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ICON Home - 3D printed housing in 24 hours

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This is 650-square-foot cement house that was built by a 3D printer. In less than 24 hours. For around only $10k. And ICON, the construction tech firm behind the Vulcan 3D printer that made it happen, says even that cost will eventually come down to around $4k, with build time for complete 400- to 800-square-foot homes possible in 12 to 24 hours.

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Ryan Hoover
This is incredible. I'm curious how durable these buildings are compared to traditional builds.
Seth Louey
@rrhoover looks like it's all concrete except the roof. Feel like the structure would stay in tact, but roof might come off with hurricane winds.
Matthew Marshall
Maker
@rrhoover hey Ryan! Matthew, one of the cofounders, at New Story the nonprofit that partnered with Icon to develop the first 3D printed home for the developing world :) Before we even started on this project we knew one thing could not be compromised in any way - quality. The traditional homes we currently construct are built to survive hurricanes and earthquakes. So this was our starting point. We're happy to report that the 3D printed concrete passed the concrete PSI test with a 3X stronger rating than a traditional concrete block. In our next phase of testing, we'll continue seismic testing. So the short answer to your question: yes, these homes are durable and built to last.
Marvin L Eason
@rrhoover @matth3wmarshall Remarkable work you guys are doing. Commendable!
Matthew Marshall
Maker
Hi PH! This is Matthew, one of the cofounders, at New Story the nonprofit that partnered with Icon to develop the first 3D printed home for the developing world :) I'd like to share why we decided to invest in an innovation like this. For context, in 3 years, we've built over 1,000 homes in 11 communities around the world through local partners. The challenge we face is monumental; there are more than a billion people across the globe living without safe shelter. To make a dent in that number, our ability to scale up has to change. Steady, linear improvements will never reach the total addressable market of families in need. We believe R&D and product innovation is essential with a problem of this magnitude. We have to take big swings with forward-thinking technology to achieve a quantum leap in speed, affordability, and quality. Our goal is to help power anyone building homes for the poor — governments and non-profits alike — to do their best work. As we make these strides, it means more families around the world will have safe shelter and can better actualize their potential. We’re looking at a one billion person deficit of a basic human need. We believe maintaining the status quo is irresponsible — it’s terrifying to us — as it’ll never tackle this deficit. Our hypothesis today is that this breakthrough to reach more families can be achieved through robotics and 3D home printing. A year ago, the technology we needed didn’t exist. That’s when we began working with ICON to create a solution to a seemingly unsolvable problem. The exciting result is “the Vulcan,” a 3D Home Printer designed to print a home for less than $4,000 in less than 24 hours. This robotic breakthrough delivers: * Cost decrease (from $6,500/home to ~$4,000 and even lower future cost) * Speed increase (from ~15 days to 12–24hrs to build one home) * Improved quality and customization of the home unit for families More here -> newstorycharity.org/3d-home We'd love to answer any and all questions.
Drew Meyers
@matth3wmarshall So freaking brilliant. I run a private real estate tech mastermind group (www.geekestate.com), and I talked about this announcement in the weekly newsletter I sent to members today. I love everything about it. The world needs more people tackling huge challenges like this.
Shlok Vaidya
So I'm in Austin, have a 7000 square foot lot, and a budget for this. What are the obstacles to making this a reality in my backyard?
Jacqueline von Tesmar
These are lovely homes. Can I get one of these in SF?
Seth Louey
Love the concept, but hate how the outlets are set on the wall and not in the wall. (Son of a contractor and have built my fair share of houses.)
