A New Dimension

By Danielle Pope

A New Dimension
Is this the solution to the housing crisis?

The next house you move into could be a printed one.

3D printing has been hailed as the greatest new invention of our time, with futurologist Jeremy Rifkin claiming that 3D printing signals the beginning of a third industrial revolution. Since its creation in the early 1980s, the technology has been used to develop all manner of items, including tools, medical equipment, clothing and even cars.

Now the technology is going even further, with 3D printing changing the way we think and go about constructing housing.

Earlier this year, a 38 square metre house was built on site by Apis Cor in Russia, using 3D printing technology. The printer used geopolymer concrete, which was layered in order to build the walls. Complete with a bedroom, hallway, kitchen and living area, the house was built in 24 hours and cost just $10,000.00

Meanwhile a new system created by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has constructed a building in less than 14 hours. Measuring 3 metres high, and with a diameter of 15 metres, the dome was completed onsite.

The findings of the system were published in the journal “Science Robotics” and according to the paper’s co-author, Steven Keating, the technology is easily integrated into modern construction practices. “With this process, we can replace one of the key parts of making a building right now,” he told CNN. “It could be integrated into a building site tomorrow.

The 3D printed home industry is growing worldwide.

In 2014, a 3D printed castle was built in Minnesota, using a 3D printer that was specially designed for the project. Then in 2015, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory printed a mobile house, which shared its energy with a 3D printed car.

In 2016 three big 3D printed projects finished in China. Dutch architects are also trying to print a whole building using a newly designed machine called Kamermaker.

All of these examples show how 3D printing could assist in recovery after natural disasters as well as helping to provide affordable housing.

Watch how Apis Cor printed their house

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