Housing construction - Heil will digital renovation - Houses from 3-D printers
Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) calls for a digital renewal of the German industry. Houses could be built in large numbers in Germany using 3-D printers, Heil said during a trip to the USA in Austin (Texas). "That's exactly what we need in Germany," Heil said, facing the local construction crisis.
Rohbau in one to two weeks
Heil inspected a partially still under construction settlement of series-built bungalows. "It's really strange how quickly they're building a rohbau here with a 3D printer." The construction time for the rohbau is only one to two weeks, as the project leader, Caleb Mann, reported to the astonished German minister. Cost for a turnkey bungalow: around 500,000 Dollars (around 462,000 Euro), as it says in real estate ads.
Heil himself had nothing against living in a 3D printer house, he said. "I found it very appealing and beautiful." The houses have good room climate and high energy efficiency. "Living and housing quality can also have that," Heil said.
Heil sees opportunities for construction workers
"We must put technology in the service of social progress," Heil said. The goal should be that machines take over hard and heavy work for people and that they then focus on the things that computers and robots cannot. In construction: this method offers opportunities with the help of artificial intelligence.
"Construction workers in Germany work in the wind and rain and are exposed to risks on the construction site," Heil said. If the heaviest work at the rohbau is taken over by machines, people could further develop themselves and also do other work. So human labor is still needed for the finish work. "Human labor will always be needed in construction." This applies to the industry as a whole.
Heil for renewal
Heil visited a tech company in Austin, USA, the day before on a US trip, which modernizes entire industry sectors with artificial intelligence. "We must also ensure that we work together on such issues across the Atlantic," Heil said. Germany must now also catch up more strongly on digital progress. "We must shape it," Heil said. "We must start moving."
Heil sees opportunities for Germany in the race for new technologies and their application as good. "We have a strong industrial basis, which must be preserved by digitalizing it," Heil urged. Unlike in the USA, however, much less private capital is invested in modernization in Germany.
295,000 instead of the planned 400,000 new housing units
Heil's construction-responsible cabinet colleague Klara Geywitz (SPD) recently confirmed that she sees serial construction as a future model. The large gaps on the German housing market can be filled more quickly this way. Against the background of the German construction crisis and the housing shortage, in particular in cities, Heil announced that he would fight for the construction of such houses in Germany.
Due to the strongly increased interest rates and construction costs, the housing industry is in crisis. Private builders as well as large investors are hesitant about construction projects, and many projects are being cancelled. Building permits are also declining - a bad sign for the future.
The federal government had aimed for 400,000 new housing units per year when taking office - a number that experts also consider ambitious under optimal conditions. Last year, only about 295,000 new housing units were completed in Germany, which is a little less than the previous year.
- Hubertus Heil, the Federal Labor Minister from Germany, expresses the need for digital transformation in the country's industry during his trip to Austin, Texas, in the United States of America.
- The construction process for houses in Germany could be expedited significantly using 3D printers, according to Heil, who was astonished by the quick roof construction process in Austin.
- Heil visited a site in Austin where a settlement of series-built bungalows was being constructed using a 3D printer, with a construction time of only one to two weeks.
- Living in a 3D printer house appealed to Heil, who appreciated the houses' good room climate and high energy efficiency.
- Heil believes that technology should be used to aid social progress, encouraging machines to take over hard and heavy work so that construction workers can focus on other tasks.
- Hubertus Heil visited a tech company in Austin that modernizes industries with artificial intelligence and expressed the need for international collaboration in this area.
- With Germany's strong industrial foundation, Heil believes that the nation can gain opportunities by digitalizing its industry but notes that private capital investment in modernization lags behind the USA.
