In an unassuming part of Southern Mexico community, the world’s first 3-D printed neighborhood has emerged. Created by nonprofit New Story, the affordable dwellings have a pleasant, southwest look and feel, and are around 500 square-feet apiece. The process of printing these homes includes a lot of planning and testing, and the use of a state-of-the-art machine called the Vulcan II, made by Icon. The whole idea behind 3D-printed homes is that you can build them faster, cheaper, and more accurately than traditionally-built ones.
This poor community was living in shack-like dwellings before the project, and the upgraded homes may seem modest, but are a huge improvement from both a livability and seismic standpoint. For families living on $3 per day, being part of this first-in-the-world project is a major milestone, and one that the New Story founders were especially proud of. “Innovation rarely reaches those who need it most first” is a slogan that the company used for this project. Here’s hoping more pioneering projects like this one come into being. Very inspirational stuff, via Fast Company:
“We feel like we’ve proved what’s possible by bringing this machine down to a rural area in Mexico, in a seismic zone, and successfully printing these first few houses,” says Brett Hagler, CEO and cofounder of New Story.
The printer works by squirting a concrete mixture in layers to build floors and walls. Software monitors the weather conditions, and the machine can adjust the mixture.
Fast Company
“Innovation rarely reaches those who need it most first”
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