Park + Associates designs Singapore's "first multi-storey 3D-printed house"

Local architecture studio Park + Associates has completed QR3D, a 3D-printed house in Singapore, which was made from layered concrete and has a sculptural void at its centre.

Designed as the home of Lim Koon Park, founder and principal of Park + Associates, the four-storey house is comprised of more than 90 per cent 3D-printed material. It was developed in collaboration with the construction company CES_InnovFab.

Made from 3D-printed concrete, both the facade and the interior walls feature the layered concrete striations, embracing the raw and tactile texture of the 3D-printing process.

Foldable windows create a semi-outdoor terrace at the front of the house, inviting natural light into the building.

At the centre of the house, a sculptural void in the shape of an oculus hovers above the dining area.

The dramatic design nods to the 1990s neoclassical residence that previously occupied the site, and is also used as a passive cooling system that channels hot air up and out through a hidden extractor fan.

Skylight filters through the oculus, casting shifting shadows throughout the day across all floors.

The main living and dining areas of QR3D are located on the ground floor, while the upper floors are used for bedrooms and a private study.

On the upper floors, long narrow windows carved out from the facade create privacy for the owner while keeping the building cool in Singapore's hot climate.

"While we were excited by the novelty of 3D printing, our aim was always to create a family home that would be relevant and respected decades from now," said Park.

"We didn't want the technology to overshadow the essence of the home."

According to Park, the team deliberately followed a traditional design process, but came up with modifications that would suit the 3D-printing technology.

"Though we commenced our design as if we would a conventionally-constructed house, we did have to spend more-than-usual resources modifying and developing the design to ensure it can be 3D-printed," Park told Dezeen.

Modifications include a watertight integration between the external doors and windows and the 3D-printed walls, and the reconfiguration of the structural design to consider the weight of the printing arm at upper levels.

The "bricks" printed for the oculus also had to be modified due to its steep angle.

Some of the material panels were pre-printed off-site, due to the tight urban site that did not allow enough space for the 3D-printing machinery to manoeuvre around.

The off-site printing also helped protect the machinery against Singapore's unpredictable weather and tropical climate.

Through this project, the studio aimed to prove how 3D-printing might reshape cities as a practically viable and transformative technology for the built environment with reduced labour, waste, and environmental disruption.

"While 3D-printing for construction in Singapore is certainly not new, it is mainly used for small-scale and utilitarian uses, such as feature walls, planter troughs, and prefabricated bathroom units for multi-residential projects," said Park + Associates.

"Now we have demonstrated how it can be used to 'print' a building – Singapore's very first full-fledged, multi-storey 3D-printed house, representing a leap for the technology's use – a future where architecture is both technically progressive and deeply human," it continued.

Park + Associates was established by Park in 1999. It previously designed a Singapore residence as a series of interconnected voids surrounded by white mesh, which won a 2016 Architizer A+Award.

Elsewhere in Singapore, local studio Freight Architects designed an inward-facing home that draws on Singapore's traditional shophouse typology.

The photography is by Jovian Lim unless stated otherwise.

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