Dive Brief:

• Dubai announced this week it will be home to the world’s first office building printed with 3-D technology.

• The United Arab Emirates' minister of cabinet affairs called the 2,000-square-foot building, which will become a temporary headquarters for the staff of Dubai’s Museum of the Future, “the most advanced 3-D printed structure ever built at this scale and the first to be put into actual use.”

• The structure will be printed in layers on a 20-foot tall 3-D printer, and then assembled on site. Building time could be as little as a few weeks. The building's interior furniture and detailing will also be created with the printer.

Dive Insight:

The project is the latest among 3-D firsts. A Chinese engineering firm claimed it printed and assembled components for 10 houses in less than 24 hours last year, and architects in Amsterdam are working on a canal house that will double as a 3-D printing museum.

A team at the University of Southern California is trying to create a 3-D printer large enough to print an entire house at once rather than layer by layer.

The technology reportedly can reduce production times by up to 70%, reduce labor costs by up to 80%, and save up to 60% in construction waste.