This 3D-printed house could help reduce global homelessness
US start-up Icon wants to build cheap homes for millions without shelter.
3D-printed housing that can be built in less than 24 hours has been unveiled in the US, and could be used to shelter millions in developing countries without adequate housing.
Texas-based start-up Icon is working with non-profit organisation New Story, which specialises in international housing solutions, to come up with a single-storey home that can be “printed” in cement in less than a day.
The technology uses advanced robotics and a large 3D printer to construct simple homes in short spaces of time at massively reduced costs – less than 4,000 US dollars (£2,800), according to the company.
The final production version of the project will be able to create homes between 400 and 800 square feet in size.
Icon calls itself a construction technologies company focusing on the future of homebuilding by making advances in performance, affordability and aesthetics.
As well as looking for solutions to solve the “pandemic of homelessness in the developing world”, the firm also has its eye on bigger goals, and says it is also interested in the future difficultly of constructing “off-planet space habitats”.
