Cheap 3D Houses, Hope for 1 Billion Homeless People
Low-cost 3D home printing technology just launched at the South by Southwest Interactive technology event in the US (abbreviated as SXSW) opens up hope for more than 1 billion homeless people worldwide.
House printed with 3D printing technology.
According to The Verge, food, water and housing are basic human needs, but there are currently about 1.2 billion people in the world who do not have decent housing.
Accordingly, at this year's SXSW event, ICON, a startup company based in Austin (USA), introduced a low-cost 3D home printing technology initiative to significantly address people's housing needs.
ICON has successfully developed a method to 3D print a 650 square foot (60.3 m2) one-story house out of cement in just 12-24 hours.
If all goes according to plan, the company will be involved in building a community of about 100 homes “built” this way in El Salvador next year.
ICON has also partnered with the non-profit New Story, an organization dedicated to finding solutions to international housing problems.
“We have built homes for communities in Haiti, El Salvador and Bolivia,” said Alexandria Lafci, co-founder of New Story.
Using the Vulcan 3D printer, ICON can print an entire house for $10,000 and plans to gradually reduce the cost to $4,000 per house.
"That price is much cheaper than the price of building a normal house in the US," said Mr. Jason Ballard, one of the three founders of ICON company.
An ICON 3D printed house includes a living room, bedroom, bathroom and a domed porch. Using cement to “print” the house is also how ICON ensures the sustainability needs of the building structure.
Once ICON completes material testing and design tweaks, it will take the Vulcun printer to El Salvador to begin construction plans there.
According to ICON, 3D home printing technology helps minimize material waste and significantly reduce labor costs.
