In November 2022, Icon and Lennar began 3D printing homes for a new neighborhood in Texas. Now, according to a report from ReutersThe 100-house project is almost completed.
While foundations, roofs and siding were built and installed in a traditional way, the walls of each home were created using Icon’s Vulcan 3D printer. Vulcan uses a long, crane-like robotic arm with a nozzle on the tip to squeeze out beads of concrete like icing on a cake. Guided by a digital design, the printer lays out a footprint and then builds the walls layer by layer.
As one of the first large-scale projects for 3D-printed homes, it shows some of the benefits: Using Vulcan and a single crew of workers, a home can be printed in about three weeks. Icon worked with design firm Bjark Ingels Group on eight floor plans for the ranch-style homes, each with three to four bedrooms and ranging in size from 1,500 to 2,000 square feet.
About 25 percent of the homes sold for prices between $450,000 and $600,000, which is about average for the area. Buyers are already moving in. A couple who Reuters said their home is solidly built and its thick concrete walls insulate well, keeping it cool inside during the hot Texas summer. The homes come standard with solar panels that convert all that sunlight into electricity. The only downside? The concrete blocks Wi-Fi signals, so internet requires a mesh network.
The idea of 3D printing houses is not new. The first projects date back to the turn of the century. Over the years, startups like Icon have refined the process, perfected concrete materials and robotic delivery systems, and figured out which steps are best suited to 3D printing.
Recently, the technology has made its way into commercial development. In 2021, a home printed by SQ4D was sold in New York. Mighty Buildings, a 3D printing startup that began printing and selling prefabricated ADUs, raised $52 million last year. Now the company has its sights set on larger structures and entire communities. Unlike Icon, Mighty prints its structures in parts in a factory and then ships them for on-site assembly.
Overall, 3D printing is being touted as a cheaper, faster, and more resource-efficient construction method. Proponents hope it can bring more affordable housing to those in need. To that end, Icon has partnered with New Story to print homes for families in extreme poverty in Mexico and with Mobile Loaves & Fishes to print homes for the chronically homeless in Austin.
However, so far, market prices for commercially 3D printed homes are not significantly lower than for traditionally built homes. While some measures offer savings, others can be more expensive – such as adding windows or other fixtures tailored to today’s building technologies to less conventional 3D printed designs. And beyond construction costs, prices on the open market are determined by demand and buyers’ willingness to pay.
To reduce costs, Icon 2023 announced Initiative 99, a competition to design 3D-printed homes that can be built for under $99,000. The winners of the first phase of the competition were announced at this year’s SXSW.
3D printing as a commercial technology for home building is still in its infancy. The Texas project is one of the first at this scale, and costs could still come down as Icon and others figure out how to optimize the process and integrate their work into the existing ecosystem.
In the meantime, a handful of Texans will settle into their futuristic homes – nestled between corduroy walls to keep out the heat.
Photo credit: Icon
