00:00Here you can see a new church being printed.
00:09Honestly, I'm fascinated. I'm just overwhelmed with all the options that we have with the design.
00:18Hi, my name is Peter Kovac. I'm the foundation's chairman and I'm going to show you how to build a
00:23church in the 21st century.
00:27He's also the priest of the new church being printed, not built.
00:31It's the first house of worship this size ever to be constructed like this.
00:36The foundation and basement are already complete, made with standard poured concrete.
00:41But the plan is for everything visible to look like it came directly from a 3D printer.
00:48I like the fact that we can use concrete too.
00:51Because when I say that we want to print a church, the first thing everyone asks is,
00:56won't it collapse if it's all made of plastic?
01:01Here, high-tech meets minimalist design.
01:04We're in Neratovice, a town just north of the Czech capital, Prague.
01:12It's an industrial town known for its chemical plant.
01:16Neratovice was built up in the 1950s under the communist system.
01:21Even local residents admit that their city is far from pretty.
01:25And for political reasons, the town was purposely built without a church.
01:35But Neratovice's Catholic congregation stuck around anyway and simply uses churches in neighboring towns.
01:42It's been that way ever since.
01:45Priest Kovac preaches.
01:47The children's choir sings.
01:50And the far too small church is packed with worshipers at this regular Sunday service.
02:00I grew up in this community. I've lived here for 40 years and I really like it.
02:04The congregation is growing and we need a bigger house of worship.
02:08We haven't got enough room here.
02:10We have no space for meeting, for sharing time together.
02:17And I think the new church will be much helpful.
02:20It's cool and new that the church is being made with a 3D printer.
02:24I think it looks blue.
02:28Whenever I look at the construction site, I think what's happening here is like a miracle.
02:34What's certainly a marvel is that a completely new church is being built here, in one of Europe's most secular
02:40countries.
02:41Only around 10% of the Czech population identify as Christian.
02:47And Neratovice is no exception.
02:49The congregation must raise some 8.5 million euros to cover construction costs.
02:55Around half of that is still missing.
02:57But they remain optimistic as the new church will also be open for secular purposes.
03:02This community requires a church.
03:05But it's not only a church. It's also a community center.
03:08So the need is much bigger.
03:10It will bring a lot of good to the people.
03:15The first modules from the 3D printer have already been put up.
03:19The whole nave is to be pieced together with these panels, like a giant puzzle.
03:25This is the first time I'm seeing this in life.
03:27And I really, really cannot wait until we see it in the complete structure.
03:33One of these pieces prints about maybe less than an hour.
03:38The 3D printer is to churn out 900 of these panels for the nave alone.
03:43The church tower and rectory not included.
03:47For Thomas Vranek, who runs the printer, it's far from a routine assignment.
03:51Every project is a challenge for us.
03:53There is always something new.
03:55And this is the biggest project we are going to print so far.
04:00It's also one of the first instances where 3D printing has been used to create a place of worship.
04:06In such a secular nation of all places.
04:09Here we have 2D printing the dies, there is a 4D printing to screen.
04:09There is even more names than 2D printing.
04:09There is also one of the most common pieces of gathering.
04:10There is a complete storage.
04:10There is a 2D printing in the cabinet.
04:11There is a total storage.
04:11There is only a volume of the 3D printing.
04:11ThreeD printing, there is only one of the 3D printing printed.
Comments