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Posted on Jan 16, 2023
3D-printed homes level up with a 2-story house in Houston
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https://www.npr.org/2023/01/16/ [login to see] /3d-printed-homes-level-up-with-a-2-story-house-in-houston
3D printing is taking home construction to new heights. In Houston, a giant printer is building what designers say is the first 3D-printed two-story house in the U.S.
The machine has been pouring a concrete mix from a nozzle, one layer at a time, in hot weather and cold, alongside a sparse on-site workforce, to create a 4,000-square-foot home.
While construction 3D printing has been around for over a decade, the technology has only started to break ground in the U.S. homebuilding market over the last couple of years, said Leslie Lok, the architectural designer for the project. Several 3D-printed homes have already been built or are currently in the works across a handful of states.
Lok, who co-founded the design firm Hannah, says her team aims to eventually scale up their designs to be able to efficiently 3D print multifamily homes.
"This Houston project is a step towards that, being a pretty large single-family house," she said.
3D printing is taking home construction to new heights. In Houston, a giant printer is building what designers say is the first 3D-printed two-story house in the U.S.
The machine has been pouring a concrete mix from a nozzle, one layer at a time, in hot weather and cold, alongside a sparse on-site workforce, to create a 4,000-square-foot home.
While construction 3D printing has been around for over a decade, the technology has only started to break ground in the U.S. homebuilding market over the last couple of years, said Leslie Lok, the architectural designer for the project. Several 3D-printed homes have already been built or are currently in the works across a handful of states.
Lok, who co-founded the design firm Hannah, says her team aims to eventually scale up their designs to be able to efficiently 3D print multifamily homes.
"This Houston project is a step towards that, being a pretty large single-family house," she said.
3D-printed homes level up with a 2-story house in Houston
Posted from npr.org
Houston
Home
Housing
Technology
3D Printing
Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."The three-bedroom home with wooden framing is about halfway finished and is being sold to a family, who wish to remain anonymous, she said.
The project is a two-year collaboration by Hannah, Peri 3D Construction and Cive, a construction engineering company.
Hikmat Zerbe, Cive's head of structural engineering, hopes the innovative technique can one day help more quickly and cheaply build multifamily homes.
In addition, concrete can withstand the hurricanes, heavy storms and other severe weather in Texas that is becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change.
And since the printer does all the heavy lifting, less workers are needed at the construction site.
“Traditional construction, you know the rules, you know the game, you know the material properties, the material behavior. In here, everything is new,” Zerbe said. “The material is new, although concrete is an old material in general, but 3D printing concrete is something new.”"...
..."The three-bedroom home with wooden framing is about halfway finished and is being sold to a family, who wish to remain anonymous, she said.
The project is a two-year collaboration by Hannah, Peri 3D Construction and Cive, a construction engineering company.
Hikmat Zerbe, Cive's head of structural engineering, hopes the innovative technique can one day help more quickly and cheaply build multifamily homes.
In addition, concrete can withstand the hurricanes, heavy storms and other severe weather in Texas that is becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change.
And since the printer does all the heavy lifting, less workers are needed at the construction site.
“Traditional construction, you know the rules, you know the game, you know the material properties, the material behavior. In here, everything is new,” Zerbe said. “The material is new, although concrete is an old material in general, but 3D printing concrete is something new.”"...
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SGT Cody Skinner
I am assuming the wood framing is in the inside to help divide spaces and add shelves. I have not seen any wood framing go into the structure. Just the nozzle going slowly round and round the pastern of the day. I find it really fascinating to see and am excited to see the finished project.
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SGT (Join to see)
SGT Cody Skinner - Can't say if it has wood or not... didn't see it addressed in the article.
..."On the design side, Lok sees opportunity to one day offer customized features at a mass scale, without excessive labor costs. For example, she's employed 3D printing to create unique, built-in shelving for various living spaces in the Houston home.
"The printer doesn't care if you print the same chair 100 times or you print 100 different chairs," she said. "This opens up the possibility of how we can actually offer customized design for the users, whether it's a single-family house or whether it's a multifamily building or apartment."...
..."On the design side, Lok sees opportunity to one day offer customized features at a mass scale, without excessive labor costs. For example, she's employed 3D printing to create unique, built-in shelving for various living spaces in the Houston home.
"The printer doesn't care if you print the same chair 100 times or you print 100 different chairs," she said. "This opens up the possibility of how we can actually offer customized design for the users, whether it's a single-family house or whether it's a multifamily building or apartment."...
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