Brief
Though it currently makes up a tiny slice of the housing market, 3D-printed architecture is growing incredibly fast. Leading the charge is Icon, which is currently constructing a huge new 100-home neighborhood near Austin in Texas.
Insight
Though it currently makes up a tiny slice of the housing market, 3D-printed architecture is growing incredibly fast and it’s possible to imagine large numbers of Americans living in robot-constructed homes in the near-future. Leading the charge is Icon, which is moving forward on a plan it revealed last year to build a new neighborhood in Texas made up of 100 3D-printed homes.
The project, named the Genesis Collection at Wolf Ranch, is currently under construction in Georgetown, near Austin (Icon is based in Austin). Alongside Icon, the project also involves Hillwood Communities and Lennar, while the homes themselves were designed by high-profile architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group.
“For the first time in the history of the world, what we’re witnessing here is a fleet of robots building an entire community of homes,” said Jason Ballard, co-founder and CEO, Icon. “And not just any homes, homes that are better in every way… better design, higher strength, higher energy performance and comfort, and increased resiliency.
In the future, I believe robots and drones will build entire neighborhoods, towns, and cities, and we’ll look back at Lennar’s Wolf Ranch community as the place where robotic construction at scale began. We still have a long way to go, but I believe this marks a very exciting and hopeful turn in the way we address housing issues in the world.”
As with previous Icon projects, the homes are being constructed in place using its own Vulcan 3D printer. The build process will involve the 3D printers extruding a cement-like proprietary mixture called Lavacrete out of a nozzle in layers, building up the structure. Human builders will then finish it all off by adding a metal roof, doors, windows, and whatever else is required.
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