Africa prints out much-needed classroom

SALIMA, Malawi — Under the hot sun, dozens of women danced and sang in jubilation as children from Salima village in central Malawi started their first day at their new 3D-printed school, which had been built from ground up in only 15 hours.

Made of concrete placed layer by layer through a computer-controlled nozzle, the school is made up of a single room with rounded corners and is big enough to accommodate 50 students.

Olipa Elisa’s 10-year-old son used to hike 5 kilometers every day to the nearest school, often arriving late and exhausted. “I am very excited that we now have a school closer to my home, and my child will not have to take the long journey,” said the 38-year-old woman. “What we need is more of these learning blocks to accommodate other classes.”

Run by 14Trees, a joint venture between Swiss cement manufacturer LafargeHolcim and British development finance institution CDC Group, the project was faster, cheaper and less energy-intensive than conventional construction.

Its success shows how 3D printing could be transformative in Africa, where there is dire need of classroom space.

The United Nations children’s agency UNICEF estimates a shortfall of 36,000 primary school classrooms in Malawi alone, a gap that is estimated to be closed in 10 years with 3D-printing technology.

Limbani Nsapato, country director for international educational development organization Edukans, said the shortage of classrooms around Africa is an urgent but overlooked issue.

Affordable solution

Nsapato said overcrowded classrooms can lead to poor quality of education because teachers find it difficult to engage with every student in big class sizes.

Though 3D printing may be seen as the affordable solution to the building of schools, some people are worried that it may not be the costsaving solution as it was touted to be. Catherine Sani, head of the Malawi

Institute of Architects, is one of them.

“Given our gross need for quick classrooms, this would indeed seem like a good option given the speed in production,” she said.

“However, we also note this method is quick on a single site, but for multiple sites more 3D-printing equipment would be required, thus making this system very high cost compared to other methods.”

Tom Bowden, a trustee for British charity Building Malawi, said the technology holds promise in parts of the world where lack of funding can often stall or kill essential infrastructure projects.

Bowden said it costs about $20,000 to build a double classroom using bricks and mortar.

“The costs are high, we really can’t find cheaper solutions for the concrete floors, iron sheet roof and metal window frames. Our build process takes about 10 weeks, depending on the specifications,” he said.

Given all of those issues, he said: “3D printing sounds interesting.”