3D-printed homes news and discussions

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US homeless find shelter in massive 3D-printed housing community
By Adam Williams
December 19, 2024
https://newatlas.com/architecture/icon- ... -homeless/
Leading 3D-printing firm Icon has revealed plans to create an ambitious new 3D-printed community for homeless people in Texas. The project will provide 100 safe and comfortable residences to those who need them most.

Created by Icon, in collaboration with the Lennar Foundation, the project is located at Christian social outreach ministry Mobile Loaves & Fishes' Community First! Village in Austin. It's an expansion to a previous smaller 3D-printed community on the site that built 17 houses.

In addition to the 100 3D-printed homes, there will also be over 1,000 standard dwellings. To focus on the 3D-printed examples however, these are being constructed using Icon's Vulcan 3D printer, which extrudes a proprietary cement-like mixture in layers to build up the basic shell of the home. Human workers then move in and add the roof, doors, and anything else required.

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Affordable housing project was 3D printed in just 12 days
By Adam Williams
January 22, 2025
https://newatlas.com/architecture/grang ... g-ireland/

As 3D-printed architecture continues to mature from niche proposition to disruptive technology, housing developments are beginning to roll out worldwide. Following pioneering projects like Wolf Ranch and the Community First! Village in the US comes another in Ireland, which was printed in impressive time.

Named Grange Close, the three-unit terraced social housing project is located in Louth, eastern Ireland, and created by HTL.tech. It measures 330 sq m (3,550 sq ft), which is divided into three separate homes with a floorspace of 110 sq m (1,184 sq ft) each, over two floors.

The development was completed in just 132 working days, from the initial site preparation to the handover of keys to the client, a local council which will finish furnishing the homes and rent them to social housing tenants at an affordable price. According to COBOD, which provided the 3D printer unit, this build time represents a 35% reduction in build time compared to typical build times of similar homes.

[wjfox]

ICON, a pioneer in 3D home printing, raises $56M led by Norwest, Tiger Global

February 14, 2025

ICON, which builds homes using 3D printing, has closed on $56 million in Series C funding co-led by Norwest Venture Partners and Tiger Global, the company has confirmed to TechCrunch exclusively.

[...]

Founded in late 2017, ICON launched during SXSW in March 2018 with the first permitted 3D-printed home in the U.S. That 350-square-foot house took about 48 hours (at 25% speed) to print.

ICON plans to use its new capital mostly to “fuel the development of” Phoenix, its line of multi-story 3D printers so that it can “begin putting the robotic technology into the hands of builders.” The new robotic printer, the spokesperson said, allows for multi-story construction using a new low-carbon building material.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/14/icon- ... ger-global



Credit: ICON

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Live in Texas? Your next house could be built by 3D printer
By Adam Williams
March 04, 2025
https://newatlas.com/architecture/icon- ... s-mueller/

Leading 3D-printing firm Icon has revealed plans to build a dozen new residences in Austin, Texas. The homes will feature an eye-catching mix of cutting-edge 3D printing and traditional building techniques, and will have two levels.

The project is a collaboration between Icon and Michael Hsu Office of Architecture, and will be located in the Mueller community in Austin. It's part of a growing number of 3D-printed architecture developments in the USA at the moment, including Wolf Ranch and Community First! Village.

The homes will have multiple floorplans and will range in size from 650 to 2,400 sq ft (60 to 222 sq m), with between one and three bedrooms. Pricing will start at around US$350,000 and rise up to $1.3 million, depending on the size and options chosen, plus there are some affordable options planned for the near-future too.

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USA's robot building boom continues with first 3D-printed Starbucks
By Adam Williams
April 25, 2025

Though it started out as a futuristic-sounding niche proposition, 3D-printed construction is really taking off throughout the United States and the variety of projects being printed is remarkable. Following the construction of a Walmart extension, a Marine barracks, and even an experimental Mars habitat, the latest example of the cutting-edge technology comes from the USA's first 3D-printed Starbucks coffee shop.

