The journey of building materials through time is a fascinating story. Each era and civilization has brought something new to the table, from hay and tree bark to stone, timber, brick, and eventually glass and steel. These materials shape not just buildings but the way we experience the spaces around us. Nowadays, alongside the emergence of 3D printing, we are witnessing additional intriguing opportunities. Picture constructing a home with a 3D printer—it’s no longer a pipe dream, but an achievable goal, with materials intended to give superior thermal and acoustical comfort in diverse environments.
Take the humble brick, for example. Once just clay and sand, it’s now evolved into various forms like fly ash bricks and even hollow wooden bricks. The variety of substances available today is astounding, and innovation continues to advance the edge with environmentally friendly and long-lasting options. Bamboo, recycled wood, and even biodegradable garbage are gaining popularity, while materials like fibre-reinforced polymers and tempered glass improve durability as well as strength. However, 3D-printed dwellings stand out as the most impressive breakthrough, demonstrating that the next generation of construction is coming.
Paremoremo by Qorox
In an initial project for New Zealand, 3D building startup Qorox finished a 252-square-metre home in the Auckland district of Paremoremo. The house, intended to accommodate a family of four, complements the organic contours of the land, according to the developer, and includes 3D-printed concrete wall panels.
Dorrington Atcheson Architects, the architectural firm responsible for the home’s distinctive design characteristics, stated that employing 3D-printed innovation gave greater adaptability than standard concrete structures.
To make the ‘printing ink’ for the house, QOROX utilised their mortar formula, which is 80% sustainably produced. The result was finished inside and outside when full Resene Construction Systems hand-applied Rockcote façade and interior plaster and completed coatings, giving the wall panels a ‘natural look’ while offering the customers the finish they requested.
The 63 panels of Paremoremo House, totaling 360 m2, were manufactured in Hamilton and delivered to the location for assembly by QOROX’s skilled crew, with Senior Construction completing the remainder of the project. Our system allows the formation of wall cavities for insulation, plumbing, and electrical wiring and applies patterns and design elements directly, without additional work.”
The QOROX 3D printed divider arrangement gives great warm mass qualities, making a difference in making more climate-resilient homes that are hotter amid the winter months, conveying more comfortable living environments.
Swelim noted that achieving a 3D-printed household was another step forward in the building industry, with 30% fewer outflows than traditional concrete buildings. “The best portion of all of these components is that this can be completed without compromising the R-value (warm rating) or the general quality of the build.”
BioHome 3D
Biohome3D is the world’s first house, located in Maine, 56 sq ft 3D printed entirely from forest-derived, bio-based, recyclable materials. Primary material: local wood fibre feedstock sourced from forests near the printing site.
The home is part of the Hub & Spoke Program, a partnership between the University of Maine and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The University’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center used one of its prior innovations, the world’s largest polymer 3D printer, to make this home a reality.
This extend was printed with the gigantic machine off-site utilising a secluded methodology, with each portion of the domestic outlined and printed as partitioned pieces in their profoundly computerised facility, then transported to the home’s area for a simple get-together.
Besides the massive 3D printer and bio-based materials, this home is notable because the walls, floors, and roof were all 3D printed. Most other projects on this list collaborated with traditional roofers to complete their structures, making BioHome an outlier and a huge step forward for 3D printing construction.
Desert Hot Springs
Mighty Buildings is 3D printing 20 residences and 20 Mighty Duo ADUs at its California factory to create what they call a Southern California “hilltop gated community with inspiring mountain views.”
So far, one home has been produced and erected on-site, and there are another dozen in different phases of construction; assembling requires around four months. The dwellings are built of Mighty Buildings’ Light Stone, a patented proprietary 3D printing material composed of 60% recycled composite stone. Light stone is four times stronger in tensile and flexural strength than concrete while weighing 30% less.
Pergolas, hot tubs, and fire pits are among the opulent facilities featured in the two-bedroom, two-bathroom residences. The constructed residence also contains a swimming pool, and Mighty Building reports that other pools are being built, but it is unknown if they will be shared among the entire neighbourhood or private to each residence.
The outside composite stone wall panels were 3D printed in a facility in Oakland. In the words of Mighty Buildings, the patented substance, known as Light Stone, is a concrete substitute with four times the tensile and flexural strength, 30% less weight, and less carbon dioxide.
The home’s light-gauge steel roof cassettes and plumbing/mechanical core modules were likewise prefabricated off-site, permitting the various parts to be assembled on the concrete slab foundation in less than a day.
