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Analysis of institutional authors

Quintana-Gallardo, ACorresponding AuthorGuillén-Guillamón, ICorresponding Author

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The First 3D-Printed Building in Spain: A Study on Its Acoustic, Thermal and Environmental Performance

Publicated to:Sustainability. 14 (20): 13204- - 2022-10-01 14(20), DOI: 10.3390/su142013204

Authors: Salandin, Andrea; Quintana-Gallardo, Alberto; Gomez-Lozano, Vicente; Guillen-Guillamon, Ignacio

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Abstract

The first 3D-printed building in Spain is the object of this study, and it is presented and physically described herein from different points of view. This study combines on-site measurements, simulations, and a life cycle assessment to assess some relevant parameters concerning the acoustic, thermal and environmental performance of the 3D-printed house. The main objectives are to analyze whether the house complies with the acoustic and thermal regulations and to assess whether it can act as a sustainable alternative to conventional masonry construction, especially when time plays an important role. The build surface (3D prototype) of the house is approximately 23 m(2). The internal space includes a living room (12.35 m(2)), a bedroom (7.36 m(2)) and a bathroom (3.16 m(2)). The total surface of the house is 22.87 m(2) and it has a volume of 64.03 m(3). The acoustic insulation was measured according to the ISO 9869-1:2014 standard. In terms of the acoustic insulation, the sound reduction index was tested following the guidelines of the ISO 140-5:1999 standard. Additionally, the study includes a comparative life cycle assessment comparing the 3D-printed facade with two conventional wall typologies. The 3D-printed house displays an excellent thermal performance, with a measured thermal transmittance of 0.24 Wm(-2)K(-1), suitable for all Spanish climate zones. Regarding the acoustic insulation, the measured global sound reduction indexes of the facades range from 36 to 45 dB, which is adequate for areas with noise levels of up to 75 dB. The environmental results indicate that 3D-printed facade manufacturing emits 30% more CO(2)e than a facade constructed using concrete blocks and 2% less than a masonry block wall. Overall, this study shows that, in addition to its multiple advantages in terms of the construction time, the studied 3D-printed house has similar acoustic, thermal and environmental traits to the most common construction typologies. However, it cannot be considered a sustainable construction method due to its high amount of cement.

Keywords

Acoustic insulationAdditiveAdditive manufacturingConcreteConstructionConstruction methodDesignFutureInsulation materialsLife cycle analysisLife cycle assessmentManufacturingPerformance assessmentSpainThermal transmittanceWallsWaste

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Sustainability due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2022, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Geography, Planning and Development.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from the Field Citation Ratio (FCR) of the Dimensions source, it yields a value of: 4.7, which indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: Dimensions Jun 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-06-07, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 8
  • Scopus: 9
  • OpenCitations: 5

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-06-07:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 70.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 64 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 0.25.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 1 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Salandin, A) and Last Author (Guillén Guillamón, Ignacio Enrique).

the authors responsible for correspondence tasks have been Quintana Gallardo, Alberto and Guillén Guillamón, Ignacio Enrique.