The new building is located in Brownsville, Texas, and has been under construction since late 2024. We don't have any word from Starbucks as to when it will open other than "soon," but local Facebook-based news account Brownsville Today says it's due to begin pouring coffee from April 28. A government licensing document from 2023 suggested that the project budget came added up to almost US$1.2 million, though we've no word on actual build cost.

https://newatlas.com/architecture/3d-pr ... cks-texas/

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World's tallest 3D-printed building reaches a height of 100 feet
By Adam Williams
May 22, 2025

Likened by its creators to an "ornate layered cake," the Tor Alva has been completed in Switzerland. Hailed as the world's tallest 3D-printed building, this remarkable structure rises to an impressive height of 30 m (98.5 ft).

Tor Alva (aka White Tower) is located in the small alpine village of Mulegns that's currently home to just 11 people. It was created by researchers at ETH Zurich, in collaboration with cultural foundation Fundaziun Origen, to show off the capabilities of cutting-edge 3D-printing techniques.

Architect Michael Hansmeyer and ETH Professor of Digital Building Technologies Benjamin Dillenburger designed its actual form, which consists of an intricate structure of 32 white concrete columns that rise over four floors and taper before fanning out to top out with a dome. The interior, meanwhile, has a capacity for 32 visitors and includes stairs on each floor, with a performance space at the top.

https://newatlas.com/architecture/tor-a ... th-zurich/

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World's largest 3D-printed building smashes all previous records
By Adam Williams
July 09, 2025

The world's largest 3D-printed construction project is currently underway in Qatar. The effort involves printing a pair of schools, each of which smashes current records for a 3D-printed building.

The 3D Printed Schools Project is headed by UCC Holding, in partnership with Qatar's Public Works Authority. The former commissioned leading 3D-printed construction firm COBOD to produce two customized BODXL printers, each measuring 50 m (164 ft) in length, having a width of 30 m (98 ft), and standing 15 m (49 ft) tall. There are actually 14 schools being built in all, two of which are being constructed using the 3D printers.

As with other 3D-printed buildings we've seen, the two schools will be formed by the printers extruding a cement-like mixture out of a robotically controlled nozzle in layers, following a blueprint and building up the structure. Once this process is complete, human builders will then move in to add a roof, doors, windows and everything else required to turn a structural shell into a school.

https://newatlas.com/architecture/3d-pr ... ucc-qatar/

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Cutting-edge 3D-printed house built using soil, not concrete
By Adam Williams
July 25, 2025

This remarkable house was built using 3D-printing technology, but with a sustainable twist: instead of being constructed using concrete like the majority of 3D-printed buildings, it's predominantly made from a soil-based mixture.

Named Lib Earth House Model B, the 100-sq-m (1,076-sq-ft) single-story home is located in Japan's Yamaga, Kumamoto Prefecture, and involves Lib Work Co., Arup, and WASP. Indeed, it appears to build on the lattermost's previous research into using soil as a basis for a home. Impressively, once it reaches its end of life, it can be dismantled and much of its structure can be returned to soil, reducing landfill waste considerably.

https://newatlas.com/architecture/lib-e ... e-model-b/

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3D printing set to slash nuclear plant build times & costs
By David Szondy
August 04, 2025

Anticipating a boom in nuclear energy, the US Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is using 3D-printing to speed up the building of power plants while bringing down costs.

Nuclear power in the West is undergoing a renaissance while aggressive construction programs continue in Asia and more are planned in Africa and other parts of the world. There are a number of reasons for this, but the pressure from projected power demands, especially from the boom in data centers, means that many plants of various designs will need to be built in years or even months instead of the decades of earlier generations.

Not only is speed a factor, so is cost. Nuclear plants are notoriously expensive to build, but it isn't the reactor that gobbles up the money. The real big numbers on the expense side of the ledger is the mundane concrete and steel civil engineering needed to house the nuclear tech and the electrical gear that make up over half the budget. This work also takes the most time to complete.

https://newatlas.com/energy/3d-printing-nuclear-plant/

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Affordable 3D-printed housing finally comes to the USA
By Adam Williams
August 11, 2025

https://newatlas.com/architecture/icon- ... ffordable/
When 3D-printed architecture first materialized, many assumed that it would lead to widespread affordable housing, but, excepting some housing for homeless people, this hasn't been the case in the USA yet. However, leading 3D-printing firm Icon may have made an initial step with three new homes in Texas that are being built for low-income individuals.

