Although US mortgage rates are now at their lowest level in 15 months, home prices are still high.
With the US facing a 4.5 million housing shortage, construction company Icon is using 3D printing technology to print more houses – and including the final buildings in a 100-acre, 3D-printed community in Georgetown, Texas.
The icon uses a 45-foot-wide 3D printer and fills it with a mixture of concrete powder, water, sand, and other materials. The printer then pipes the mixture, layering it until it stacks up to form the house.
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A construction project for 100 of these 3D-printed houses in Georgetown, Texas, began in November 2022 and is expected to be completed by the end of summer, according to a Reuters report.
How is it going….how did it start. 95 homes have been printed and a few more will be delivered to Wolf Ranch. pic.twitter.com/6C3IeKgFOy
– ICON (@ICON3DTech) May 31, 2024
The houses are one-story, three- to four-bedroom structures ranging from 1,500 to 2,000 square feet.
Each costs between $450,000 and $600,000. By comparison, the median list home price in the area was $499,900.
The exterior and interior walls of each home are made of 3D printed concrete, which the icon says can withstand extreme weather conditions.
Icon says that 3D printed homes have several advantages over traditionally built ones. The company claims that concrete materials make the home soundproof, energy efficient, and carbon efficient.
The houses also take less time and money to build—one human team and one robot can replace five separate workers, the company says.
Icon has sold about 25 homes in the community so far. One resident told Reuters the house “sounds like a fortress” that can withstand a hurricane.
Apart from 3D printed homes, Icon is also testing an AI architecture that can generate floor plans for a dream home.
‘A Brief History of the Future’ on @PBS is a unique six-part series about our future and how to reimagine it.
Hosted by @AriWdirected by @Andrew_Morgan
PHOTO in ep5 pic.twitter.com/o6p8f9wmWx
– ICON (@ICON3DTech) May 10, 2024
