Texas startup can 3D-print cheap houses in less than 24 hours
- 6 years ago
AUSTIN, TEXAS — A construction tech company is using 3D-printing to provide houses for the 1.2 billion people in the world without adequate housing.
Wired reports that Texas startup ICON unveiled a proof-of-concept model house at the annual SXSW innovation festival in Austin. The 650-square-foot structure featured a living room, bedroom, bathroom, and curved porch.
Using traditional building methods, a community of a hundred houses will take roughly eight months to complete. But with an industrial-sized Vulcan 3D printer, Icon claims it a single-storey home can be constructed using cement in only 12 to 24 hours.
Each 600 to 800 square foot home costs $10,000 to build, but the company is working to drop it to just $4,000.
ICON is working with housing charity New Story to bring the printer to El Salvador, where it plans to build a community of 3D printed houses within the year.
Wired reports that Texas startup ICON unveiled a proof-of-concept model house at the annual SXSW innovation festival in Austin. The 650-square-foot structure featured a living room, bedroom, bathroom, and curved porch.
Using traditional building methods, a community of a hundred houses will take roughly eight months to complete. But with an industrial-sized Vulcan 3D printer, Icon claims it a single-storey home can be constructed using cement in only 12 to 24 hours.
Each 600 to 800 square foot home costs $10,000 to build, but the company is working to drop it to just $4,000.
ICON is working with housing charity New Story to bring the printer to El Salvador, where it plans to build a community of 3D printed houses within the year.