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Inside the World's Largest 3D-Printed Neighborhood In Texas (cnn.com) 46

The world's largest community of 3D-printed homes, located in Texas, has unveiled its first completed house. CNN reports: With walls "printed" using a concrete-based material, the single-story structure is the first of 100 such homes set to welcome residents starting September. The community is part of a wider development in Georgetown, Texas called Wolf Ranch. It's located about 30 miles north of Austin, the state capital, and is a collaboration between Texas construction firm ICON, homebuilding company Lennar and Danish architecture practice Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). On Saturday prospective buyers toured around the finished model home at the project's grand opening, and some of the units have already sold, ICON spokesperson Cara Caulkins told CNN via email.

Images of the newly completed building shared by the company show brightly lit interiors and curved gray walls. The walls are made from a concrete mix called Lavacrete, which is piped into place using 46-foot-wide robotic printers. After the walls are printed, the doors, windows and roofs -- all of which are equipped with solar panels -- are installed. ICON says more than a third of the homes' walls have now been printed, and the properties currently on offer are being sold at $475,000 to $599,000. The 3D-printed homes range in size from 1,500 to 2,100 square feet and have three to four bedrooms.

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Inside the World's Largest 3D-Printed Neighborhood In Texas

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  • by olmsfam ( 1399493 ) on Friday July 28, 2023 @07:48PM (#63723048)

    I'm sure this will catch on!

    • Looks like if you lifted it up you'd find a little "Made in China" sticker there. Hopefully it doesn't turn a different color and disintegrate in a few years, like all their shit does. Even so, pretty fugly, especially that roof.

  • is sticking out .. they need to put manually some cement there to make it flat and not some aesthetic or maybe even electric hazard.

  • by backslashdot ( 95548 ) on Friday July 28, 2023 @08:03PM (#63723064)

    If someone could make a modular prefab system that a robotic system can automatically install (after site prep) that feels like it would be cheaper and better.

  • by Chas ( 5144 ) on Friday July 28, 2023 @11:12PM (#63723254) Homepage Journal

    People are just freaking because it looks a little strange to them.
    Air sealed, bug sealed, highly insulated. A solid concrete building that's pretty much disaster-proof.
    Energy efficient, already plumbed for solar.

    Oh no! You can't rip down walls and redo it all in your own version of bad taste!
    Yes, the basic structure of the home is there to stay.
    In reality, most people don't go beyond cosmetic remodels. New cabinets and countertops, ancillary wiring for new tech, and a coat of paint here and there.
    Anyone who's looking to buy a home like this is VERY unlikely to

    FOR SHAME!

    Oh! They use concrete! CO2! EEEE!
    Never mind that the structures put out nearly 2 tons LESS CO2 due to the formulation of the lavacrete.

    People talking about the safety and stability of such homes NOT having been widely adopted.

    Concrete homes have been a thing for decades.
    And the codes have existed for nearly that long. And if if they hadn't, the structures have to already comply with EXISTING BUILDING CODES.

    And yes, this isn't some HEAVILY ABUSED $100k HOME THAT YOU JUST BUY AND SLAP SOME PAINT ON.
    These are homes that are built to VERY high standards and intended to last 100+ years.

    The primary reason they're this expensive at this point is that the company is still trying to perfect the process in terms of speed and customizability.

    This is their first go-around on a multi-unit development project.

    Also, the market realities in housing, ESPECIALLY in the Austin area kinda indicate a higher price point.

    Give it a couple generations of iteration and a better handle on the equipment by crew members, as well as ammortization of equipment costs, and the prices will come down.

    • by Guspaz ( 556486 )

      I can't help but feel you could get better results with prefab concrete pieces that you just assemble on-site.

      • by Chas ( 5144 )

        No. Because prefab assembly, block wall, etc?
        You have air sealing issues with them all.
        If you have air sealing issues. You have water sealing issues.
        If you have water sealing issues, you have BUG SEALING ISSUES>

        With poured or printed walls, not so much.
        Especially once the walls are filled with spray foam.

    • People are just freaking because it looks a little strange to them.

      Well, if they're going to live in it...

      Air sealed, bug sealed, highly insulated.

      It's a house, not a submarine, so I don't really care about it being air-tight. And bugs are more likely to come in through the doors/windows anyways. And what is the insulation like? It it was a big feature I'd expect the article to mention it more.

