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    Categories: Tech

3D Printed Houses Are Becoming a Real Estate Reality

I’m still trying to wrap my mind around 3D printers. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought up this technology. It’s truly an amazing breakthrough, and it’s still growing and new developments are continuing to astonish me.

Today, it’s possible to print up a house, and it can e done in just one day.

Here are the deets:

A San Francisco 3D printing startup called Apis Cor partnered with five other companies to make the project a reality. These companies were Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd; PIK Companies group, a Russian public developer; TechnoNICOL Corporation, a building material manufacturer; Bitex Reibeputz Company, who provided finishing materials for the project including mineral decorative plaster and paint; and Fabrika Okon Co, a producer of climate control thermo-windows.

The house is made from concrete and fiberglass reinforcements and the total cost was just over $10,000 (the structure, insulation, roof, finishings are included in this price) for a home just under 125 square feet.

This house was built in the midst of Russia’s winter at the test facility of Apis Cor, located in the Russian town of Stupino. The machine can operate at -31°F, but the concrete used must be poured in temperatures at least 41°F. However, they were able to pull it off with an insulated tent. Future developments on building material will make 3D printing easier in any temperature.

“Now we can say with confidence that with Apis Cor solution, the construction 3D printing has leaped to a new evolutionary stage. The company and its partners are confident that the house in Stupino was the first step that can convince the world that 3D technology in the construction market is a reality.” —Apis Cor

You can view a full gallery of photos of the home—from construction to completion—here.

So, what’s the timeline on building one?

The first test home was printed in just 24 hours and on-site commission takes no more than one hour. The home is fully functional, insulated, and has a kitchen with appliance, a hall, a living room, and a bathroom.

There’s nothing in this home that a traditionally-built house wouldn’t have.

The portable machine allows for a home to be printed anywhere and, as the unique design of the test home proves, the machine is really flexible and can adapt to different home designs.

The 3D printing gets the core structure built. Then, all you have to do is insulate, install windows, add on the roof, and paint/decorate. Again, they did all of that for just over $10,000.

I don’t know about you, but now I want to design and print myself a house.


Sources:

http://www.archdaily.com/806742/build-your-own-3d-printed-house-all-in-one-day
http://apis-cor.com/en/about/news/first-house

Kayleigh DeMace :Kayleigh is a content writer with a BA in technical writing/literature and an MA in creative writing. A native of NEPA’s coal region, she is no stranger to the industrial world. When she’s not at work writing, she’s at home writing and reading, forever honing her craft and exercising her writing muscles. Her work has appeared on The Writing Cooperative and as an Honorable Mention in East Meets West American Writers Review.