Will 3D printing revolutionize the construction industry?

Posted: September 18, 2025

Hatsushima Station, a quiet railway stop in the small Japanese coastal city of Arida, might seem an unlikely place for a milestone in the history of 21st-century construction. And indeed, looking at the station as it stands today, one could easily overlook the significance of a minimalist white shed beside the tracks and passenger overpass. Yet this structure became famous earlier this year when the international media reported that the world’s first 3D-printed train station had successfully been constructed in the small coastal city of Arida, just south of Osaka.

Serendix, the Japanese manufacturer of 3D-printed buildings responsible for the achievement, made headlines in 2023 after demonstrating the construction of a printed concrete “tiny home” at the cost of 5.5 million yen or around $37,300—the firm proudly announced this was what a new (medium-sized) car cost to buy in Japan. Serendix is currently involved in plans to provide low-cost, sustainable homes to replace those destroyed by earthquakes in Japan or bombings in Ukraine.

At Hatsushima, Serendix used robotics to print four prefabricated parts in a special fast-drying mortar reinforced with concrete and steel. These parts were then brought to the station, where the foundations were laid and a structure rapidly assembled by just six workers overnight. As travelers arrived for the first morning train, they saw a sleek new modern shelter in place of the old wooden one that had been there the previous night. According to Serendix, the cost for constructing the building was roughly half what it would have cost using conventional methods.

In a nation with an aging demographic and a labor shortage, the Hatsushima station provided an exciting glimpse of what automation and 3D printing could offer the construction industry. International news outlets were keen to share in the excitement.

Setting aside the media hype, however, those of a skeptical frame of mind may well wonder just how revolutionary this development truly is. One four-panel shelter frame is not quite an entire train station, after all. And 3D printing in construction still faces challenges on the path to realizing its full potential.

The foundations of 3D printing for construction

Back on planet Earth, 3D-printed construction offers plenty in the way of potential—but also various limitations, which do not always show up in the media hype.

3D printing is a process of additive manufacturing, which creates customized three-dimensional objects from digital models in a series of consecutive layers. In principle, it marries complexity and non-standardization with efficient industrialized production methods. Precision is high while labor costs are low; material waste is theoretically zero.

The idea of a layer-by-layer “wall building machine” was registered as early as the 1940s, but 3D printing as we know it really got going in the 1980s, when techniques were developed for additive manufacturing using either light sources and photopolymer resin layers or thermoplastic materials pushed through a heated nozzle. Notably, one of 3D printing’s early applications was in the construction of architectural models.

By the 2010s, 3D printing was being applied to the construction industry, which led to prominent milestones such as the “Office of the Future,” a fully functional 3D-printed office building opened in Dubai in 2016. Three years later, Dubai also became home to what was billed as the world’s largest two-story 3D-printed building. According to the builders, this structure was made with 50% less labor demand, 60% less waste and overall 60% less cost compared to a conventional project of equivalent size. Qatar plans to build two 3D-printed schools, each considerably larger than the Dubai offices, by the end of the year.

In recent years, the use of 3D printing for construction has continued to expand, buoyed by ongoing developments in robotics, 3D design modeling and materials. Most of the latest milestones have occurred in housing. Project Milestone in Rotterdam saw a Dutch couple move into Europe’s first lived-in 3D-printed home in 2021. Major 3D-printed residential projects have also opened across Europe, Asia, North America and Australia. Earlier this year, 3D printing firm PERI 3D and the concrete company Holcim together unveiled what they called France’s first on-site 3D-printed multi-family dwelling. The American firm ICON has been active in 3D-printed houses in Texas, while in Australia, 3D printing is being used for social housing.

Beyond residential, 3D-printed construction has found a range of applications, some more down-to-earth than others. 3D printing is responsible for many (if not all) of the components of a data center in Germany, a school in Ukraine and Army barracks in Florida, USA. Small-scale printed infrastructure projects include a concrete bridge in Shanghai and a steel bridge in Amsterdam, as well as a concrete tram stop in Prague. In the railway industry, where 3D printing has already been in use for making parts like armrests and coat hooks, the Hatsushima shelter may represent a one-off event—or it may be the first stop in a journey toward wider usage of 3D-printed station buildings.

Finally, and most spectacularly, NASA has dedicated funds to investigating the use of 3D printing to make housing, roads and launchpads on the moon using locally sourced materials. The distance from train stations to space stations might not be that far.

Does 3D-printed construction add up?

Back on planet Earth, 3D-printed construction offers plenty in the way of potential—but also various limitations, which do not always show up in the media hype.

Mooted benefits include time savings, waste reduction and diminished labor requirements. Limited research has sought to really analyze the lifecycle environmental impact of 3D-printed buildings, but the findings available seem to suggest that it is preferable to that of traditional buildings. 3D printing can also make use of recycled materials.

If 3D-printed components are prefabricated and transported to the site for assembly, the opportunity for customization is high compared to other modular construction approaches. Flexibility in design can help a project meet local requirements or community preferences where required. With the use of advanced modeling, 3D printing can offer designers more geometric freedom to use curved shapes and decorative elements—as demonstrated by that elegant shed at Hatsushima Station.

Yet 3D printing approaches remain limited in many ways. Most 3D printers are currently restricted to a specific set of materials, with an emphasis on (not always environmentally friendly) cement. They are best suited to small-scale and single-story projects, with restrictions on size limiting the process’s widespread applicability. Printed elements typically make up just part of what a building needs to function: these parts must also interact properly with finishes, fittings and foundations.

High upfront costs—chiefly that of expensive printing equipment—pose one obstacle. Another lies in the appearance of many 3D-printed structures, something of an acquired taste that may be offset by costly cosmetic changes. Making alterations, additions or repairs to 3D-printed buildings is also far from simple. And there is also the question of logistics: either the large printing equipment must be brought to the location, requiring space and trained on-site personnel, or the components need to be transported after printing. Each case brings about extra costs.

Still, the potential is high for 3D printing in construction. Many of these drawbacks—especially those relating to materials and appearance—are likely to be mitigated by advances in the technology. It seems probable that the economics of 3D-printed buildings will improve as well, especially in cases where simple structures need to be built in a hurry. Whether it’s running local or express, the 3D printing train is certainly leaving the station.