Angola Introduces Large-Scale Concrete 3D-Printing to Address Housing Crisis

Written by Antonia Piñeiro
Published on July 24, 2025

According to the World Bank, the Angola National Urbanization and Housing Program (PNUH), launched in 2008, aimed to build one million new housing units. However, by 2024, it had delivered only approximately 220,000. Power2Build, an Angolan construction startup, estimates the current housing deficit in Angola at around three million homes, with the situation particularly critical in Luanda, one of the fastest-growing cities on the African continent. With an entirely Angolan multidisciplinary team, Power2Build aims to contribute to reducing this deficit through the use of automated 3D concrete printing technology. Implemented on-site with large-scale construction printers from Danish company COBOD, the system is expected to accelerate construction timelines and improve building quality. Large-scale cement-based 3D printing eliminates the need for traditional molds by precisely placing or solidifying specific volumes of material in sequential layers using computer-controlled positioning. The process involves three key stages: data preparation, material preparation, and printing.

+ 13

In the data preparation stage, a 3D form is sliced into thin, flat layers of constant thickness, which can then be stacked sequentially. Each layer typically consists of a contour and an internal fill pattern, such as honeycomb structures or space-filling curves. An alternative method uses tangential continuity, generating construction paths with locally varying thicknesses. This method optimizes the printing process by ensuring continuous contact between layers, thereby avoiding geometric gaps that can hinder print quality and structural performance.

The next phase involves material preparation. Power2Build uses locally sourced materials and conventional cement in its concrete mix, which includes Cement 42.5 N, fine sand, gravel (4/6 mm), the D. Fab Alfa plasticizer additive, the D. Fab Beta additive for consistency, and Isoxel as a hardener. Once the mix is prepared, it is placed into a container, which is transported via a nozzle-pump system to produce self-compacting concrete filaments. The material's pumpability and extrusion stability depend on the specific concrete mix, delivery system, and nozzle configuration.

Layered Architecture: What is Additive Manufacturing?

Through this method, structural housing components are manufactured via additive construction. The printing system must be controlled by either a gantry setup or a robotic arm. A gantry system positions the nozzle within an XYZ coordinate framework, while robotic arms provide additional degrees of freedom, enabling advanced techniques such as tangential continuity printing. The integration of these systems into mass housing construction reshapes the labor landscape, reducing manual masonry work while increasing the demand for specialized labor in the planning and finishing phases.

Talking about 3D printing in Africa, especially in Angola, is talking about a future that is certainly written in the timeless world that we call today, without ignoring the identity facts that make up a society. And technology helps us express creativity combined with the traditional construction context and innovation. Aquitofel Mananga, architect

Power2Build's housing projects in Angola are constructed using the second-largest 3D printer in the world. COBOD's BOD2 series printers feature a modular structure composed of 2.5-meter-long units, offering a maximum build volume of 10 meters in height (up to two stories), 15 meters in width, and 45 meters in length. These printers operate at speeds between 100 mm/s and 500 mm/s, with an optimal speed of 250 mm/s. Assembly and disassembly times are approximately 4-6 hours and 3-4 hours, respectively. The newer BOD3 model uses similar modular units on rails for enhanced mobility. It allows for printing heights up to 15 meters (three stories), with the same width and a slightly reduced length of 40 meters. It also offers faster assembly and disassembly times, 3-4 hours and 2-3 hours, respectively.

Looking ahead, this Angolan additive manufacturing construction sector is expected to explore new material compositions, including clay and soil-cement blends for 3D printing and modular concrete structures for social housing. Globally, various strategies are being pursued to address the housing crisis. In Los Angeles, a revised Citywide Adaptive Reuse Ordinance is intended to convert underutilized buildings into housing. In Spain, different social housing designs are promoting new ways of living that prioritize collective well-being. In Germany, the Baugruppe model ("building group") focuses on resident-led housing development, placing future occupants at the center of the design and planning process.

Project credits: