Starbucks set to open its first-ever 3D-printed store in Texas

[zohaibahd]

The big picture: For years, companies have touted 3D printing as the future of construction, and now one of the strongest signs of the technology moving into the mainstream has arrived. Starbucks has unveiled its first 3D-printed store in Brownsville, Texas, demonstrating that major brands are willing to bet on greener, more innovative building methods.

Brownsville Today reports that the new Starbucks will open on Monday. Built with cutting-edge 3D printing technology, it's not the typical cozy shop where customers can sip coffee while they doom-scroll. Instead, the store caters to mobile order pickups and a drive-thru, with no indoor seating. At about 1,400 square feet, the compact space prioritizes speed and convenience over lingering with your drink.

New Atlas notes that Germany's Peri 3D Construction, the company behind Europe's largest 3D-printed building, led the project. The team started construction late last year using a Cobod BOD2 printer – a massive machine that extrudes a concrete-like material layer by layer. Once printing wrapped up, human crews installed windows, a porch, and all the finishing touches needed to transform the raw concrete shell into a fully functional coffee shop.

The telltale ribbed look at the Brownsville location – typical of 3D-printed structures – is immediately apparent. The walls proudly display their layered "birthmarks," though a closer look might reveal imperfections where the material shifted or didn't align perfectly. Some of that texture appears off in the images.

The Brownsville store is part of a growing trend. Large-scale 3D printing is rapidly expanding across the US, especially in Texas. Companies like Icon have already made headway with 3D-printed housing developments like Wolf Ranch. Cobod has also been busy, delivering more than 50 BOD2 printers worldwide over the past few years for everything from commercial buildings to research projects.

A 2023 licensing document initially pegged the budget for this particular Starbucks at around $1.2 million, but the final costs remain undisclosed. Regardless, big names like Starbucks increasingly recognize the potential in 3D-printed construction – faster builds, potentially lower costs, and a dash of futuristic flair.

Image credit: City of Brownsville

Permalink to story:

Starbucks set to open its first-ever 3D-printed store in Texas

 

[VitalyT]

This will kill off a dozen of construction professions. Then people will forget how to build a good house, next generation will live in printed boxes, ride 3d-printed cars, and graze on printed pizza. Then the world will become a pile of printed disposable garbage.

 

[WhiteLeaff]

It's ironic to market this type of construction as "Greener" to supposedly save humanity and on the other side, you're destroying one of the most labor-intensive sectors.

To save humanity, you first have to destroy part of it. Learn that, children.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

We need to do something about construction.

Between red tape, NIMBY's, Donald's anti-immigrant push and trade wars, zoning laws, etc it's only going to get tougher and more expensive to build things in the US going forward.

Any tech which offsets the increase in time and money to build something is welcome at this point. There will still be plenty of jobs for the larger or more boutique construction projects.

 

[airbornex]

Honestly impressive that they can 3D print a whole building, but still can’t print enough seating for people to enjoy a coffee without feeling like a raccoon digging through a drive-thru.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

This will kill off a dozen of construction professions. Then people will forget how to build a good house, next generation will live in printed boxes, ride 3d-printed cars, and graze on printed pizza. Then the world will become a pile of printed disposable garbage.

People have already long forgotten how to build a good house. Have you seen the videos of inspections showing blatant failures?

 

[dualkelly]

This will kill off a dozen of construction professions. Then people will forget how to build a good house, next generation will live in printed boxes, ride 3d-printed cars, and graze on printed pizza. Then the world will become a pile of printed disposable garbage.

This is nonsense. A good house is not built of lumber which is a fire hazard and easily rots away if flooded not even going into the insane waste of time it takes to build them. 3d printed houses mean any design within reason can be printed. Don't like the layered look then you can stucco the outside. The insane amount of time it takes to build a house is why houses are too damn expensive creating a massive housing shortage.

 

[VitalyT]

This is nonsense. A good house is not built of lumber which is a fire hazard and easily rots away if flooded not even going into the insane waste of time it takes to build them. 3d printed houses mean any design within reason can be printed. Don't like the layered look then you can stucco the outside. The insane amount of time it takes to build a house is why houses are too damn expensive creating a massive housing shortage.

You know nothing of what you are talking about. Good wooden houses outlive the panel garbage they call homes these days. And there are many reasons why houses are expensive today, and it got little to do with the time it takes to build them. You need to learn your subject, before calling other people posts nonsense, or you are just being rude.

 

[Rudyduu]

You know nothing of what you are talking about. Good wooden houses outlive the panel garbage they call homes these days. And there are many reasons why houses are expensive today, and it got little to do with the time it takes to build them. You need to learn your subject, before calling other people posts nonsense, or you are just being rude.

Let me point out your comment's tone was rude and hypocritical. Telling someone they don't know what they are talking about then not presenting any objective data is just ranting. You didn't present anything showing your expertise so you are no better than anyone else.

A well built anything is going to be better than anything that isn't well built that's just true of everything. I would argue concrete is alot more durable than wood.

 

[dualkelly]

Let me point out your comment's tone was rude and hypocritical. Telling someone they don't know what they are talking about then not presenting any objective data is just ranting. You didn't present anything showing your expertise so you are no better than anyone else.

A well built anything is going to be better than anything that isn't well built that's just true of everything. I would argue concrete is alot more durable than wood.

Lets just start with the lumber in your fantasy world. First off hundreds of people must go into the forest and cut down the trees.. its labor intensive. Then those trees must be shipped to the lumbar mill to be cut down into boards. Then those boards must be pressure treated. pressure treatment, which involves placing lumber in a cylinder with a solution of preservatives and then applying pressure and vacuum cycles to force the chemicals into the wood fibers. All of these processes are highly wasteful. Approximately 45% of a tree's volume is lost during the process of converting it into lumber. Then it has to get transported again to the big box companies. Then transported again to the job site where almost 15% more of the wood is lost to waste and on average 2 to 5 carpenters are used to at a job site. While waste happens in concrete not on the scale of lumbar. Yet I dont know what I am talking about? lol open a book bruh.