ICON has developed a method for printing a single-story 650-square-foot house out of cement in only 12 to 24 hours, a fraction of the time it takes for new construction. If all goes according to plan, a community made up of about 100 homes will be constructed for residents in El Salvador next year. The company has partnered with New Story, a nonprofit that is vested in international housing solutions. — theverge.com
Today at SXSW, The first model is scheduled to be unveiled by Austin-based startup ICON. The company uses the Vulcan 3D printer in order to generate an entire home for $10,000 with plans to bring costs down to $4,000 per house. Using concrete rather than plastic, the model features a living room, bedroom, bathroom, and a curved porch.
Once testing is complete on their model, the Vulcan printer will be moved to El Salvador to begin construction. ICON also intends to build homes in the US.
4 Comments
It just prints the walls, walls are not a house! What about the roof, floor, windows, doors, insulation, plumbing, wiring?? The hype should be limited to 3-D printed walls, not 3-D printed House!
Guess I missed all the plumbing and electrical inside those 3D printed walls. And for the record it is printed out of concrete, not cement.
cool
Someone needs to put a stop to thinking this a good idea. Not only does it look horrible, but what about all the other components of a buildings facade, insulation, systems? All for technology and progress but this is an insult to all tradesman out there.
I can see this being used in mars to build portable toilets, but this does not belong in planet earth or be proposed as a dwelling for any human being.
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