Gimme shelter: 3D printing may be the solution to homelessness and the high cost of construction

ICON’s Vulcan 3D printer is being used to build a community of small, affordable houses like the one in the background.

I’ve always dreamed of building my own home. Beginning in my teen years, I had a treasured vision of strapping on a tool belt and, hammer in hand, piecing together a wooden A-Frame in some remote part of my home state of Minnesota.

When I moved to Arizona, that vision evolved into a house made of metal storage containers, stacked in geometric harmony that would make Frank Lloyd Wright proud, or perhaps a barracks-like, steel-frame storage building transformed into an airy and open domicile. As I grew older, a tiny home seemed like just the thing, if only I could find a place for all my crap. Today, my homebuilding plans extend no further than a little remodeling—a new patio and firepit next year, with maybe an outdoor kitchen.

Times change.

But if I were a teenager again, my dream might be far different and much easier to realize. That’s because a number of companies have eschewed traditional homebuilding techniques and materials in favor of 3D printing, with dramatic results. Texas-based ICON, for example, has developed a concrete-pooping machine (the Vulcan II) said to print a three-bedroom house in less than two days. Construction firm Winsun of Shanghai made headlines when it 3D-printed 10 small homes in one day, then went on to print an entire office building for a customer in Dubai. And Russian company Apis Cor recently built a 410-sq.-ft. concept house for just over $10,000, with much of that cost going towards the nonprinted windows and doors. The company also plans to print houses here in the U.S., and beyond that, the Moon and even Mars.

Considering the rising cost of construction, the significant waste, and the months needed to build the typical American Dream, each of these companies presents the potential for a massive paradigm shift in home construction. Each year we wring our hands over the dwellings lost to flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes, and forest fires. How much less devastating would these events be if houses were constructed of durable concrete, and when lost, could be replaced for a fraction of the cost? How many homeless and low-income houses could be housed in 3D-printed housing, eliminating the scourge of tent-filled sidewalks and humans without a permanent address?

Granted, it’s not all sunshine and flowers. As with any advance in technology—especially automated manufacturing technology—there will be questions about its impact on society. How many workers will be displaced when homes are built by robots? Are such structures safe, and what is their environmental impact? Will 3D-printed neighborhoods lead to some futuristic version of urban blight, separating those who can afford traditional stick-built homes from the less-privileged concrete cave dwellers?

I'm not troubled by any of these considerations. To me, quick-turn, customizable, 3D-printed homes make a great deal of sense, and will one day be just one more example of how additive manufacturing changed everything. Now if only I could use it to print a new patio and firepit.