      A solid concrete building that's pretty much disaster-proof.

      Is it? I recall concrete usually has rebar running through it to provide support. Do you get layer separation in an earth quake?

      Energy efficient, already plumbed for solar.

      I'd hope any new house was ready for solar.

      Oh no! You can't rip down walls and redo it all in your own version of bad taste!
      Yes, the basic structure of the home is there to stay.
      In reality, most people don't go beyond cosmetic remodels. New cabinets and countertops, ancillary wiring for new tech, and a coat of paint here and there.

      Changing interior walls isn't that uncommon. But mor

      • by caseih ( 160668 )

        When you are the one paying for heating and cooling, the air-tightness of the house becomes more important. Of course with that comes the requirement to have a ventilation system that mixes in fresh air from outside. But I think that's now in building codes anyway.

      • by Chas ( 5144 )

        It's a house, not a submarine, so I don't really care about it being air-tight. And bugs are more likely to come in through the doors/windows anyways. And what is the insulation like? It it was a big feature I'd expect the article to mention it more.

        Hey, if you don't mind spending your hard-earned money on heating and cooling your whole neighborhood...well...okay.
        The basic point of air sealing, water sealing and bug sealing is to build a manageable home, not a rat trap.

        And you're wrong about bug pathing.

        They go through wherever they can get in.

        The insulation is spray foam used to fill the cavities of the 3D wall structure.

        This video takes a fairly close look at the process.
        https://youtu.be/Y-4S7cdo3tY [youtu.be]

        Rebar

        Yes, the home is rebar'ed. You can see that by wat

    • The price probably won't come down but the profit per home will certainly increase. The houses are likely market rate but if making them is cheaper and faster, while being more sturdy and more efficient, then the company will make more off that kind of structure then a traditional stucco and wood structure.

      Even if this thing cost 100k to make, why would they sell it for less then market rate for a single family home? That would be just leaving money on the table.

      • by Chas ( 5144 )

        By making up the difference in quantity without sacrificing quality.

        How much room is there in the market for a half million dollar home?

        Now, how much room is there in the market for a nearly identical home in the $200-250K range?

  • I know it doesn't usually get all that cold in Texas, but you still want that protection, don't you?
    • Seems that's changing. I can remember two recent Texas freezing winters. One of them had Ted Cruz running for Cancun to get warm.
  • For the majority of humanity, a lot of "modern" US housing is shoddily built temporary structures. A lot of single level ones seem to have one end built properly and the rest mostly wood and sheets of whatever pretty looking cheap material is around.

    Why do we think this? On the news, after a tornado, w see films of areas with nothing standing but the chimneys and the rest of the building littered across the area. Why did they build one end properly but not the rest?

    It is pretty windy where I come from.

  • ...3D print home buyers as well.
  • by UID30 ( 176734 )

    What a bargain! At only $475k, I'm sure this will combat homelessness! Why aren't we doing this everywhere again?

    • by Gonoff ( 88518 )

      The reason that "they" don't build many houses is to keep the prices up. At $475k, this will be enormously profitable so greed will ensure this happens a lot. More houses built will drive all house prices down. This will probably not be enough but it will help a little.

  • Half a million dollars to live in a shitty cottage in Texas. No thanks. For that kind of change I either want a mini-McMansion or to live in a state with actual services.

  • $475K for a 1,500 sf home in Texas is very pricey. That price will buy twice that square footage in most areas of Texas.

  • In traditional construction, if you want to run a new electrical wire, or a new gas or water line, or add a room, or rearrange your kitchen, it's not so hard. With this construction, you'd better be happy with what you got, because it's going to stay that way.

  • To build a tornado-proof shelter, it's necessary to build concrete walls with rebar embedded both horizontally and vertically. A 3D printed structure would not be especially tornado resistant. The picture for earthquakes is even worse, since concrete structures are especially vulnerable to cracking and crumbling during an earthquake.

  • The building company do like to publicise their erections https://big.dk/ [big.dk]
  • The ability to make permanent furniture? I guess options are nice. But I can't guarantee everyone will want the island exactly there, and in that orientation, throughout the lifetime of the house. I'd think the same about static (versus configurable) shelves.

    Would the built-in version be more durable? Probably. I guess for low or no cost public housing it'd be a (likely poor) choice. Some people take publicized durability as a challenge. Or just get really, really bored with their buddies one night.

    I

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