Buildings 2022, 12, 1703. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12101703 www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings Review 3D Printing in Sustainable Buildings: Systematic Review and Applications in the United Arab Emirates Iman Ibrahim 1, *, Fatma Eltarabishi 2 , Hadeer Abdalla 3 and Mohamed Abdallah 4 1 Department of Applied Design, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates 2 Department of Industrial and Engineering Management, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates 3 Department of Civil Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah 26666, United Arab Emirates 4 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates * Correspondence: iibrahim@sharjah.ac.ae Abstract: Three-dimensional printing (3DP) has been rapidly evolving to be one of the leading tech- nology fields in the coming decades. However, as in the early years of new technologies, 3DP suffers from technical limitations and various implications. This study focuses on the applications of 3DP in the construction industry, emphasizing its environmental, financial, and social sustainability as- pects. A systematic bibliographic analysis was carried out for the relevant publications which in- creased by 25-fold from 2014 to 2021. The 3D-printed construction projects in the United Arab Emir- ates (UAE) are presented to demonstrate the early 3DP technology penetration into its booming construction sector. The UAE case is of particular interest from a sustainability perspective due to the environmental footprint of the ample construction activities in the country, combined with the ambitious strategic plans to achieve sustainable development goals. This critical analysis shows that, despite the limited literature, 3DP could potentially be a sustainable alternative with up to 49% less environmental footprint and 78% more cost-effectiveness compared to conventional construc- tion techniques. As the social sustainability aspect was the least addressed, this study discusses relevant social impact indicators and systematic assessment criteria. It is evident that 3DP is already reshaping the future of the built environment, especially in cases where 3DP is advantageous, such as customized designs, quick project delivery, and sustainability-oriented constructions. Keywords: additive manufacturing; sustainable development; architecture; construction; social impact assessment 1. Introduction The three-dimensional printing (3DP), or additive manufacturing (AM), technology was invented over four decades ago and was originally utilized to create prototypes [1]. Three-dimensional printing is defined as the process of adding layers on top of each other to print a 3D object designed on computer software. The materials used for printing can be metal, concrete, plastic, ceramic, etc. Three-dimensional printing has become part of everyday practices in the last few years and has solidly emerged in various industries and applications. Recently, 3DP has been utilized to construct buildings; today, it is a reality that a 400 ft 2 house can be built in 24 h, as completed by Apis Cor in Russia. Designers now have the freedom to be creative and design complex shapes that are impractical to build using traditional construction techniques. The integration of 3DP into the construc- tion industry has caused a revolution in productivity, primarily due to the reduced time of the manufacturing and fabrication process. Construction wastes are also reduced as materials can be easily controlled and modified during the manufacturing process. How- ever, the technology still suffers from technical limitations and sustainability issues [2]. Citation: Ibrahim, I.; Eltarabishi, F.; Abdalla, H.; Abdallah, M. 3D Printing in Sustainable Buildings: Systematic Review and Applications in the United Arab Emirates. Buildings 2022, 12, 1703. https:// doi.org/10.3390/buildings12101703 Academic Editors: Yu Chen, Jie Xu, Oğuzhan Çopuroğlu, Zhenhua Duan and Hongzhi Zhang Received: 21 August 2022 Accepted: 14 October 2022 Published: 16 October 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neu- tral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institu- tional affiliations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Li- censee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and con- ditions of the Creative Commons At- tribution (CC BY) license (https://cre- ativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).