This video is brought to you by Fabulous Faster, cheaper, greener.
3D printing may reshape the world canvas for good.
Or at least…on paper…like all wonderful inventions, it’s been hyped up over the
last few years.
But what if I told you that Italian architects designed the world’s first 3D-printed house
out of dirt …yep, dirt.
Clearly, the hype hasn’t bitten the dust yet.
Let’s take a closer look at what this means for the future of building sustainable homes
and if they are all they're cracked up to be.
I'm Matt Ferrell ... welcome to Undecided.
I’ll get to the dirty house in a minute.
Not exactly a compelling sales pitch, is it?
Anyway, before that, let’s quickly get our printheads around what 3D printing is.
A very quick recap: since the Japanese lawyer, Hideo Kodama
are now the state-of-the-art 3D printing techniques.
Regardless of the method and the raw material you use, the general principle is roughly
the same.
Based on a sketch, the 3D printing machine uses the so-called additive manufacturing
process to create the real object in a multi-layer manner.
You might be asking yourself, “how does the printer make this magic?”
As for SLS, the 3D printer solidifies a photosensitive powdered polymer by hitting it with a powerful
laser light.
FDM-based machines melt thermoplastic polymeric filament that becomes solid once it cools.
That’s how the very first 3D-printed house was created in 2014 . In that case designers
mostly fed bioplastic to the printer.
After that, many other 3D-printed homes joined the printing queue.
If you want to get into more details, you can find a link to my previous video in the
description.
It’s time to dish the dirt on the Italian 3D-printed clay-made house.
Mario Cucinella Architects (MCA) came up with an original 3D printing concept.
Well, they copied it from mason wasps to be honest, but I guess insects can’t sue you
for violating a patent.
The Italian architects crafted a beehive-like structure out of locally sourced clay.
To do so, MCA used a 3D printing technology developed by a company called WASP…
I know, they’re not buzzing with originality.
Jokes aside, how does that work?
WASP developed a software package that allowed the simultaneous control and operation of
two printing arms.
The company claims this software is the first of its kind anywhere in the world.
After mixing raw earth from that location with water, the two 3D printers squirt out
350 layers of clay in a wave-like manner to ensure structural stability.
They also add rice waste to the goop to increase its insulating properties.
When it’s complete you have two interconnected dome-shaped units, including an open space
living room and an en-suite bedroom.
On top of that, WASP machines can print furniture like tables and chairs as well.
Creating a cupola was a smart choice as it lets you build walls and roof in one go.
Also, the 3D printers spit out the domes one section at a time.
While limited to one floor only, this modular approach makes the habitat horizontally scalable.
The group named their method TECLA, linking technology and clay.
And no, the pottery scene in Ghost has nothing to do with it.
The idea is that by building this house no waste is generated, and at the end of its
life, it fades away into the ground without a trace..
It makes sense when you consider that 3D printing minimizes construction waste and that you
can make clay easily disappear.
And that’s massive in terms of emission reduction compared to other 3D-printed homes
built out of concrete or plastic . Not to mention that using on-site raw earth, you
completely remove the emissions released when transporting building materials from elsewhere.
The project partners envisioned the two-cupola dwelling as a self-sustaining hub.
Besides the earth-friendly walls, TECLA is surrounded by sustainability.
Outside, you have a little lake collecting rain and gray water.
This goes through a phytodepuration process before flowing inside the house.
Aiming to make an off-grid unit, designers included a dedicated structure provided with
solar panels that generate clean energy.
The TECLA ideators want to take this idea global.
WASP put together a kit to assemble the whole infrastructure and they can ship it around
the world in a container.
So, what about the cost?
While the startup hasn't disclosed TECLA’s price tag yet, it spent around $1,000 to print
30 meters of wall for their first 3D-printed home in 2018.
Just like clay, you can model TECLA to adapt it to different climates.
And you could use a wide range of locally available natural building materials.
Thanks to its flexible and climate-resilient architecture, TECLA could tackle the global
housing crisis.
According to Cucinella, this type of dwelling would make most sense in isolated, rural areas
where construction materials are difficult to obtain..
Dwellings could be built just about anywhere, assuming the self-production kit can be delivered
there.
I know the most eco-savvy of you might be interested in inking a contract already, but
hold your pen for a moment.
First, let’s dig in a bit.
TECLA walls can be 3D-printed in about 8 days.
However, clay doesn’t dry as fast as quick-drying concrete.
It can take weeks to dry in the most humid regions.
Speaking of timelines, be wary of whoever fawns over you promising to deliver a 3D-printed
house within 24 hours.
I learned this the hard way.
In my previous video I mentioned a Chinese company 3D printing 10 houses in 24 hours.
To accomplish this feat, they used four machines, not one.
. Also, the 24-hour window doesn’t include the time to install…windows…and all the
other components, it’s just the walls.
Same story for the 3D-printed dwelling that hosted human beings for the first time.
The French studio’s 3D printers built the main skeleton of the house in 54 hours.
But, again, it took 4 more months for workers to place windows, doors, roof and appliances
by hand.
Remember the $1K figure mentioned earlier?
That’s covering just the walls of WASP’s 3D-printed creation.
However, when you look at the Fibonacci house recently 3D-printed in Canada, walls accounted
for only 6% of the overall outlay.
TECLA’s still in its early stages and needs to go through structural and thermal testing
before being scaled up.
