A new house in 48 hours? Homes and landing pads on the moon? If it seems too good to be true … well, in this case it’s not.
Enter 3D-printed houses, structures that are built layer by layer using industrial-grade, 3D-printing technology, otherwise known as construction 3D printing. The result? Free-form, curvilinear shapes that run the gamut from inhabitable beta prototypes to move-in ready affordable housing to even high-end luxury homes.
If this sounds like an episode of The Jetsons, consider this: The world’s largest 3D-printed neighborhood is nearly complete in Wolf Ranch, Texas, near Austin. This community of 100 homes was manufactured using ICON’s Vulcan printer, which measures more than 45 feet wide and weighs 4.75 tons.
ICON started the building project in November 2022, piping out homes layer by layer. Concrete powder, water and sand are mixed with other additives, pumped into the printer, then squeezed out a nozzle along a pre-programmed path. The result: fortress-like walls that have a ribbed, corduroy appearance. The foundation and metal roofs of such homes are then installed traditionally.
Such a strong structure comes with significant benefits: resilience to most tornados, protection from water, mold and termite damage, and insulation from excessive heat. (WiFi is another matter, as the signal doesn’t transfer through concrete walls very well. Mesh routers quickly solve the issue.)
It’s a possible solution for those being priced out of housing in their neighborhoods, for impoverished communities and for the unhoused population. In Maine, for example, the technology could prove helpful in addressing a significant housing shortage by 2030 and is already being considered for a nine-home neighborhood for people experiencing homelessness.
Affordable, Fast and Innovative
Going 3D in home building is a quicker, more economical alternative to standard construction, requiring fewer workers and minimizing construction material waste. The work is not entirely autonomous, however, as it still requires human oversight to ensure no technical issues, and to cut holes for installments such as plumbing, electrical wiring, doors and windows.
And while a printer is unlikely to displace traditional home construction, it is likely that 3D-printed homes will comprise a larger share of the world’s future housing inventory.
The University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center (ASCC) recognizes that homes are expensive, and that with the state’s aging population, there are fewer tradespeople in electrical, plumbing and construction. They’ve taken the 3D printing idea and taken it one step further with the world’s largest polymer 3D printer, or so-called “Factory of the Future 1.0.”
The ASCC’s revolutionary approach to 3D home printing introduces more sustainability into the process, as one of the only printers building homes with wood residuals, according to Habib Dagher, ASCC director. While most of the current printing relies on concrete, the ASCC printer has already successfully printed the “BioHome3D,” the world’s first completely bio-based 3D-printed home, built from local wood fiber and resin materials. When concrete is used, it’s only manufacturing the walls of a home; in the case of the BioHome3D, the floor, roof and walls were also 3D printed. What’s more, when the home is no longer used or wanted, it can literally be ground up and used to print something else.
And, it’s cute. More inviting than the typical 3D-printed concrete home, the BioHome3D features warm wooden floors and walls for a cozier, Hygge style, like a modern Scandinavian cabin.
The Two-Day Home
So, can a 3D home truly be turned around in 48 hours? The ASCC printer aims to do just that, producing objects as large as 96 feet long by 32 feet wide by 18 feet high and printing up to 500 pounds per hour currently – with an ultimate goal of 1,000 pounds of material per hour. If that objective is reached, the printer could reproduce the BioHome3D in 48 hours, making it extremely competitive with current housing construction costs.
As new-agey as it seems, construction 3D printing is on the rise and welcomed as a possible low-waster, computerized homebuilding method that could shelter unhoused communities and provide sustainable, biodegradable housing solutions.
As for that moon talk? The technology has piqued NASA’s interest, spurring the organization to fund a $57 million project to develop a moonside 3D-printed infrastructure, including landing pads, shelters, and other structures on the lunar surface.
This post was based on information found on Reuters, CNN and Builders + Communities.
