An apparatus for producing a three-dimensional workpiece, the apparatus comprising: - a carrier for receiving a raw material powder, - at least a first irradiation device for selectively irradiating an electromagnetic or particle radiation beam onto raw material powder being deposited on at least one build area of the carrier in order to produce a workpiece made of said raw material powder by an additive layer construction method, and - at least a first and a second powder application device being configured to simultaneously deposit raw material powder onto the same build area to produce a sequence of raw material powder layers on top of one another, wherein the irradiation device is configured to irradiate a section (S1-S4) of the build area between the powder application devices; the build area defines a maximum possible footprint of the workpiece; the irradiation device and/or the radiation beam emitted thereby are movable based on a movement of at least one of the powder application devices; and the powder application devices are configured to move along or across the build area one behind the other and at a varying distance to one another, wherein the irradiation device is configured to irradiate the section (S1-S4) between the powder application devices before the deposition of a lower one of the raw material powder layers has been completed. - a carrier for receiving a raw material powder, - at least a first irradiation device for selectively irradiating an electromagnetic or particle radiation beam onto raw material powder being deposited on at least one build area of the carrier in order to produce a workpiece made of said raw material powder by an additive layer construction method, and - at least a first and a second powder application device being configured to simultaneously deposit raw material powder onto the same build area to produce a sequence of raw material powder layers on top of one another, wherein the irradiation device is configured to irradiate a section (S1-S4) of the build area between the powder application devices; the build area defines a maximum possible footprint of the workpiece; the irradiation device and/or the radiation beam emitted thereby are movable based on a movement of at least one of the powder application devices; and the powder application devices are configured to move along or across the build area one behind the other and at a varying distance to one another, wherein the irradiation device is configured to irradiate the section (S1-S4) between the powder application devices before the deposition of a lower one of the raw material powder layers has been completed. the irradiation device is configured to irradiate a section (S1-S4) of the build area between the powder application devices; the build area defines a maximum possible footprint of the workpiece; the irradiation device and/or the radiation beam emitted thereby are movable based on a movement of at least one of the powder application devices; and the powder application devices are configured to move along or across the build area one behind the other and at a varying distance to one another, wherein the irradiation device is configured to irradiate the section (S1-S4) between the powder application devices before the deposition of a lower one of the raw material powder layers has been completed.