It's the first of its kind. A 3-D printed seawall has begun installation on Pine Tree Drive Circle in Miami Beach.
A Miami Beach future homeowner purchased the living seawall specifically to help the environment. The beams are going to be the cap to the wall, which will take it up even more to meet code standards — but it's the structure itself of the wall that acts as a marine habitat.
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This seawall acts as an artificial reef with the grooves of the design along with allowing marine life to live among the wall, which mimics the structure of mangrove roots.
Kind Design is price-matching the cost of any regular seawall — so there is no price difference; the only difference is in its function. Doc Marine Construction took the gamble to be the first ever to do an install like this.
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The 10-foot high seawall panel is printed in about an hour, compared to the 24 hours or so it would take to make one with a conventional mold.
The seawalls meet all updated building codes and are made to minimize disruptions to marine life. And the materials used are non-toxic concrete which is safer for the environment.
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Since NBC6 introduced Kind Design a few months ago, their product and company has gained the attention of famed entrepreneur Mark Cuban. He invested $5 million, which has allowed production to expand.
"We got two more robots, so we can triple production," said Anya Freeman, the CEO of Kind Design. "We moved our warehouse on the river, and went from a 5,000-square-foot warehouse to a 50,000-square-foot one. And we’re just focused on mass-producing the panels in Florida. Starting in South Florida, we’re really moving to Tampa — which is the second biggest seawall market — as well as Jacksonville by the end of the year."
Of course, there are still ongoing conversations regarding the seawalls, but if they are going to be mandatory for residential neighborhoods like this one, why not adapt and limit the impacts on the environment?