Vertical floor-to-ceiling windows nestle between the wall panels, providing views of the neighbouring San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains, while black metal flashing covers the incorporated parapet and hides the foundation connection. The public-facing living and dining space is divided from the private bedrooms by a utility core, which houses a kitchen, restrooms, built-in cabinets, and mechanical equipment.
Prvok Floating House
The Czech Republic’s first 3D-printed house, measuring 43 square metres, is also floating. Michal Trpak created Prvok with the architects from Scoolpt.
The 3D-printed walls of this home are capped with green, sustainable roofing, which allows for the incorporation of water recovery technologies. Prvok consists of three rooms: a bedroom, a bathroom, and a kitchen. The printing procedure lasted only 48 hours, and the resulting structure is reported to be at least three times stronger than typical concrete walls. The firm believes it will last for at least a hundred years!
The primary idea for the design was to develop a shape that was organic and inspired by protozoa, complete with a sculptural façade, curving lines, and windows. The house was always designed as a vacation home in the countryside near the lake. However, the façade and its relief structure shifted and altered. The business that started the Prvok (Protozoon) has gradually undergone critical tests, such as the static pressure test, which found that the interior load-bearing wall can endure a 50-ton load, which is far greater than any avalanche can hurl at it.
“The foremost striking features of this 3D-printed house are natural shapes in both the walls and the windows, no inside doors, and three unique spaces—a bedroom, a bathroom, and a living room. The home may be disassembled into three sections for travel and reassembled on-site. This makes the procedure easier because we are building this house in an old manufacturing hall,” Trpák says.
Fibonacci House
Twente Additive Manufacturing collaborated with World House to open this home in British Columbia, Canada, in 2021 by advertising it on Airbnb for reservations.
Twente is now building the Fibonacci House near its British Columbia offices using its Laticrete Mortar M68 concrete 3D printers to construct the 28-square-metre structure. However, unlike many others, the business separated the home into 20 printable portions rather than printing it all at once. Once produced, these pieces were sent to Canada for assembly.
All of the pieces were 3D printed off-site in a controlled environment, allowing the printers to operate at all hours of the day and night. Prefabrication is often significantly more environmentally benign than on-site building for a variety of explanations, including less noise, dust, and site disruptions caused by the building procedure. Furthermore, the supplies are kept away from the elements, each component is precision-cut to save waste, and the construction process often takes significantly less time.
The house, printed in 2020, is named after the mathematical Fibonacci sequence and has a distinctive spiral design. The design was created to demonstrate the unique architecture achievable with 3D printing, which traditional buildings cannot match.
References:
Mazade, K. and Mazade, K. (2022) “Mighty Buildings Completes 3D-Printed Net-Zero Home in Southern California”. Dezeen [online] 8 November. available from <https://www.dezeen.com/2022/11/04/mighty-buildings-worlds-first-3d-printed-zero-net-home-california/>
scoolpt (2024) Prvok – Scoolpt [online] available from <https://www.scoolpt.com/en/prvok/>
Designboom (2020) 3D-Printed Floating House Will Be Built in 48 Hours in Czech Republic [online] available from <https://www.designboom.com/technology/prvok-3d-printed-floating-house-48-hours-czech-republic-05-27-2020/>
Mehta, M. (2020) Czech Republic Builds Its First 3D-Printed Floating House in 32 Hours [online] available from <https://www.stirworld.com/see-features-czech-republic-builds-its-first-3d-printed-floating-house-in-32-hours>
Saunders, S. and Saunders, S. (2023) Fibonacci Sequence-Inspired House 3D Printed by Twente AM [online] available from <https://3dprint.com/278654/fibonacci-sequence-inspired-house-3d-printed-by-twente-additive-manufacturing/>
Williams, A. (2021) “3D-Printed Concrete Fibonacci House Built by the Numbers”. New Atlas [online] 23 July. available from <https://newatlas.com/tiny-houses/twente-fibonacci-house/>
Becher, B. (2024) 10 Examples of 3D-Printed Houses [online] available from <https://builtin.com/articles/3d-printed-house>
https://cobod.com/what-is-a-3d-printed-home/#:~:text=A%203D%20printed%20home%20is%20a%20residential%20building%20constructed%20by,efficient%20than%20traditional%20construction%20techniques.
Tvasta construction (2024) Innovative 3D Printing Projects | Revolutionising Construction [online] available from <https://www.tvasta.construction/projects/>
https://parametric-architecture.com/10-best-3d-printed-houses-around-the-world/
Choraria, N. (2023) “3D-Printed Houses: 9 One-of-a-Kind Examples (Feat. Videos)”. [1 December 2023] available from <https://designwanted.com/3d-printed-houses/>
