3D-printed homes might sound like science fiction, but one Austin-based company has made them a reality. This Old House visited a construction site to see how ICON is reimagining how we design and build homes using this innovative, sustainable technology.
Construction-scale 3D printing aims to solve housing shortages by quickly building high-quality affordable homes. By contrast, traditional construction methods are costly, hurt air quality, and often utilize non-sustainable materials.
The video demonstrates how a single-story home is 3D-printed on-site using a high-tech robot and a low-carbon cementitious material. The gantry-style printer extrudes a wall one layer at a time, almost like soft serve ice cream.
While the walls are being printed, openings are cut for outlets, switches, and plumbing, so by the time the wall is complete, it's ready for electricians and plumbers to rough in systems. Since there are no wooden studs, their work is easier and faster.
The wall cavities are filled with foam insulation, making the home extremely resilient to temperature fluctuations, resulting in lower heating and cooling costs.
ICON told This Old House this all-in-one technique requires only three to four people to operate. A 10-foot wall can be completed in 10 days. An entire project can be finished in about two weeks depending on the size of the home.
3D printers can print curves or zigzags just as easily as straight lines, giving architects additional freedom. As an ICON project manager explained, "You can kind of open up your imagination and not be restricted by time or cost when you're designing the home."
Conventional stick-frame homes cost about $35 per square foot. This past year, ICON's method matched that price point and was even cheaper in some cases.
ICON's proprietary building material, CarbonX, is locally sourced, further reducing the overall carbon footprint by cutting transportation costs and emissions.
This durable material is resistant to termites, mold, water, and fire, making it ideal for extreme weather. 3D-printed homes are capable of withstanding earthquakes and hurricanes.
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For sure 👍 Traditional construction is the largest emitter of planet-warming pollution, accounting for 37% of global emissions, and it's extremely wasteful, responsible for around a third of the world's waste.
ICON aims to reduce environmental impacts by producing homes that are sustainable and energy-efficient.
The company debuted at SXSW in 2018 and delivered the world's first permitted 3D-printed home. Since then, it has created more than 180 homes and structures across four states and two countries.
The company is working on Phoenix, a next-generation multi-story construction system that uses an articulating arm to print an entire building, including foundations and roof structures.
Several Texas communities already have ICON homes available for purchase. More projects are under development in the Southwest, with further expansion planned in the coming year.
ICON's future plans are literally out of this world. They partnered with NASA to deliver the 3D-printed simulation habitat Mars Dune Alpha, and lunar construction methods are under development.
ICON's 3D-printed homes offer an exciting glimpse into the cleaner, cost-effective future of home construction.
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