India unveils world’s first 3D-printed post office

Claimed to be a world first, the project has drawn praise from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as Union Railways & Communication Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. India's L&T Construction worked with Danish firm COBOD’s 3D printing technology to deliver the build, which was completed in just 43 days – two days ahead of schedule. L&T believes a regular build would have taken approximately eight months.

"It is because of the robotic intervention that involves pre-embedded designs, that we were able to complete the entire construction activity in a period of 43 days as compared to about eight months taken by the conventional method,” said George Abraham, head of Operations (South and East) at L&T.

The post office spans a floor area of 1,021 square feet (94.9 m²) and according to L&T is estimated to have cost 2.6 million rupees (£25,000), roughly 40 per cent lower than the cost of conventional construction. L&T, who had previously 3D printed India’s first two-story building, used COBOD's BOD2 3D construction printer to deliver the project.