The project is part of the larger Mueller 3D-printed community in Austin that was revealed earlier this year by Icon and Michael Hsu Office of Architecture, and is also included in the Mueller Affordable Homes Program.

Each affordable house will measure 651 sq ft (60 sq m). Its first floor will combine a living room, dining area and kitchen with an open layout that looks quite compact inside. It features a modern decor, with those telltale ribbed walls that are a product of the manufacturing process of 3D-printed homes.

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Two-story family home was 3D-printed in just 18 hours
By Adam Williams
August 24, 2025

Most 3D-printed houses we cover are either arranged on one floor or have an upper floor added later using a timber shell. However, this recent example, by Contec Australia, was entirely 3D-printed across both floors in just 18 hours.

The project is located in Tapping, Perth, and is the only 3D-printed house we've seen where both floors are actually printed, except for the experimental Kamp C project. This means that the build process is streamlined and sped up, compared to having to install an extra timber shell, like Icon's Mueller homes.

Essentially, a large 3D-printing robot made by the Netherlands' CyBe extruded a cement-like mixture in layers to build the basic shell of the house on-site. This process is the part that took 18 hours. However, we should point out that from there, human builders were then brought in to add the roof, wiring, flooring, and everything else required to turn a shell into a livable home. This lasted a lot longer and in total, the entire project took five months to realize.

https://newatlas.com/architecture/3d-pr ... australia/

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Fire-resistant Colorado house is 3D-printed in just 16 days
By Adam Williams
August 29, 2025
https://newatlas.com/architecture/vero- ... ado-cobod/

It's still a niche, but with projects like Wimberly Springs and Wolf Ranch, 3D-printed housing continues to grow in popularity in the USA. The latest example of this consists of two 3D-printed homes in Colorado that showcase the impressive speed and resilience of the burgeoning construction technology.

Created by tech/construction firm VeroTouch, in partnership with developer South Main, the project is located in Buena Vista, in Colorado's Chaffee County. It is named VeroVistas.

We've no word on how long the first house took to print, but the second went up in a mere 16 days. Both were constructed using the same COBOD BOD2 printer responsible for the world's largest 3D-printed building.

The printer extruded a cement-like mixture out of a nozzle, guided by a pre-programmed blueprint, and built up the basic structure of the homes in layers, then human builders came in to finish them off. This part involved adding wiring, a roof, glazing, and everything else required to turn a shell into a resilient home that VeroTouch says will still be standing in 100 years, notwithstanding possible wildfires.

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Desktop injection molding machine is a faster, squishier alternative to a 3D printer
By Ben Coxworth
September 03, 2025

Consumer 3D printers definitely have their uses, but they're typically limited to printing rigid objects … and doing so pretty slowly. The Saltgator, on the other hand, allows you to crank out rubbery injection-molded items in a claimed 10 minutes.

Currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, the Saltgator (no, we don't know where that monicker came from) is manufactured by a Hong Kong/Texas-based startup of the same name. Interestingly enough, it was invented by a group of anglers and engineers who wanted to make their own custom fishing lures at home.

Looking a bit like a food processor, the Saltgator consists of two sections: a squat control base, and a tall removable injection chamber that sits on top of that base.

https://newatlas.com/around-the-home/sa ... n-molding/

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Spider-like construction robot promises to build a home per day
By Abhimanyu Ghoshal
September 30, 2025
https://newatlas.com/robotics/crest-ear ... ion-robot/

Construction robots have been around for a while, automating challenging tasks on job sites. The new kid on this block is called Charlotte, and it's billed as being autonomously capable of building a 2,150-sq-ft (200-sq-m) home in a single day – operating at roughly the speed of 100 bricklayers.

