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World’s Finest 3D Printed Homes

3D printing enables builders to create houses in hours.

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A 3D concrete printer at work.
A 3D concrete printer at work. PHOTO/COURTESY

3D concrete printing technology is revolutionising the construction industry, making it possible for builders to create new houses within 24 hours.

This technology involves the use of giant 3D printers to spray layers of construction waste combined with cement to produce components that can be assembled into houses.

Although 3D printed homes are still in their infancy, builders around the world are beginning to embrace them as a means to reduce construction costs and timelines.

Here are 7 of the world’s most stunning 3D printed homes:

1. Curve Appeal 3D printed house

Curve Appeal, a brainchild of Wimberly, Allison, Tong & Goo. (WATG) markets itself as the world-first freeform 3D printed luxury home. The 3D printed home that is set to open this year in Chattanooga, Tennessee is tipped to revolutionize the architecture, engineering and construction industry.

The project dates back in 2016 when a team of architects in Chicago unveiled a remarkable design for a 3D printed house made using plastic, carbon-fibre panels and glazed walls.

To overcome the limitations of traditional 3D printing, Curve Appeal employs robotics to generate customised shapes and curves, which efficiently delivers high quality designs.

The Curve Appeal has a natural rock formation with smooth concrete exterior and its quadrilateral archways that act as support structure for the exterior casing that replaces traditional walls and roof.

A rendering of the Curve Appeal 3-D-printed house. PHOTO/WATG

2. Eindhoven 3D printed homes

Eindhoven University of Technology developed a concept for what it called the ‘world’s first 3D-printed houses that people can live inside’.

READ: Inside the world’s largest 3D-printed house

The first of the proposed 3D printed homes – a three-bedroom bungalow that looks like something you would find on the outer space – was expected to be ready in 2019, with four multi-level homes planned to follow later on the site in Meerhoven, west of the Dutch city of Eindhoven.

“The houses will all be occupied, they will meet all modern comfort requirements, and they will be purchased and let out by a real estate company,” the university said.

Project Milestone in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
Project Milestone in Eindhoven, Netherlands. PHOTO/COURTESY

Eindhoven 3D printed homes, which are fashioned as rental properties, will be delivered in partnership with the city municipality, contractor Van Wijnen, real-estate company Vesteda, materials producer Saint Gobain-Weber Beamix, and engineering firm Witteveen+Bos.

3. GAIA 3D printed house

Italian 3D-printing firm WASP is producing tiny houses to show-off the capabilities of their ground-breaking Crane WASP printer.

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Dubbed Gaia, the new 3D printed homes are 30-square-metre abodes comprising a 3D printed external shell and internal timber beams supporting each unit’s wooden roof.

An impression of Gaia 3D printed homes. PHOTO/COURTESY

In October 2018, WASP 3D printed a house on site in Massa Lombardo, a town in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna – using a natural mud mixture made from soil taken from the surrounding site, and waste materials from rice production such as chopped straw and rice husks.

WASP claims that its 3D printed homes are biodegradable.

“Gaia is the result of a limited and optimised use of agricultural resources, which through technology have been converted into a complex building with a minimal environmental footprint,” the company says.

4. New Story 3D printed homes

America-based non-profit New Story has partnered with Texas technology firm ICON to produce the world’s first 3D printed village in Mexico as part of efforts to combat global homelessness.

Using a giant Vulcan II 3D printer, the two partners are churning out the shell of each 152-square-metre houses with roof, windows and interiors fitted later.

World’s first 3D printed neighbourhood. PHOTO/ NEW STORY

The 10-metre long machine begins at the base of the house, layering the concrete all the way to the top of the building where a roof is then fitted. The entire process takes about 24 hours to complete.

With two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen and bathroom, each of the Mexico 3D printed homes can comfortably accommodate a small family.

5. Dus 3D printed homes

In 2016, Dutch studio DUS Architects 3D printed an eight-square-metre cabin in Amsterdam that came with its own internal bathtub among other features.

The architects used sustainable bio-plastic to create the 3D Print Urban Cabin, in an effort to show how additive manufacturing can provide solutions for temporary housing especially after natural disasters.

A 3D Print Urban Cabin. PHOTO/OSSIP

The cabin is fashioned in a way that a window breaks one end while the other integrates both an entrance and a stepped porch balcony. The walls of the structure are designed with protrusions that create a three-dimensional surface, giving the cabin additional structural firmness.

The cabin can be demolished and all the materials recycled when it is no longer needed.

6. Mirreco 3D printed houses

Perth-based biotech company Mirreco recently unveiled plans to build several hemp-based 3D printed homes in Australia to harness the potential of industrial hemp”.

Mirreco has partnered with Arcforms, an architectural firm also based in Perth, to manufacture hemp panels that can be used in both residential and commercial construction projects. 

Mirreco 3D printed homes. PHOTO/ARCFORMS

The panels can be produced straight through a 3D printer, and then used to put up the structure of the house. Mirreco says the panels are “easy to produce, and provide superior thermal performance.”

“The floors, walls and roof will all be made using hemp biomass, and the windows will incorporate cutting-edge technology that allows light to pass through glass where it is converted into electricity,” the company said.

7. PassiveDom 3D printed homes

PassiveDom House, the brainchild of PassivDom – a start-up based in Ukraine and California, is a 3D printed home designed to run entirely on solar energy and to generate water from the atmosphere.

PassivDom claims they can 3D print the houses in just eight hours and that a house can be printed and delivered to the customer on the same day.

The inside of the house with furnishings. PHOTO/PASSIVDOM

However, once the printing is accomplished the house will still require some finishing that can only be performed using traditional building methods.

In late 2019, PassivDom rebranded to Haus.me as it prepared to present a new international team and kick off in new countries. The company, however, continues to operate under its old name in Ukraine.

Danson Kagai is a skilled architect with a degree from the University of Nairobi. He has a wealth of experience in covering mega projects in Kenya, and is passionate about the built environment.