Let’s face it, 3D printed houses are still a pretty fresh trend. Although construction 3D printing has been in development for quite a few years, only recently have some “real” projects seen the light of day. We’re still far from seeing the technology take over conventional methods of construction. But with each new project, the technology comes closer to becoming mainstream.
This is in part because of construction 3D printing’s many advantages. For example, the cost of a 3D printed house can be much lower than an equivalent conventionally built one. The time taken can also be much lower.
Both to celebrate what’s already been accomplished and report on some of the more interesting projects out there, this article will focus on some “firsts”. In other words, we’ll be covering 3D printed houses that hold a record for being the first in some aspect.
These projects will always remain important for the construction 3D printing industry, as they laid the foundations for future advancements in the field.
First 3D Printed House In Germany
Germany is a country that’s often associated with advanced engineering, so let’s start our list with the first-ever 3D printed house in Germany.
The house itself is located in Beckum, a town that’s part of the North Rhine-Westphalia state, right next to the Netherlands and Belgium. And it’s significant because it’s the first 3D printed home that’s fully certified under a national government’s building regulations. The consequences of such an achievement are expected to pave the way for many more construction 3D printing projects in Germany as well as the rest of Europe.
The project is a result of collaboration between Peri, a German construction-oriented company, and COBOD, a Danish firm that specializes in construction 3D printing technology. Peri is a large corporation that operates not only in Germany, but across the EU. They have many products, including scaffolding and formwork solutions, which is something every construction site needs.
Peri had been following the construction 3D printing segment for years before acquiring a stake in COBOD in 2018, with the goal of pushing the technology even further. The two parties started construction on the house in Beckum only two years after acquiring the stake.
COBOD’s modular BOD2 concrete 3D printer was used for the printing process, which took just over 100 hours to complete.
First Owner-Occupied 3D Printed House in the USA
Several 3D printed houses have been produced in the USA, but this one is the first to be officially owner-occupied, as claimed by CNN. Alquist 3D partnered up with Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg to design, develop, and build the home.
From a distance, you would think it’s just a normal house. However, as you approach, the layered concrete structure of the walls reveals the building’s secret: 3D printing.
Amazingly enough, the concrete structure of this 1,200-square-foot home was completed in around 12 hours, which is significantly faster than conventional building techniques would have allowed.
The house is reported to have been purchased by April Springfield, who will live there with her son and her dog. She purchased the house through Habitat for Humanity’s housing program. Considering the non-profit’s goal is to create a positive impact on the global housing crisis, it makes perfect sense to utilize 3D printing to create homes just like this, which can be offered at very affordable rates, therefore realizing many people’s dreams of home ownership.
- Built: 2021
- Opened: December 22nd, 2021
- Where: Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
- Who: Alquist 3D, Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg
First Five-Story 3D Printed House
This project, performed by Chinese company WinSun, is a true record breaker. It’s a 3D printed five-story apartment building that stands at 10 meters, making it the tallest 3D printed building so far.
The building is located in Suzhou Industrial Park in Jiangsu province in eastern China. It stands next to a mansion that was also built by WinSun and their concrete 3D printer. Indeed, it’s an entire plot dedicated to experiments with construction 3D printing.
Looking at WinSun’s projects, you can’t help but notice how they tend to look like they’re not even 3D printed. Usually, 3D printed structures are gray and clearly show layer lines. But WinSun loves to add a bit of color and make the walls smoother, making its projects look more like buildings we’re used to. Although it’s not stated how they do it, we suppose the workers manually smooth the walls.
- Built: Winter 2014
- Opened: Not specified
- Where: Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
- Who: WinSun
First 3D Printed House Made from Biodegradable Materials
Most 3D printed buildings are created with some sort of a concrete mixture. But this project is different. With the goal of creating housing solutions with almost no environmental impact, the Italian company WASP 3D printed the Gaia house using soil and agricultural waste.
To create the perfect material mixture for the walls, WASP partnered with Ricehouse, a company that specializes in the use of natural and agricultural materials, such as clay and rice, in construction.
The house is called Gaia due to soil being used as a binder in the walls. In fact, 25% of the mixture contains local soil, along with 10% hydraulic lime, 25% of rice husk, and 40% chopped rice straw (a byproduct of rice production at harvest).
Alongside the material mixture, innovation found its way into the design of the walls themselves. A specific wavy structure was used to provide ventilation during warm days as well as insulation during colder periods, practically eliminating the need for air conditioning units.
The Gaia house is indeed a small structure, coming in at around 215 ft2. Still, printing the walls only took 10 days, while the estimated cost for the materials is just under $1,000.
First 3D Printed House on AirBnB
There are many different types of accommodation to be found on AirBnB, but how about a 3D printed house?
The so-called Fibonacci House is the first 3D printed house to be offered for booking via AirBnB. Considering it’s situated in the countryside of British Columbia, it makes for a beautiful and fascinating spot for a getaway.
Although it may look small, the house has a lot to offer. In fact, the interior measures approximately 375 ft2, enough to accommodate up to four people.
