HOUSTON – The first-ever multi-story 3D printed home is being built in Houston.
The project in progress in Houston’s Spring Branch neighborhood focuses on how to integrate 3D printing more efficiently, with the rest of conventional building trends.
Leslie Lok is co-founder of HANNAH and assistant professor at Cornel University Department of Architecture. She said, “There’s an incredible housing demand and given the context of Houston as well, the weather, prone to intense weather, hurricanes and so on.”
“This home is essentially a bunker; it has traditional steel reinforced columns throughout the entire building,” explained Samuel Hager, head of US engineering with Peri 3D Construction.
According to Lok, 3D printing has multiple advantages.
“It depends on the type you want to build. If you want very straightforward structures, 3D printing can fulfill and eliminate the number of labor and time involved. For us, the design of this project, and the construction of this project is not about one single-family home, but rather how can we develop a system that we can print larger scalable multifamily housing in the country.”
This home will be 4,000 square feet with mass customization and design solutions that integrate conventional construction methods. HANNAH is collaborating with Peri 3D Construction to make this house into a home.
“Here we are really focusing on designs and showcasing the technology and all the interesting things you can get away with like overhangs, unique designs, corners, integrated furniture and bookshelves and benches you will see today. So, this house is not focused on affordability, per say. We are trying to learn a lot, and leap bound forward off this project. So, a lot of the elements you see in this project can be easily rolled into a multi-family construction.,” explained Hager. “The main point of this project is to learn as much as possible and really push the limits of what the printer and technology can get away with.”
KPRC 2 News crew got a birds-eye view of the progress from scaffolding.
The insulation inside the walls of the home consists of 10,000 recycled plastic bottles.
Chief Strategy Officer of Huntsman Building Solutions Douglas Brady said the insulation is extremely energy efficient.
“Using this particular insulation package, you’re going to save on energy up to 50%.”
Printing is expected to be complete on this home by the end of the year.
While this first-ever multi-level 3D printed home does not focus on affordability, it does detail solutions to key building techniques and paints a clear picture of where the industry is headed.
HANNAH, PERI 3D Construction, and CIVE, in collaboration with building industry partners, are printing a two-story single-family home.