3D-Printed Neighborhood Coming to the California Desert

Kari Paul reports on a new neighborhood in California's Coachella Valley that will be home to entirely 3D-printed homes. "Through a partnership between two California companies – Palari, a sustainable real estate development group, and Mighty Buildings, a construction technology company – a five acre parcel of land in Rancho Mirage will be transformed into a planned community of 15 3D-printed, eco-friendly homes claiming to be the first of its kind."

Oakland-based Mighty Buildings designs and produces homes with, according to the company, 95% fewer labor hours and ten times less waste than traditional construction techniques. The company can build a 350-sq-ft home in less than 24 hours. "The Rancho Mirage homes will each feature mid-century modern architecture and consist of a three-bedroom, two-bath primary residence of 1,450 sq ft, along with a secondary residence on the property of two bedrooms and one bath." The project comes at a time when California faces a massive housing crisis, with the state projecting a need of "between 1.8m and 3.5m new housing units by 2025 to address the shortage and accommodate projected population growth." Mighty Buildings plans to target the "missing middle housing" market—mid-density multi-family housing that has been largely underrepresented in most cities.