A new home design that stands as North America’s first three-story 3D printed structure has been completed in Canada using a special printer from the Danish construction technology firm COBOD.

The Toronto area proof-of-concept project from Nidus3D delivered what is reported as one of Canada’s first residentially permitted 3D printed structures. The 4,500-square-foot townhouse also includes the world's first 3D printed basement. It has a total of four residential units forming semi-attached homes made from locally sourced concrete and finished by a steel-frame roof and brick facade to match the local vernacular.

"Completing the world’s first 3D printed basement is another impressive achievement that only amplifies the technology’s potential to transform construction, and we notice with pride that multiple of our customers are pioneering what can be achieved with the 3D printing technology," COBOD's co-founder, Philip Lund-Nielsen, said in a news announcement.

Nidus3D had previously completed North America's first 3D printed two-story structure the year after its founding in 2022. They say the technology on display has an enormous potential to meet demands in the housing markets of Canada and the United States, as still 50% or more of all residential structures are typically two-story constructions. Nidus3D bills itself as a "process-driven company" and will next look to find scalable ways to deliver its product in both countries. 

News of its realization follows yesterday's big announcement from ICON at the SXSW festival in Austin detailing a suite of new technologies, including proprietary 3D printing tech called 'Phoenix' that is also capable of printing multiple stories and finishing an entire building enclosure. 

3D printed architecture has further supplanted itself into the broader conversation on architecture lately with similar breakthroughs in its ability to more rapidly produce structural components and introduce alternative materials seamlessly into the construction process (despite a few remaining hurdles).

COBOD is using the same printer to build a new social housing concept in Germany. 

The next record-setting structure using 3D printing will be the new 98-foot Tor Alva, designed by the ETH Zürich's Digital Building Technologies group and currently under production in Switzerland with an anticipated completion later this summer.