3D Printed Homes Being Built in Mexico

(Photo : YouTube)
Screenshot from: New Story Official YouTube Channel

The first 3D-printed neighborhood in the world is underway as two giant 3D-printed homes were built in a shanty town in Tabasco, Mexico last week, according to an article by CNN.

The 3D-printed neighborhood is an initiative of New Story, a nonprofit that helps families in need of shelter in partnership with ICON, an Austin-based construction technology company that developed the 3D-printing robotics being used on the project. Meanwhile, ÉCHALE, a nonprofit based in Mexico, helps in finding families who will benefit from the project.

Aside from being an impoverished neighborhood, the area where this families live is prone to flooding. This factor was greatly considered by the builders that is why they have come up with a design that will withstand calamities commonly experienced by the community such as earthquakes and heavy rains.

"These families are the most vulnerable, and in the lowest income ... and they're living on about an average of $3 a day," said Brett Hagler, CEO and co-founder of New Story.

New Story has been instrumental in the establishment of more than 2,700 homes in South America and Mexico since it was founded in 2014. This Mexican neighborhood is the first homebuilding project the company has done using 3D printing.

The plan originally began in 2017 beginning with the developing of the giant 3D printer, named Vulcan II.

The developers hope to complete 50 new houses by the end of 2020 to replacing the structures that residents built themselves out of light materials.

The houses were somehow personalized as developers considered the inputs from the families who will live in the 3D-printed homes.

The 33-foot printer takes the most part of the construction by piping out a concrete mix that hardens when it dries to build the walls one layer at a time. The process takes 24 hours of print time across several days to build two houses at the same time - about two times faster than the time New Story builds a home with regular construction.

According to New Story, the concrete mix is sturdier than traditional concrete to withstand seismic activities.

Meanwhile, the flat-roofed homes are designed as a reminiscent of southwestern Mexican homes. The curved walls are intended for improved airflow. The 500-square-foot 3D-printed homes have the basic parts of a home: two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room and a kitchen. News Story said families haven't moved into the new houses yet because it is unsafe for them to live in a construction zone.

(Photo : YouTube)
Screenshot from: New Story Official YouTube Channel

Vulcan II is also capable of building a house up to 2,000-square-foot area, with walls almost 9 feet high and 28 feet wide, according to ICON.

The developers have not yet released the official data on how much was spent to build the 3D-printed homes but since they want people to have a sense of ownership in the community, they are giving families the opportunity to pay them only 20 to 30% of their income.

The New Story CEO said that since 3D printing is cheaper and faster than traditional construction, the potential is great to change the world one 3D-printed home at a time.

"We think part of what 3D printing allows us to do is to deliver a much higher-quality product to the housing market at a speed and price that's typically not available for people in" low-income housing, said Jason Ballard, ICON co-founder and CEO. "It is a house that anyone would be proud to live in."

A 2015 Habitat for Humanity study found out that about 1.6 billion people in the world don't have adequate housing.

With the 3D printing technology applied to home construction for those in need, the future is promising.

"3D printing is not science fiction. We have crossed that threshold from science fiction into reality," said Ballard. "In the future, our bet is that this will be humanity's best hope for a housing solution that that matches our highest values and ideals."