Could affordable housing take 3D-printed
structures mainstream?
5
Few construction methods have
been as feted as additive manu-
facturing (AM) – 3D printing in
more colloquial terms – and few
have had as many false dawns.
Consider how long you’ve been
reading about AM’s transforma-
tive potential for the architectural
profession, and then ask yourself
when was the last time you read
about (let alone visited) a project
that was more than a prototype
or proof of concept? But now that
state agencies are grasping the
role AM can play in resolving an
almost universally pressing con-
cern – affordable housing – they’re
finally supporting enterprise
to help make the technology
practicable.
Up to now, real-world
applications have been slow to
catch up with the hype. It wasn’t
until 2018 that the first family
moved into a 3D-printed house,
created as part of a collaboration
between the University of Nantes,
the city council and a housing
association. That same year,
construction technology company
Icon became the first in the US to
print a dwelling that even satis-
fied local building codes.
But things are now starting
to move much more quickly. In
December, Icon and partner New
Story – a housing non-profit –
revealed that they’d completed
several properties in what they
dub the world’s first 3D-printed
neighbourhood, situated in
Southern Mexico. Three of the
46.5-m^2 homes can be printed at
a time using Icon’s 10-m-long
Vulcan II system, each offering
two bedrooms, a living room,
a kitchen and a bathroom. The
target total of 50 units is planned
to be completed and occupied by
the middle of 2020.
The residents selected to
live in these homes earn a median
income of $76.50 a month and
have been selected by the local
government – which has provided
the land and attendant infrastruc-
ture – based on greatest need.
Most will be leaving behind basicmetal-shack-style dwellings that,
apart from having few modern
amenities, are far more vulnera-
ble to local environmental threats
such as flooding and earthquakes.
But it is Vulcan II’s ability
to operate in unpredictable field
conditions that is the real news
story here. Unlike previous itera-
tions, Icon’s machine can lever-
age AM’s key advantages – speed,
cost and adaptability – in housing
contexts where they’re most
valued, such as remote communi-
ties and disaster relief zones. New
Story says it’s already had several
enquiries from several Latin
American governments keen to
replicate what’s being achieved
in Mexico.
December also saw
construction company Apis Cor
complete what it claims is the
largest 3D-printed building in
the world – a 640-m^2 , two-storey
office for the Dubai Municipality.
As with Icon’s Mexico project, the
real production breakthrough was
in being able to print the build-
ing without putting in place any
environmental controls, no
easy task on the Emirati coast.
The state-backed venture is part
of the city’s expressed aim to
have a quarter of all new build-
ings constructed via 3D printing
by 2030.
Crucially, lessons learned
in Dubai will help Apis Cor in its
plans to build affordable housing
in the US this year. Projects
are slated in several states and
advanced discussions have taken
place with the Housing Trust
Fund of Santa Barbara County.
Similarly, Icon has just started
printing 37-m^2 homes for a com-
munity of previously homeless
residents in Austin, Texas. And
analysts believe the rest of the
sector will start to take note.
Market forecaster SmarTech is
predicting that the 3D-printed
construction industry will be
worth almost €36 billion by 2027,
up from just €0.27 billion in- PM
Construction technology company
Icon and housing non-profit New
Story have teamed up to create
the ‘world’s first 3D-printed
neighbourhood’ in Mexico.24 Business of Design