World's Largest 3D-Printed Community Planned In Austin

As Jonathan Hillburg reports in The Architect's Newspaper, "ICON and homebuilding company Lennar announced that they had partnered and will 3D print a 100-home neighborhood in Austin with BIG as the designer." The neighborhood will be the largest 3D-printed community built to date.

In an announcement made by the group, Hillburg writes, BIG partner Martin Voelkle said "[t]he 3D-printed architecture and the photovoltaic roofs are innovations that are significant steps towards reducing waste in the construction process, as well as towards making our homes more resilient, sustainable, and energy self-sufficient." The project's specific location and construction timeline are still unknown. ICON is currently building a 50-home social housing community in Nacajuca, Mexico, in a partnership with San Francisco-based nonprofit New Story. 

In recent years, 3D printing has found a growing number of applications in urban planning and construction, with some proponents hailing it as a solution for the housing crisis. If successful at a larger scale, 3D-printed housing could significantly impact housing costs and reduce the carbon footprint of construction. Companies claim that 3D-printed homes can be built in under 24 hours (or a 95 percent reduction in labor hours) and produce up to ten times less waste, drastically reducing building costs.