching and learning can now happen inside and outside the classroom. It is notably different from the schools being built in the Yambe zone and Salima district. This school will attract more students, and those learners that had left will return to education.”

In addition to the school in Salima district, 14Trees also built its first 3DP prototype house in Lilongwe, Malawi, in just 12 hours, compared to almost four days using conventional methods.