Just S
@sethlouey other than aesthetic, there is no legitimate reason that the MEP components need to be buried within the walls. We have to consider the intended market. These are built for people with no or inadequate housing. I am 100% certain that the surface mounted plugs and conduit are not something that a Salvadorian who was just gifted a home is going to notice nor complain about. Just that fact that there is electricity and a space that is structurally sound is already a life-changing upgrade. Not to mention exposed mechanical also makes servicing utilities much more accessible and easier to maintain, something to consider in areas where you are probably not headed to Angie's list to find a local tradesman. Beyond that, the "loft and industrial design craze" of the past decade has made exposed mechanical not only acceptable but desirable. Personally, I quite like the look of this design, but that is, of course, my opinion. (Son of an electrician and have rehabbed my fair share of existing houses.) ;-)
Seth Louey
@just_s please don't think that I'm hating on the project because I'm not. I love what the team is doing. I'm speaking of a broader market here than just the lower class. I personally would want something like this to live in if I could get a little bit more space. I'm someone who doesn't want to pay 200k-500k for a home. I've been researching container homes for the past 5 years and want something affordable and compact.
Just S
@sethlouey sorry if the tone of my reply appeared annoyed. I just reread it and it wasn't very pleasant. Not intentional. I agree with you, I would love one of these houses. My reply was meant to convey an alternate perspective and a clarification of the core mission as I understood it.
Ryan Manor
Love the project, hope y'all go v far with this
Jeremy Bauer
This is really cool. 🙏 affordabile home options. I’ve also learned recently about how energy efficient concrete homes are in general.
Drew Meyers
@barnabybones "how energy efficient concrete homes are in general." Cool, I wasn't aware of that -- but does makes sense that they would be.
TessRousselle
Toured the ICON home in Austin! Absolutely blown away by the build quality and creative use of space. My husband and I are already chatting about where we'll place our first ICON home :) Keep up the amazing work!!
Damjanski
<3 <3 <3
Aditya Bansal
I do not understand how these homes are the solution in developing countries. Reasons- 1) Land is scarce, your customers(home owners) in cities would want to live close by where they work, which essentially is the highly population dense areas in suburbs of big cities. Where would these dense areas have the space to construct these buildings? 2) Developing countries have cheap and affordable labor which might take the edge out of the cheap product you are providing (I am not sure how the numbers play). But the livelihood of these people are also construction based activities. With unemployment already soaring in such economies and without alternative work opportunities, how do you think 3-d printed homes will help? I am sure the founders must have thought about these issues, and would like to know their views on this.
Scott Lewis
@aditya_bansal1 I hope the makers will engage your questions. They are interesting questions, especially about the impact on local labor. Providing employment opportunities for struggling communities to help raise their standard of living and quality of life is vital to sustainable, long-term solutions. I guess it is important, however, to view this as a piece in a much larger puzzle and not "the solution" but only part of it. Long-term solutions take much longer to bear fruit but addressing the immediate need for safe shelter is valid as well. It does seem that dense urban areas would pose challenges to this solution but many of the areas where this could have great impact are rural and sustained by agriculture. I can see this fitting into a broader solution. I mean, it may not solve the problem for all 1 billion homeless but even if it helps 1,000 - 10,000 - 1 million it seems like a great start. Good questions, though. Cheers.
Ayala Avital
What are the chances that you will start building in Israel in the next two years?
Kyle Stephens
Is the 3D printer readily available to purchase or have you any plans to license the technology? Could see this being applicable in the developed world also because there are housing shortages all over the place (speaking from Ireland where the issue has reached crisis levels)
Chad Whitaker
@matth3wmarshall @evanloomis Where in Austin is the ICON Home? I'll be there at the end of this month, and I'd love to check it out!
Jacob Rogelberg
This is awesome! I started a campaign to build a home with Designer Hangout and donations are coming in! Let's build this house! https://impact.newstorycharity.o...
Shawn M. Kent
Well, I guess if this is any indication, the future is now. Well done, super cool!
William
This is so awesome! Thanks for making it!
Lasha
Amazing!
Antonin Cohen
That's awesome! Are you thinking to print with something else than concrete one day? I guess it's solid/affordable so it fits your current goals, but I'd love to hear more about the ecological aspect. For the planet, concrete is not a good long-term solution for building at scale, and I'm fascinated by the idea of printing walls with ecological-friendly materials (like hemp or others local resources that you find depending on the region you operate in). Curious to hear more about this! And congrats for this amazing project!
Ram Rayavarapu
Any plans to extend to countries like India where people are waiting for affordable housing?
Sarah
Technology can really make a difference to people life. This is great