Haus.me is a turducken of housing buzzwords: The 3D-printed prefab house integrates smart home technology and can also go off-grid. The company has been making and testing homes that generate their own energy since 2016. Now, the company is ready to start shipping the homes to customers.
A new kind of ink for 3D printing liquifies when pressed through the nozzle of a 3D printer, but then quickly returns to its original shape, researchers report. The invention paves the way for personalized biomaterial implants, according to new research. As things stand, however, personalized implants remain a long way off.
ICON, the 3D-printing construction company, has partnered with Mobile Loaves & Fishes (MLF) to build 3D-printed homes in Austin. The only neighborhood of its kind in the nation, Community First! Village provides affordable, permanent housing and a supportive community for men and women coming out of chronic homelessness.
The “Wikkelhouse”, or “wrap house”, is a truly customizable home composed of 5-meter-square (53-square-foot) modules that click together to create any-sized structure. Once “printed”, the basic units can be customized: kitted out as a bathroom, a kitchen or combined bunk rooms can create larger rooms.
New Story, ICON, and Échale have completed the first two printed homes in the world’s first 3D printed community in Mexico. The 3D printed homes feature two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen and bath. Co-designed with feedback from the families who will live in them, the homes have been created to meet the specific needs of the community.
The rise of technology is a huge opportunity for the construction industry; enabling it to overcome many of its challenges while broadening its appeal to young talent. From predictive design to 3D printing and even autonomous machines on site, this is what the future could look like if we automated construction.
The next big thing in 3D printing just might be so-called “4D materials” that employ the same manufacturing technique but are designed to deform over time in response to changes in the environment, like humidity and temperature.