Photos: This is the largest 3D printed neighborhood of houses

With its 14 meters width and almost 5 tons of weight, the vulcan printer completely changes the way they are built houses .

The robotic system is about to complete the last 100 printed houses in 3D in Wolf Ranch, a community located in Georgetown, Texas. This is the neighborhood the largest of its kind ever built in the world.

The project was carried out as part of a collaboration between the construction company ICON pioneer of large-scale 3D printing, the home construction company Lennar And Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), a prestigious architecture studio founded in Denmark.

It was in October 2021 that ICON, Lennar and Bjarke Ingles Group first announced plans to build the largest 3D printed home community on the planet, bringing together in one place robotics, software and advanced materials.

The idea was born, according to the companies, because of the shortage of labor and materials that makes it increasingly difficult for American families to access housing.

Jason Ballard, ICON co-founder and CEO, noted at the time that the initiative at Wolf Ranch would mark “a defining moment in the history of community development” .

In fact, 3D printing has more advantages than traditional construction methods. “Not only can better quality homes be delivered faster and more cheaply, but printer fleets can change for the better the way entire communities are built.” explained the CEO of the construction company.

“The United States faces a deficit of approximately 5 million new homes, so there is an urgent need to rapidly increase supply without compromising quality, beauty or durability, and that is exactly the strength of our technology,” he added.

Martin Voelke, partner of the Bjarke Ingels Group, said that this initiative represented a big step “towards reducing waste in the construction process, as well as making our homes more resilient, sustainable and energy self-sufficient.”

In November 2022, the process of building houses, called “Genesis Collection” by its promoters.

Each of them was made from scratch, using five Vulcan 3D printers over a period of approximately three weeks.

To do this, a mixture of concrete, water, sand and other materials is used – called Lavacrete – which is pumped into the machine. Then, using a nozzle, you can extract the mixture from the concrete and build up a pre-programmed pattern layer by layer, resulting in corduroy-effect walls.

Once the wall construction process was completed, the next step was to install doors, windows, furniture, ceilings and other finishes in the traditional way.

At Wolf Ranch, the houses are a plant and they have eight models available, from 140 to 195 m2. They all have three to four bedrooms, two to three bathrooms, living room, kitchen, garage and yard.

According to ICON on its website Metal roofs “are durable, energy efficient, fire resistant and last longer than traditional roofs” and are equipped with photovoltaic solar panels. At the same time, the walls are resistant to water, mold, termites, fire and weather conditions that can be challenging.

Regarding its design, it is characterized by being minimalist and modern. Both in the exterior and interior of the houses, in their different models, white and gray colors predominate.

And how much does it cost to live in this area? Each house has a value of $450,000 to $600,000 depending on the model chosen. According to the companies involved in the project, a quarter of the 100 copies included in the real estate project have been sold.

So far, it has been identified that the houses also have a small problem. And, according to the stories of people who have already started living in the neighborhood, although the thick walls have been beneficial to protect themselves from high temperatures, they have also interfere with access to the Wi-Fi signal.

Although Wolf Ranch is ICON’s largest housing project, it’s not the first time they’ve used their robotics system to 3D print such buildings.

Since its founding in 2017, the company has specialized in using this method to build homes in its native Texas as well as in Mexico.

“3D printing is not science fiction. “We have crossed the threshold from science fiction to reality.” commented on cnn company founder Jason Ballard. “Going forward, we bet it will be humanity’s best hope for a housing solution that lives up to our highest values ​​and ideals.”

However, ICON does not plan to use its method only for projects on Earth. In 2022, the company will begin a collaboration with the JAR with the aim of creating construction technologies to build landing platforms, habitats, roads and other structures on the surface of the Moon, as part of its Artemis program.

“To explore other worlds, we need innovative technologies that are tailored to those environments and our exploration needs. Driving this development with our commercial partners will create the capabilities we need for future missions,” said Niki Werkheiser, director of technology development in NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD).