Could mean Dubai's ever-changing skyline will soon develop even faster

Gulf state says 3D printing will allow it to build more cheaply in future

Fast-growing Dubai, where something new is always being added to the skyline, may have found a way to make construction cheaper and move even faster.

The Gulf commercial hub has announced plans to add the world's first office building made using three-dimensional printer technology to its collection of eye-catching buildings.

Dubai's one-storey prototype building, with about 2,000 square feet of floor space, will be printed layer-by-layer using a 20-foot tall printer, Mohamed Al Gergawi, the United Arab Emirates Minister of Cabinet Affairs revealed. It will then be assembled on site within a few weeks.

Innovation: The Gulf commercial hub has announced plans to add the world's first office building made using three-dimensional printer technology to its collection of eye-catching buildings

Groundbreaking: Dubai's one-storey prototype building, with about 2,000 square feet of floor space, will be printed layer-by-layer using a 20-foot tall printer

Interior furniture and structural components will also be built through 3D printing with reinforced concrete, gypsum reinforced with glass fibre and plastic, al-Gergawi said.

The project is a tie-up between Dubai and Winsun, a Chinese company that has been pioneering the use of 3D printers to build houses.

Gergawi cited studies estimating the technique could cut building time by 50-70 per cent and labour costs by 50-80 per cent, adding it is part of a broader effort by the seven-state federation to embrace cutting-edge technology and make it a global hub for innovation.

'This building will be a testimony to the efficiency and creativity of 3-D printing technology, which we believe will play a major role in reshaping construction and design sectors,' he said in a statement.

Dubai has described the proposed office as 'the most advanced 3-D printed structure ever built at this scale' and the first to be put into actual use.

No details on the time frame or cost have so far been released.

Space age: Interior furniture and structural components will also be built through 3D printing with reinforced concrete, gypsum reinforced with glass fibre and plastic

Exterior: Gergawi cited studies estimating the technique could cut building time by 50-70 per cent and labour costs by 50-80 per cent

Stunning: Dubai has described the proposed office as 'the most advanced 3-D printed structure ever built at this scale' and the first to be put into actual use

Officials plan to use the office as the temporary headquarters of a $136 million 'Museum of the Future' announced earlier this year that is expected to open in 2017.

Dubai is already home to a number of fanciful man-made islands, including one archipelago depicting a map of the world, as well as the world's tallest building, the 2,717-foot tall Burj Khalifa.

The news comes just one month after the UAE laid out a strategic framework for a new space agency that aims to integrate various arms of the Gulf federation's burgeoning space industry.

The seven-state federation, perhaps best known for its oil wealth and extravagant attractions, is fast establishing itself as the Arab world's leader in the space sector.

The UAE Space Agency, created last year by presidential decree, aims to regulate and support the country's space sector, which includes existing Earth-orbiting satellite programs and plans for a mission to Mars in 2020.