A new, before unthinkable, technology is poised to revolutionize the home building process. And that technology could be coming to central Indiana soon.
In Georgetown, Texas, Lennar – one of the nation’s biggest home builders – is partnering with Austin, Texas-based tech company, ICON, to construct more than 100 homes using a 3D printer.
That’s right, homebuyers could soon buy a home made with a giant 3D printer. Prospective home buyers and curious onlookers can get a look inside one of these unique structures at ICON’s web site.
The walls of the printed homes look like the icing artfully swirled on top of a cupcake and feel a bit like corduroy. They are strong enough to withstand tornado- and hurricane-force winds, thick enough to keep everything quiet inside and touted as being more energy efficient than homes created with traditional building materials.
The massive printer’s computer-guided nozzle layers the walls with a concrete-type mixture which hardens fast enough to have another section layered on top of it in minutes. The entire apparatus is guided by house designs coded into software on a laptop or tablet.
The 3D-built homes in Texas start at about $450,000. But officials in Indianapolis think 3D-printed homes could be built for much less and could be a solution to the fast escalation of housing costs and the need for affordable housing in the area.
Home building using a 3D printer takes less than 20% the number of workers as the typical home framing crew. A Florida company has constructed 3D-printed houses and listed them at just over $250,000 as part of an initiative to increase affordable housing options there.
ICON officials insist the company’s technology will not put people in the construction trades out of work and say instead it will supplement an industry struggling to find enough workers.
“This is the wave of the future. This will become mainstream,” says Conner Jenkins, ICON senior project manager. “This technology will soon be widespread.”
So, what’s next? Swimming pools? Windmills? Well, actually yes.
COBOD, a company based in Denmark that recently constructed one of the first two-story buildings – that could be used as a home or office space – using a 3D printer, is now starting to use its equipment to make swimming pools. And the same COBOD technology was recently contracted by GE Renewable Energy to make windmills. GE officials say the ability to 3D print windmill bases on location will facilitate the construction of taller wind turbines. That gives the turbines the ability to have longer blades and access to stronger winds higher off the ground.
ICON’s Jenkins says the 3D printers and material they spew out are so versatile his company is in talks with NASA to use the technology to build structures on the moon and other outer space locations.
Closer to home, Circle Up Indy has launched its Rising Evolution initiative to bring 3D-printed homes to Indianapolis. The organization says its plan involving 3D-printed homes will address housing and job disparities.
Circle Up Indy hopes to raise $2.6 million to buy two 3D home printers, acquire land and facilitate training.
“When people don’t have a place to go, and they are constantly fighting to pay bills, they are constantly backwards hustling,” Circle Up Indy’s CEO James Wilson states. “The urgency (for this initiative) is now.”
Anthony Schoettle is the director of communications for the Indiana Chamber. He started with the Chamber in 2021 after a long career in journalism. He’s won multiple awards for his storytelling ability on a wide range of business topics.