The concrete walls of the house were designed and printed by Dutch construction 3D printing firm Twente. 20 concrete parts were made off-site in only 11 days, with the material sourced by a firm called Laticrete. Later, the parts were transported to and assembled at their current location.
So what’s a visit going to cost you? Hard to tell if you visit AirBnB as there’s no availability, but Designboom claimed in 2021 that it was $133 per night.
- Built: 2020
- Opened: Not specified
- Where: Kootenays, British Columbia, Canada
- Who: Twente Additive Manufacturing
First Floating 3D Printed House
Not only is Prvok the first 3D printed house in the Czech Republic, it’s also considered to be the world’s first floating 3D printed house because it sits on a pontoon.
Scoolpt, a construction 3D printing start-up, is responsible for the execution of this project, where the concrete structure of the floating home took only 22 hours to 3D print.
In total, there’s approximately 465 ft2 of living space split between a bathroom, a bedroom, and a living room with a kitchen. And although weight isn’t usually discussed within the context of houses, considering that this one sits on water, it’s interesting to point out that Prvok weighs 43 tons, according to its creators.
Because the house is detached from land, it features a built-in recirculation shower and reservoirs for drinking and utility water. All things considered, the house is meant to have a lifetime of at least 100 years.
- Built: June 2020
- Opened: August 18th, 2020
- Where: Prague, Czech Republic
- Who: Scoolpt
First Inhabited 3D Printed House in Europe
Even in the last few years, 3D printed houses are mostly demo units meant to showcase what the technology is capable of. Most have no records of anyone actually moving in. This changed back in 2017 when a couple moved into a 3D printed house located in Nantes, France, making the “Yhnova” house the first of its kind to be inhabited in Europe.
The house was created as a project between the University of Nantes and the Nantes Laboratory of Digital Sciences. And apart from its main claim to fame, a very interesting aspect of the project is the special technique used in its construction, which came from BatiPrint3D. Instead of 3D printing a concrete structure, a robotic arm created the shells of the walls using polyurethane, a material that’s used for insulation. Later, these membranes were filled with concrete.
In total, it took 54 hours to complete the 3D printing portion of the construction process. However, it took a little over 4 months to entirely finish construction. This was mainly due to the fact that the roof, doors, windows, and installations were carried out using conventional means. But it didn’t help that Yhnova isn’t that small either, having approximately 1,025 ft2 of interior space.
- Built: 2017
- Opened: March 2018
- Where: Nantes, France
- Who: University of Nantes, Nantes Laboratory of Digital Sciences
First 3D Printed House in India
The first-ever 3D printed house in India was completed back in 2020. The project was performed by a construction 3D printing start-up called Tvasta, which was founded by alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. In fact, the institute’s campus in Chennai was chosen as the building’s location.
The significance of this project lies in its impact on the housing crisis around the world and in India, in particular. The ability to construct such a structure within days and for a fraction of the cost of a standard equivalent home demonstrates the possibility of significantly reducing the housing crisis in the country.
The interior comes in at 600 ft2, which is spread across a simple floorplan featuring a single bedroom as well as a combined kitchen and living space.
The concrete structure of the house was 3D printed off-site, and the parts were later transported and assembled on campus. The foundation, meanwhile, was constructed using the conventional method of pouring concrete into the ground.
- Built: 2020
- Opened: Not specified
- Where: Chennai, India
- Who: Tvasta Construction
First 3D Printed House in Africa
Back in 2019, the construction of Africa’s first 3D printed house began in the Moroccan town of Ben Guerir, carried out by the Spanish firm Be More 3D. The project came about because of the group’s participation in the Solar Decathlon Africa, an event that requires participants to design and build homes powered only by the sun.
For their entry, Be More 3D produced a 345 ft2 house, which was printed in around 12 hours. The feat earned them first place and the title of most innovative start-up.
Be More 3D didn’t stop in Africa, later creating Spain’s first 3D printed house as well as developing their own concrete 3D printer in partnership with several corporations from the automation and materials industries. To see how the technology works on-site, we encourage you to watch the process on YouTube.
- Built: 2019
- Opened: Not specified
- Where: Ben Guerir, Morocco
- Who: Be More 3D
First 3D Printed House for Sale in the USA
Last in our list is the first 3D printed home listed for sale in the USA.
This particular house was printed on-site by SQ4D, a firm focused on the development of robotic construction systems. The building was printed by the firm’s Arcs concrete extrusion system and comes with a 50-year warranty on the printed structure.
Hiding behind traditional looks is a large living space measuring 1,407 ft2 featuring three bedrooms and two bathrooms. There’s also a 2.5-car detached garage.
The house was listed on Zillow in January 2021 for $299,999, and has a pending offer at the time of writing. Considering the size of the house and the fact that it’s priced 50% below the cost of comparable newly-constructed homes in the area (according to the agency), we’d say that’s quite a good deal!
- Built: 2020
- Opened: 2021
- Where: Riverhead, New York, USA
- Who: SQ4D
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