How a 6,000 km Journey Sparked a Groundbreaking 3D Housing Project in Canada

Crossing the Atlantic to find the solution that would change everything

I traveled over 6,000 kilometers with one clear goal: to understand how a French innovation could transform a massive construction project in Canada. When I launched the ambitious plan with Norseman Construction to build a six-story residential building, I set one non-negotiable condition: cut costs and timelines in half.

It may sound ambitious, but it isn’t unrealistic when you consider that, according to multiple industry studies, productivity in construction has increased by only 1% per year over the past 20 years — while housing demand has exploded and construction costs have doubled in less than a decade in several regions across North America and Europe.

Very quickly, I ran into a well-known reality: despite extraordinary technological advances — smartphones, AI, robotics, electric vehicles — the construction sector remains stuck in century-old practices. But the housing crisis doesn’t wait. Building faster, more sustainably, and more intelligently is no longer optional — it is urgent. And that’s when I discovered a technology capable of changing everything: 3D concrete printing.

Among the global pioneers of this revolution, one name caught my attention: Constructions-3D, a French company founded by Antoine Motte.

A giant laboratory where the future of construction takes shape

Based in Bruay-sur-Escaut, in northern France, Constructions-3D has become in just a few years a global reference in large-scale 3D printing applied to construction.

Its founder, Antoine Motte, a passionate engineer, set out to make 3D concrete printing useful, scalable, durable, and capable of offering total architectural freedom while providing concrete solutions to global housing shortages.

Where others limit themselves to prototyping, Constructions-3D actually builds. Among their most striking achievements: a 14.14-meter printed tower — a world record — sculptures, carved charging stations, experimental buildings, and even a pneumatic elevator, all symbolizing a boldly innovative vision.

For me, it was a real breakthrough. I wasn’t visiting a factory — I was discovering a technological campus. A place where construction is no longer confined by traditional methods.

My project: a 3D-printed six-story residential building

Back in Canada, I was convinced: the future of my real estate project — and perhaps of the entire sector — lies in 3D printing. My objective is to build a six-story building while reducing costs by 50%, cutting timelines in half, and improving both quality and energy performance.

Thanks to 3D printing, I can accelerate the building of load-bearing and partition walls, drastically reduce human error, minimize waste, optimize insulation and structural performance, and create forms that would be impossible with traditional formwork.

Today, I am working with Constructions-3D on the first phases of technical adaptation and regulatory validation to make this project a North American first — and send a strong signal to the entire industry.

A collaboration that could reshape the future

My encounter with Constructions-3D symbolizes a global movement: the shift toward construction that is smarter, faster, and more sustainable.

To me, 3D concrete printing is no longer a technological curiosity — it is a concrete lever for addressing the major challenges of the 21st century. If this technology becomes democratized, accessible, and properly mastered, it can reduce inadequate housing, boost productivity without compromising ethics, and put people back at the center by reducing physical hardship on job sites.

3D printing is not just an innovation — it is a structural solution capable of transforming construction into a sector that is faster, safer, more durable… and finally aligned with society’s real needs.

It was Antoine Motte, founder of Constructions-3D, who told me the story of the elephant imagined by Napoleon I at the site of the Bastille. A monumental project, never completed, designed to embody power, but above all to preserve the memory of a place rich in history, transformed into a symbol pointing to the future. The elephant, a universal symbol of memory, reminds us that nothing lasting can be built without remembering what came before.

In construction, every innovation, no matter how spectacular, is only valuable if it is built on foundations strong enough to endure over time. Power means nothing without stability, and vision only becomes reality when anchored in a solid base. This metaphor immediately resonated at the “Citadelle des savoir-faire”. Here, every technological advancement builds on the legacy of craftsmanship, on the lessons of past constructions, to better imagine those of tomorrow.

For Constructions-3D, this philosophy is expressed in tangible, practical ways. Behind every demonstration, achievement, or printed form, there is a constant obsession with structure, reliability, and reproducibility. Concrete 3D printing is not seen as a mere technical feat, but as a foundation capable of supporting real, habitable, and sustainable buildings. This is exactly the essence of what inspires my show, Construction Disruption, where we build tomorrow, today.

This 6,000 km journey was not just a business trip. Like great innovations that crossed borders — from metal tools to industrial machines, from artisanal skills to early digital technologies — my 3D printer crossed the Atlantic to integrate into a new environment, ready to transform local practices. By adopting it, I wasn’t simply acquiring a technology: I was joining a centuries-old movement where inventions circulate, evolve, and shape new ways of building.

If you want to follow this ambitious project and learn more about the themes I explore, I invite you to watch my video series (We Spent $1M on a 3D Printer… Watch the Insane UNBOXING / Half the Cost, All the Innovation: Inside the World’s Largest 3D-Printed CASTLE) on my Kris Potts channel, and visit my website : [norsemanconstruction.ca] (norsemanconstruction.ca)