THE FUTURE OF CONSTRUCTION Wellington Company Printed Farms Revolutionizing The Building Business STORY BY MIKE MAY | PHOTOS BY ELYSIAN MEDIA
Quicker to build, longer lasting, more resilient against catastrophic weather, more freedom in the design process and no more expensive to construct. These are a few of the many ways to describe the appeal of the design and construction technology now being pioneered by Wellington-based Printed Farms LLC, which uses a state-of-the-art 3D printing technique to build structures such as homes, horse barns and everything in between. Recently, Printed Farms showcased this 3D printing technology during an open house when it unveiled its latest project, a state-of-the-art, luxury, 10,678-square-foot equestrian facility and horse barn on Hollow Tree Lane, located just off Flying Cow Road in Wellington. Using the computerized 3D print32 december 2023 | wellington the magazine
ing technique, as opposed to traditional construction methods, the horse barn’s column structures at the facility on Hollow Tree Lane were created with a 3D robotic arm. The building that resulted is being referred to as the “world’s largest 3D printed structure,” said Jim Ritter, CEO and founder of Wellington-based Printed Farms. According to Ritter, the increase of major catastrophic climate events, such as hurricanes and tropical storms in South Florida, will demand buildings that are stronger and more sustainable. The structures created by Printed Farms will fill that need. They are also energy efficient and lower cooling and heating costs. Interest in this emerging technology has been extensive, and the Welling-
ton project has garnered media attention from not just local TV stations and newspapers, but also from Business Insider magazine and MSNBC. From the outside, the new equestrian facility on Hollow Tree Lane looks like any other structure built by a general contractor, but Ritter said that there are stark differences between what Printed