3D Printed Houses the Cure to the Housing Crisis?

Austin, capital of Texas, is now home to its first 3D printed house. This house was created specifically to show how concrete 3D printing can help developing countries create affordable housing. This project, a collaboration between charity New Story and concrete 3D printing startup ICON, aims to build more efficient and sustainable houses. They believe that 3D printing can be used to help provide the 1.2 billion people worldwide without housing with adequate shelter.

The 3D printing construction industry is booming, with many new companies joining the sector before the predicted market growth sets in. This is being seen increasingly as the mid-to-long-term solution to tackle the housing crisis and provide disadvantaged countries with cheaper housing solutions, and more quickly. This sentiment is echoed by New Story and ICON, who worked together to create Texas’ 3D printed house in just 24 hours, a similar time to Apis Cor when they created a house in Russia last year.

3D Printed Houses for Disadvantaged Communities

3D printed houses demonstrate how feasible building sustainable and affordable homes are using the technology. New Story and ICON’s house 3D printer has been dubbed ‘Vulcan’ and can still operate in high-risk environments that may lack electricity, clean water, and skilled supervisors. After 8 months of research and development, the Vulcan is claimed to be able to create 200 square meter houses in just one day.