Havelar completes 500 sqm public office building in Portugal using concrete 3D printing in nine days

Portuguese construction firm Havelar has completed a 500-square-meter public office building at the Ecocentro de Perafita recycling center in Matosinhos, Portugal, using a BOD2 concrete 3D printer from COBOD. The load-bearing and space-forming wall structures were printed directly from a digital model over nine days by a four-person team, within the planned budget - a notable achievement given frequent cost overruns in Portuguese public construction. CEO José Maria Ferreira highlighted the time, material, and personnel savings, stating the method reduces each by roughly one-third. The curved exterior walls, left unclad to show the layered concrete texture, also serve structural and passive solar functions, according to Bárbara Rangel from the University of Porto's Faculty of Engineering.

This project moves concrete 3D printing beyond demonstration status into regular public-sector application, addressing a persistent pain point in construction: labor shortages and schedule overruns. Havelar has since printed 32 residential units in Porto and plans 53 more houses in 2026, signaling that the technology is scaling from one-off landmarks to repeatable production. The use of a BOD2 system - a gantry-style printer already deployed in multiple countries - and the integration of curved geometries without formwork costs illustrate how construction AM can deliver both aesthetic and functional value. The project also reinforces COBOD's position as a leading hardware supplier in the construction AM segment, competing with firms like ICON and Peri, though Havelar's focus on public and residential buildings in Southern Europe gives it a distinct regional footprint.

For the construction industry, this is a practical data point: a public building completed on budget and on schedule using additive methods, with a small crew. The key next step for Havelar is to replicate this cost and time discipline across its planned 53-house pipeline, proving that the nine-day print cycle is not a one-off but a repeatable baseline. Buyers evaluating construction AM should compare total project cost - including finishing, MEP integration, and foundation work - against traditional methods, not just the print time.