International café chain Starbucks is set to open its first store in the United States (US) made using 3D-printed parts.
With more than 17,000 locations nationwide, Starbucks is set to open the new 3D-printed store in Brownsville, Texas. The drive-thru-only venue will open the week commencing 28 April and will make Starbucks one of the nation’s few large retailers to experiment with 3D printing for commercial construction.
Construction experts say the store is an example of an industry figuring out ways to use the technology.
“It’s early days yet,” says James Rose, Director of the Institute for Smart Structures at the University of Tennessee.
“I’m happy to see people doing all these different things with it, and I think at some point we’ll figure out what its best use is. But right now I think you’re going to see lots of experimentation, and I think that’s a good thing.”
On its Instagram page, Starbucks has released a time-lapse video of the store build. Watch it here.
