A new 3D printer, coming soon to the market, promises serious construction cost savings in an era of seriously expensive construction costs.
Cindy Widner reports on the expanding legacy of the first fully permitted 3D-printed home in the United States—a 350-square-foot home located in East Austin.
The home required 48 hours of printing, and was unveiled in March 2018.
"The house was the result of a collaboration between Austin-based Icon, a startup focused on creating new, sustainable building practices to make quality homes accessible to all, and New Story, a nonprofit dedicated to building low-cost homes internationally," according to Widner.
The home is back in the news this week, during South by Southwest, as Icon announces that its new printer, the Vulcan II 3D printer, will be shipped to "first-end users" in April of this year.
Austin-based Cielo Property Group has commissioned a Vulcan II printer, according to Widner, "to be used exclusively to print affordable housing locally."
Icon promises cost savings of 30-50 percent from traditional construction techniques.
FULL STORY: 3D-printed Austin house becomes international model
Coming Soon: A 3D-Printed Neighborhood
The march of progress continues.
World's Largest 3D-Printed Community Planned In Austin
The process aims to reduce labor hours and material waste, dramatically cutting construction costs for new housing.
3D-Printed Community in Texas Nearly Complete
Upon completion, the 100-home Wolf Ranch Community north of Austin will be the largest 3D printed neighborhood in the world.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association