Only large-scale 3D printed housing developments in the U.S.

It looks more like a NASA project than a home construction site.

In Austin, Texas, huge machines squeeze out 100 three- to four-bedroom homes. This is the first major housing project to be 3D printed on-site.

Lennar is one of the nation’s most prominent homebuilders. ICON, which is a 3D printing company will be developing the project. Lennar was a founder of ICON, which has printed only about a dozen houses in Texas and Mexico. These homes will be on the market in 2023. They will start at the mid-$400,000 mark.

“This is only 100 homes, but we expect it to scale,” said Stuart Miller (executive chairman of Lennar).

ICON claims it can construct the entire wall system of the house, including electrical and plumbing, up to three times faster than traditional homes and at a fraction of the cost.

“We exceed all code requirements for strength, wind, and compressive strength by approximately 4x. Jason Ballard, cofounder and CEO of ICON, stated that we are about two-and-a half times more efficient in terms of energy.

Although the printers can operate 24 hours a days, they are not permitted to do so due to noise restrictions in the area. They are almost completely automated with only three workers at each house. One monitors the process via a laptop and the other checks the concrete mixture to ensure it is appropriate for the weather conditions. Another person assists by misting the area with water and adding new material to the system.

“The promise of robotic construction is a promise of automation, reducing labor – therefore reducing labor costs,” Ballard said.

Ballard stated that ICON aims at reducing the number operator to two within the next twelve months. He wants to see even fewer operators. Ballard stated that he believes there is a Holy Grail where one person can monitor a dozen systems. However, one person must watch all of them.

It works by loading a digital floor plan into the software program Build OS. This prepares it for robotic construction. It will automatically map the structural reinforcement and place the electrical and plumbing outlets. The printers then squeeze rows and rows of a unique concrete mixture, which looks almost like toothpaste, to slowly build the structure.

Another company, Mighty Buildings in California, uses 3D printing technology. However, the homes are printed in a factory before being moved on-site. ICON transports the factory to the location.

Ballard said, “With the project, we’re improving total house count 400%, which we expect will continue at least to double for the next three- to five years.” He stated that he plans to work alongside other large-scale builders. DR Horton was another early investor in ICON.

Miller, Lennar’s Miller, stated that his primary focus is to bring more affordable homes onto the market. This is one way he sees to do this. But he also knows that it’s still early days.

“This is all about innovation. He said that if you travel across the country and talk to officials at the state and local levels, the biggest question is: “How do we provide affordable housing for workers?”

Lennar made plans to work with ICON on the project when the housing market was still hot. This was due to strong demand and record low mortgage rates. Now, mortgage rates are more that twice what they were at start of year, and demand has fallen sharply, which suggests there could be an added risk to this particular project.

Miller stated that “We continue to focus on our core business, making trains run on schedule, building homes across the nation, and we adjust our business as the market cycles up or down.” “Innovation is a process as it sits on the sideline of our business because, looking ahead, we know there’s an housing shortage.”