We get asked this question all the time, and the first thing we do is point people to 3D printers that they might be more familiar with. The little ones that some folks have in their garage or workshops, or that you’ve definitely seen in universities. Then we ask them to imagine that 1,000 times bigger.

3D printing is starting to turn heads in Ontario’s construction industry with at least one company, nidus3D, proving printed buildings are no longer a pipe dream.

This fall, the construction site of a pair of large warehouses near Kingston will look vastly different than a regular building site.

Instead of the typical dozen or so workers on site wielding tools to erect the structures, there will be just a few people – working mobile devices that control software to operate an immense 3-D-printing machine.

Homebuilders and policymakers have been grappling for years with a problem that comes, fundamentally, down to arithmetic: the number of homes Canada must build keeps growing, and the number of hands to do the hammering, sawing and bricklaying is not keeping up.

Ian Arthur from Kingston, Ont., knows the problem from both sides of the equation.

A new, interactive, 3D-printed installation can now be enjoyed along Kingston’s downtown waterfront. Water Snake is an experiment in animating an underdeveloped space through a combination of design and new technology, according to a release from the City of Kingston.