3D printed houses could create a lot of solutions for housing crises across the country.
3D print-based construction has been making big strides over the last few years, and, more recently, developments led to the first multi-level home going up in Houston.
KPRC 2 (Houston) said co-founder and architectural designer of the project, Leslie Lok, says there are great benefits to the 3D printed homes, including eliminating the number of labor needed and time involved.
The use of a 3D printer at this level could eliminate many complications and setbacks when it comes to building homes, not to mention the opportunities for houses to go up as shelters to support communities with high rates of homelessness.
When it comes to testing the consistency of the construction parameters, a machine that can create identical products back to back also eliminates the possibility of the workers getting overworked, bored, or suffering injuries due to repetitive actions.
A technology like this also opens opportunities for people in the construction or engineering industries to develop their skill set and knowledge of the world’s growing technologies. The new generation of the workforce can also use this development to create a competitive advantage on a job resume.
From where I’m sitting, if these houses prove to be viable options for home building, the country could use them as a great option for housing shortages.
A project like this could also collaborate with charity organizations and programs that support countless groups in need of safe shelter, including homeless adults and children, victims of domestic violence, veterans, and communities hit by natural disasters.
The article from KPRC quoted Samuel Hager, head of United States engineering with Peri 3D Construction, who said that in their current stages, they’re currently testing the designs they can “get away with,” emphasizing that right now they are learning about the bounds of the machines and what they can do.
At this point in the development, testing the limits of the project sounds like the right thing to do. If the project company and its collaborators can get to a point where they can do creative, flexible, and adaptable housing skeletons, then they can further the opportunities these buildings can be used for.
Although affordability isn’t on their radar right now, if they know the limits of the 3D printer, they can start adapting their capabilities to better accommodate previously mentioned causes.
The insulation in the multi-level home in Houston being currently built is made of 10,000 recycled plastic bottles, which also opens a door for single-use plastics to be put to better use, as opposed to being dumped in the oceans.
Overall, I’m not seeing many downsides to a project like this. If it goes in the direction it’s setting, I can see this new age of home building and general construction being something many parties can benefit from.
