3D-printed homes for the future
Architects around the world are experimenting with 3D printing to develop eco-friendly homes in designs that can withstand extreme weather conditions.
Homes from the 'invisible city'
Inspired by author Italo Calvino's novel "Invisible Cities," these houses near Italy's Bologna are part of the TECLA eco-sustainable habitat built by the Italian company World's Advanced Saving Project (WASP). Each home has an area of 60 square meters spread over two connected domes. Locally sourced clay was used to build these low-carbon structures and the furnishings can be reused or recycled.
Europe's biggest 3D-printed home
This two-storey, 90-square-meter home in Antwerp, Belgium is the first house in the world to be printed in one piece by a 3D printer. It was built in 2020 and took three weeks to complete.
The first milestone
Earlier this year, Dutch architects produced this house, the first of five 3D houses planned under Project Milestone. The project is a joint collaboration between Houben & Van Mierlo Architects and the Eindhoven University of Technology.
Germany's first 3D-printed house
This house in Beckum, northwestern Germany, was recently completed. Special mixes made of concrete and other reinforcing materials are used to build 3D-printed homes. Construction printers work from the ground up and pile on layer upon layer, following a blueprint, until the structure is complete.
Saving the world
Austin, Texas-based company ICON says it wants to "disrupt" conventional building methods to trigger new ideas and ways of thinking about construction, aiming to solve the global homelessness crisis. This picture is of a new welcome center at the Community First Village in the city.
Acing 3D-printed homes
Chinese company Winsun has been at the leading edge of 3D printing in construction. The Shanghai-based organization displayed these 3D-printed houses in 2018 in its expo park. According to Winsun, the company used recycled waste from steel mills, coal producers, power and chemical plants to produce these structures. In 2014, the company made headlines by printing 10 small houses in a day.
Home away from home
US company ICON is also working on "Project Olympus" together with NASA and the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) to develop 3D-printed structures for the moon that will aid research and ultimately serve as an experiment for building human habitats in outer space.