Charlotte is the result of a collaboration between Australian engineering startup Crest Robotics and Earthbuilt Technology, which has developed a locally-sourced, eco-friendly raw building material made from sand, waste glass, and crushed brick.

Rather than individual tasks involved in complex structures like tying rebar and assembling wood panels, Charlotte uses an extrusion system to 3D print the aforementioned compressed building material in successive layers on its own – moving along and raising up on its spider legs. It all happens in one machine in a single process.

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This one-bedroom tiny house was 3D-printed in just one week
By Adam Williams
November 13, 2025

3D-printed architecture has evolved from futuristic concept to everyday construction technique at lightning speed – and the pace shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. A recent example of this progress comes in the form of a non-towable tiny house that was printed in just one week.

The project, named Tiny House Lux, was designed by Luxembourg-based ODA Architects – not to be confused with the other, more famous ODA. It was created in collaboration with ICE Industrial Services and its Coral Construction Technologies division for local authorities in Niederanven, Luxembourg, as a way to help tackle housing shortages.

https://newatlas.com/tiny-houses/lux-oda-architects/

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One apartment per day: Student housing gets 3D printed crazy fast
By Adam Williams
December 12, 2025
https://newatlas.com/architecture/skovs ... d-housing/

Described as Europe's largest 3D-printed housing project, the Skovsporet development is currently underway in Denmark. A total of 36 student apartments were built with remarkable speed, as the cutting-edge technology allowed the equivalent of more than one apartment per day to be printed.

Designed by SAGA Space Architects, with 3DCP and COBOD, Skovsporet is located in the town of Holstebro. It was commissioned by affordable housing organization NordVestBo for a local university campus.

The development consists of six buildings in all, with the 36 student apartments spread between them. It was built on-site using a COBOD BOD3 3D printer, which is the 3D-printing firm's successor to the BOD2 model used on the VeroVistas and the world's largest 3D-printed building.

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Two-story 3D-printed house withstands earthquakes with cave-like design
By Adam Williams
February 27, 2026

Described as Japan's first two-story 3D-printed home, the O House is inspired by the geometry of natural caves. Built to meet the country's strict seismic requirements, it combines cutting-edge robotic construction with some serious earthquake-resistant engineering.

The O House was created by a large Japanese team headed by Onocom and Kizuki, and it measures 50 sq m (537 sq ft), spread over two floors. So while not quite tiny house-sized, it's definitely compact.

https://newatlas.com/architecture/o-hou ... d-printed/

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They Said a 3D Printer Would Bring Housing to This Town. It Was Yet Another Broken Promise.
By Molly Parker
April 22, 2026

Introduction:

(ProPublica) I wasn’t looking for a revelation on a country road in southeastern Illinois. But on the outskirts of Galatia — a tiny town where Appalachian hardship seems to have drifted west and settled in — that’s what I found.

It was not a burning bush in some biblical wilderness, but an industrial 3D printer the size of a small garage — a machine, I would learn, that took a $1.1 million investment to get to Illinois, carrying with it the promise of an affordable housing renaissance across the region known as Little Egypt.

And it called to me.

I drove past it again and again. A year prior, in August 2024, this printer was at the center of a groundbreaking ceremony attended by more than 100 people, myself included. I covered the event for Capitol News Illinois and watched as the machine laid down the first layers of what was supposed to be a new beginning. Two local men had promised to help save Cairo, Illinois, by using the machine to print new homes in a town that desperately needed them.

Additional Extract:

I’d learn that within a few months of that groundbreaking party, the work stopped on the duplex. After the owners of Prestige said dozens of cracks started running through the walls, a half-dozen employees quit the company. Not long after, the FBI launched an investigation into Prestige’s broader business dealings. There have been no charges or arrests, and the owners say they have fully cooperated with investigators and have done nothing wrong. They also said the concrete “ink” that came with the printer was faulty and that’s why the printer has been idle since.

Read more here: https://www.propublica.org/article/3d- ... s-housing

[wjfox]