STARBUCKS has opened its first 3D-printed store in the US with an eye-catching fresh look.
Customers are sure to flock to the new store given its novelty, but some might be disappointed to find that it’s missing a fan-favorite feature.
4
4
4
4
If you want to visit the new store, you’ll have to order your coffee via speaker because the 1,400 square-foot location is drive-thru only.
You can also use mobile ordering at this location if you want to order your coffee ahead of time.
The store is one-of-a-kind among the over 17,000 locations that Starbucks has across the country.
Its exterior is made up of tubes of concrete stacked on top of each other using a computer-controlled robotic arm.
3D-printing construction has mostly been used for residential projects to help combat the current affordable housing crisis.
With its new store, Starbucks has become one of the few major US retailers to use the innovative technology in the commercial sector.
If you want to check out the 3D-printed store, you’ll have to travel to Brownsville, Texas.
Brownsville is located along the US-Mexico border and is over a five-hour drive south of Austin.
One local, Faviola Maldonado, called the construction of the new store, “different.”
“It was super high technology,” Maldonado, who used to operate a jewelry store next to the new Starbucks, told local NBC affiliate KPRC.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Starbucks for comment.
EXPERTS WEIGH IN
James Rose, director of the Institute for Smart Structures at the University of Tennessee, was joyous about the 3D-printed store.
“I’m happy to see people doing all of these different things with it, and I think at some point we’ll figure out what its best use is,” he said.
Rose added: “But right now I think you’re going to see lots of experimentation, and I think that’s a good thing.”
Starbucks 3D-printed store features
Starbucks opened its first 3D-printed store in the US on Friday. Here are some details about the location:
- 1,400 square-feet
- Drive-thru only
- Made out of tubes of stacked concrete using a computer-controlled robotic arm
- Located in Brownsville, Texas
Another expert thought the new Starbucks location was “leading edge.”
Andrew McCoy, associate director of research and innovation at the Myers-Lawson School of Construction at Virginia Tech, explained the pros and cons of 3D-printed structures.
He said that while construction that uses 3D technology still costs more than traditional wood framing, it assists with the labor shortage in the industry and can help speed up the building process.
“You are starting to see the technology is getting faster, smaller,” McCoy said.
He added: “It’s getting easier to use.”
The expert anticipates that 3D-printed construction will become more cost-competitive later down the line.