From Business Insider:
The future of home building is here: Home construction giant Lennar is teaming up with Icon, a 3D printing construction startup, to create a community of 100 3D-printed homes in Austin, Texas, the companies announced Tuesday.
Source: Icon
Austin-based Icon has previously produced smaller clusters of 3D printed homes, including a four-home community in its hometown.
Source: Insider
But this new development - which will begin construction next year - will be the largest of its type, according to the two companies.
The homes will be designed by the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), which also designed Icon's 3D-printed Mars habitat for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Source: Icon
Lennar and BIG both recently invested in Icon during the startup's $207-million Series B round.
Source: Icon
"Lennar has always expanded the boundaries of technological innovation to keep quality homes affordable and 3D printing is an immensely encouraging approach," Eric Feder, president of Lenx, which also invested in Icon during its Series B, said in the press release.
Source: Icon
The homes will be created using Icon's printing and construction system Vulcan, which prints the company's proprietary "lavacrete," shown below.
Source: Icon
According to Icon, its systems create dwellings that are "stronger and longer lasting" compared to traditionally constructed homes.
The units will also have photovoltaic roofs to make the homes more energy-efficient.
Icon isn't alone in this seemingly futuristic endeavor: Home construction companies and developers around the world have recently been turning to 3D printing as an alternative to traditional construction.
In the press release, Feder notes that the "labor and material shortages" prevalent across the US have been "pushing the dream of home ownership out of reach for many American families."
Source: Icon
But according to 3D home printing enthusiasts, this budding construction technology could tackle these two issues.
Jason Ballard, CEO and co-founder of Icon, recently described 3D printing as "the toolkit of the builder of the future."
Source: Insider
Producing printed homes is often seen as more cost, waste, labor, and time-efficient when compared to traditionally constructed homes. And in terms of aesthetics, printers can create developments that look more creative and nontraditional.
Source: Insider
"ICON exists as a response to the global housing crisis and to put our technology in service to the world," Ballard said in the press release. "There is a profound need to swiftly increase supply without compromising quality, beauty, or sustainability and that is exactly the strength of our technology."
Brittany Chang