So, it’s tricky to have an accurate price at the moment.
In fact, as mentioned by COBOD’s CEO , you need to 3D print at least 10 houses to provide
a more reliable estimate.
3D-printed houses are often advertised as the cheapest option on the market, where the
low-cost claim is based on what you save in terms of raw materials and labor.
However, these costs change around the world , so 3D-printed houses will be cheaper in
some countries compared to others.
Things get even more muddy when you get some…bad press…or too-good-to-be-true press I should
say.
Respectable publications reported that ICON would have 3D-printed a house for as low as
$4,000.
, However, when interviewed by the youtuber Jarett Gross, ICON’s founder
labeled that figure as a mishap.
Nobody from the company team ever leaked that quote to any journalist.
Instead, $450,000 is the more realistic price tag that ICON put on a housing complex developed
in Texas , which I covered in my previous video on 3D printed homes.
This is below the average price of standard houses in that area.
Yet, the company 3D-printed only the first floor, while they used stick framing for building
the upper level.
You may see why $450K is an underestimated figure.
Keep in mind this was the first home on the market, so, don’t take that price as gospel.
Remember the learning curve?
To the next point: surely a house made of dirt must be green, right?
Well, while being touted as a zero-waste paradise, TECLA is actually not.
Like any other 3D-printed house, it’s got its feet of clay.
That’s because WASP’s 3D printers can’t gush out fenestration, finishing, plumbing,
electrical wiring, and other household appliances out of clay yet.
Some components must be finished after the 3D printing is completed.
Cucinella & Co. envisage their housing system as part of a low-density eco-city.
Ironically, this sprawling effect comes at an environmental cost.
For instance, inking the natural landscape with fragmented human settlements gets in
the way of wildlife.
Living remotely requires transportation, which means added air pollution unless you can afford
an electric vehicle with a long range.
On the other hand, your emissions get lower in denser cities.
People living in Toronto’s low-density suburbs emit up to 2.5x more GHG than high-density
urban residents.
Another study found that doubling US cities' density would drive down travel emissions
by 50%.
How about TECLA’s social impact?
Well, we would need a lot of clay.
As of 2005, the United Nations (UN) counted 100 million homeless people across the world.
And around 1.6 billion live in poor state houses.
Which will be 3 billion by 2030 based on the UN-Habitat.
Just put that into perspective, this is nearly half of the world’s population.
To alleviate the housing crisis,we’re pressed for time and we’d need to churn out 96,000
affordable homes every day.
That’s what I call a long printing queue!
Even if WASP nozzles were to go to full blast we’d need to read the small print…carefully.
Let’s pick a country like Kenya, for instance.
Nicholas Patel, who runs a construction company in Kenya, turned down the hype on the feasibility
of 3D-printed housing in the African continent.
First, you need to factor in the carbon footprint and costs of shipping WASP’s kit all the
way to Africa.
Then, you would have a lot of local challenges, such as lacking or poor infrastructures, legal
issues, and the need for security 24/7.
Looking at the bigger 3D-printed picture, 3D printing may have a negative impact in
countries having a lot of low-paid construction workers.
Because of its potential in reducing waste and emissions, 3D printing could play a key
role in the decarbonization of the construction industry.
On top of that, this automated building process could knock down execution time and expenses.
Even with these advantages, the technology is still in its infancy and cost reduction
expectations are still to be confirmed.
TECLA is clearly one of the most sustainable and versatile 3D-printed houses unearthed
so far, but it’s still a long way before 3D printers could produce an affordable and
truly zero-waste home.
There’s many baby-steps involved in bringing new technologies like this to market.
And speaking of taking one step at a time, I don’t know about you, but I have a hard
time finding a good work life balance and building healthier habits.
Producing these videos kind of consumes every waking hour of my life, so I’ve been trying
to get better about being productive, but being mindful of my down time.
And that’s where today’s sponsor, Fabulous, comes in.
What really appealed to me about Fabulous was their scientific approach to developing
healthy habits and daily routines tailored to me … and how well I’m actually sticking
with it.
It’s completely customized based on behavioral science.
And breaks down scientifically proven healthy habits into very small tasks that you can
easily achieve every single day.
You pick what you want to focus on, for me that was mindfulness and mental health, but
I could have easily said sleep.
Each journey helps you to reach your objective by gamifying it and coaching you along the
way.
Since I started using Fabulous I’ve gotten much better about my morning and afternoon
routines, which help give me a chance to decompress and recenter myself.
It’s been helping to reduce my daily stress.
And because I’ve got a premium membership, I’m about to start my journey into improving
my sleep.
And boy do I need it.
Start building your ideal daily routine!
The first 500 people who click on the link will get 25% OFF a Fabulous subscription!
Link is in the description below and thanks to Fabulous, and to all of you, for supporting
the channel.
What do you think of 3D printing in construction like this?
Jump in the comments and let me know.
And if you have knowledge on this, or work in the industry, please share your experience
so we can learn more together.
You can also join my Discord server and talk to other members of the community.
The link is in the description.
And thanks as always to my patrons and a big welcome to new Producers Raymond Poh and Hermann.
All of your direct support really helps with producing these videos and to reduce my dependence
on the almighty YouTube algorithm.
Speaking of which, if you liked this video be sure to check out one of the ones I have
linked right here.
And subscribe and hit the notification bell if you think I’ve earned it.
Thanks so much for watching and I’ll see you in the next one.