Europe’s Largest 3D Printed Apartment Building Completed Three Months Faster Than Conventional Construction | COBOD International
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29 April 2026
In the Press
Europe’s Largest 3D Printed Apartment Building Completed Three Months Faster Than Conventional Construction
Bezannes, France – PERI 3D Construction, using a COBOD BOD2 3D Construction Printer, has completed ViliaSprint², Europe’s largest 3D printed multi-family residential building. Developed by Plurial Novilia, a subsidiary of Action Logement, the building delivers 12 social housing apartments across three stories and 800 m² (8,600 sq. ft.) of living space.
Overall project timeline reduced by 3 months versus conventional construction
34 effective printing days versus 50 originally planned, cutting shell construction time in half. With 2.5x the layer height at 5 cm (2 in.), only 14 days would be needed
Only 3 operators required versus 6 for traditional shell construction
Waste reduced from 10% to just 5%; additional ~10% concrete savings through optimized curved geometry enabled by 3D printing
Street-level view of ViliaSprint², Europe’s largest 3D printed multi-family building, in Bezannes, France. The curved concrete shell, printed on-site using a COBOD BOD2 printer, is complemented by timber balcony structures.
First On-Site Full-Structure Print in France at Multi-Family Scale
ViliaSprint² is the first building in France where both the load-bearing structure and all walls were printed directly on-site. The COBOD BOD2 gantry system, operated by PERI 3D Construction, extruded concrete layer by layer to form the complete shell. Holcim supplied the printable concrete based on its TectorPrint technology, reinforced with synthetic macro fibres and formulated within the CO₂-reduced ECOPact range.
The printing phase began in March 2025 and was completed well ahead of schedule. A key factor was an optimized sequencing of prefabricated floor slab installation that halved the number of times the print gantry needed to be repositioned.
"This result confirms the enormous potential of this construction method, which reduces build times and improves working conditions on site," said Jérôme Florentin, Director of Project Development at Plurial Novilia.
Close-up of the 3D printed concrete layers on ViliaSprint², showing the characteristic ribbed texture produced by the COBOD BOD2 printer as it extrudes concrete in continuous passes.
A Controlled Benchmark: 3D Print vs. Conventional, Side by Side
Plurial Novilia constructed a near-identical building on the same site using conventional methods, creating a direct performance comparison, both during construction and in operation. Results confirmed the shell time reduction and highlighted additional workforce benefits: the 3D printed building required only 3 site operators versus 6 for the conventional structure. Workers control the printing robot via tablet, eliminating heavy lifting and reducing musculoskeletal risk, a meaningful advantage in a sector already facing skilled labour shortages.
"We are proud to have supported this project as technology partner and print executor. The result shows vividly what is already possible in 3D building printing today, faster construction, fewer workers, and fully load-bearing structures. This is an important milestone and motivation to push this technology further," said Dr. Fabian Meyer-Brötz, Managing Director of PERI 3D Construction.
Architectural Freedom, Lower Environmental Impact
The curved façade and rounded floorplan are only economical because of 3D printing, complex geometries that would add significant cost with conventional formwork come at no premium. On-site concrete production further reduces transport emissions. The optimized form also saved approximately 10% of concrete volume. The building integrates perlite insulation, timber balcony structures, 500 m² (5,400 sq. ft.) of photovoltaic panels, and a hybrid gas/heat pump system by Atlantic Systèmes, achieving around 60% energy self-sufficiency in compliance with France’s RE2020 2025 targets.
Aerial view of ViliaSprint² in Bezannes, France, showing the distinctive rounded geometry made possible by 3D concrete printing, a form that would carry significant cost premiums in conventional formwork construction.
What Comes Next
Building on ViliaSprint², Plurial Novilia and its partners are planning a follow-on project of approximately 40 apartments deploying two 3D printers simultaneously. The target is to reduce print time by a factor of four and, through greater scale and process maturity, bring costs in line with conventional construction.
"ViliaSprint² is a significant step in testing new construction...